Get Organized Pittsburgh

Sometimes being right does not add up to great results. Sometimes we get stuck doing things a certain way because at some point it seemed like the “right” way. As life changes our systems need to as well. Sometimes we get stuck in our old habits and don’t recognize that they are too complicated for our current life demands. If clipping news articles and sending them to friends seemed like a good idea years ago and now you are overwhelmed with papers and clipping it may be time to look at a new way to achieve that goal of sending info to other people. If someone has been fighting with you to make you try a new system-often that makes you hold onto the old system tighter. Especially if you at some point felt it was the “right” thing to do! When we start fighting for our “right stems” we become entrenched in that thinking and really “dig in”. Even when we see that the system is overloaded and not working well, it has now become a matter of principle above all else. Any rational alternative suggestion (like using the Internet) is shot down while you drown in being “right”.

If you notice that happening in your life. Be brave and take a baby step towards making changes. Those changes don’t mean that you are wrong, they simply mean that you have decided to try a new way. It is scary sometimes so surround yourself with people that are going to support your journey and not make you hold onto that old way of thinking.

In these economic times, REDUCING should be easy! It is the first step towards making lasting change. When I speak to clients who reference this step as one of their goals, on know that they are going to make great progress. There are many ways to-REDUCE.

First you need to work on your mind set. It is very easy to stop bringing more into your life if you already feel like you have ENOUGH. You need to try to visualize your life as a “cup that is full”. Some of our “cups” are actually spilling over, or bursting and it is time to recognize the burden that places on our lives, spaces and time. So when you are in the store and see that beuatiful vase that is on sale, STOP and think about the abundance in your life. Realize that you can enjoy that vase’s beauty and even it’s bargain price with out owning it. Think of all the vases you have at home and the stories and memories they hold. Are you willing to get rid of one or maybe two of those vases to bring this one into your life.

Reduce by not bringing more into your life, and then take a close look at what you already have. Keep only what is useful and makes you happy. This makes everyday easier to maintain and navigate. Simple systems work because they are not overloaded. Drawers have a single purpose and are duplicated throughout the house. Closets function for the rooms that they were designed to serve. It is amazing how your home will start to become easy to manage because the tools in place to storage now work!

There hasn’t been a better time to really revisit these principle. You will help yourself, your pocketbook and our earth.

Rules and boundries can actually be comforting for children. They are looking to parents for love, care, support and limits. They need guidelines you living and these are not innate. The trick is you have them be part of the process so that they “own it”. I often encounter families without rules and there are several negative outcomes. A lack of protection is one that you don’t often think of. Rule protect siblings from eachother. It helps insure that one child doesn’t simply over run the others by helping themselves to whatever the household resources are. The second negative effect is that there is not a sense of community with out some rules. Kids need to feel like they are part of a group that works together toward common goals.

Imagine you were sitting on a stool in a completely dark room. In utter blinding darkness. When you were told to find your way out you were to just get up and search around for the way out of the room. Wouldn’t you find comfort in touching a wall that you could follow? You would probably have a much easier time in a small managable space instead of a vast expanse to wander through.

Ease your child’s journey with guidelines to show them the way in life.

As a child I if my mom did not want to buy me something she would simply say, “We can’t afford that” and usually there would be no conflict. But often the object of my desire was something small like a cookie and I often wondered how we could have such a nice home and not be able to afford these little things! it unnecessarily instilled a sense of “deprivation” because truly the phrase was used to avoid discussion rather than to portray an accurate picture of our finances!

As an adult I committed to never say “we can’t afford that” to my children. I want to instill the idea that we have “enough” but “choose” not to purchase items based on our needs and desires. I feel this models a responsible attitude about money and prioritizing in a way that is empowering to kids. I prefer to simply say that I do not want to purchase an item or that I don’t want to spend my money that way. Yes, this puts the bull’s-eye squarely on my forehead for deciding against a purchase they are drooling over, but the long term gain is worth the short term frustration. My kids can walk through life with the feeling that there is “enough” and that they are in control.

I do not believe that our children need to be burdened with financial knowledge that they are not ready to process completely. They should have a general idea of what it takes to run a household and how banking and bill paying works, but they should not be informed about this in a negative way. Family financials should be shared to illustrate a point or to give them an ideas of how money flows through your home. This should not be a negative exercise, but rather a life lesson that they can build on!

As a Professional Organizer and Certified Family Manager Coach I see people trying to cope with basic life skills daily and truly struggle. I often tell clients that “there is no model for managing a household today”. Our mothers and grandmother did not have to deal with the shear amount of information that we need to deal with on a daily basis. Our parents memorized phone numbers by the first three letters of the area and the four digit. Now we have at least 3 numbers to remember for most people we encounter and probably a different number for each family member. Not to mention email addresses! We are overloaded with media, opportunities and technology. All of this blurs our ability to prioritize and handle day to day living. Organizing and Family Management Assessment help people diagnose areas where they need help and then we teach people how to better mange their time and space and to be more aligned with what is most important.

GENERAL HANDINESS
Does anyone remember old typewriters with movable keys and hit the ribbon to make a mark on your paper? How about a wind up alarm clock or knobs that change channels? We grew up where you could see how things work. The mechanics were evident and everywhere. At least we had wires that connected a machine the thing that controlled it. Evidence of how things actually work is hidden today. Printers somehow magically spit ink onto a page (I think?), remotes turn things on from across the room, led displays silently tell time and we are all connected wirelessly by cell phones! Our kids have no exposure to mechanics and how things work. They are designed to be hidden and therefore there is no curiosity or wonder instilled by just watching machines work. They won’t pick it up naturally; it will have to be taught.

WHAT IS A WELL MANAGED FAMILY?
A well-managed family is a family that communicates well and works together to live with love, respect, joy and intention.

HOW DID YOU LEARN HOW TO MANAGE A FAMILY?
My mother was efficient and organized. She had a good balance between following a system that worked and having lots of fun. I then became a teacher and learned how to develop systems that help children succeed and be independent. As a mother I enjoyed developing systems based around family meetings and clear cut routines and rules that everyone developed together. As a professional organizer and speaker I use all these things to bring order and simplicity to individuals and families.

It is a fresh start! Pristine new notebooks and binders, pointy new crayons, a cool lunch box, and those brand new shoes! It is like a transformation that happens every fall. All the mishaps of last year are forgotten and children are ready to meet their new teachers and new friend. Embrace this “newness” with your student! Be their support for what’s ahead without looking back on previous trouble spots. They know they exist, but NOW they are navigating new waters and need you to support this new journey! Just think about how it would feel to walk into a your job every fall to find a whole new system, a new boss and new co-workers! That’s a lot to navigate. Student need to feel like they have some control over their environment. So develop systems together. Let them tell you how they use their locker, how they want to organize their back pack and where to put papers when they are home. Now this does not mean that you can’t make suggestions, just try let them come up with ideas with in you parameters. Be a good listener and don’t point to past failures. You will be amazed what a child who feels comfortable and safe to share will tell you! Sometime this will unlock the mysteries of where breakdowns occur.

So this is your chance to get on your students team. Keep an open mind, be positive and let them tell you what they need. You get to provide support and accountability and they get feel proud about taking responsibility for their school work.

Hopefully these are lessons that last a life time!

I was just considering some of the hurdles kids have to overcome every school year when it is time to go back to school. Just think how hard it would be at your job to get back into the groove every year if you switched rooms, schedules, bosses, coworkers and rules. What if you also knew that it was going to continue to get harder. Would you dread returning to work? Just think, this is what we do to kids every year!

This year try to avoid those back to school landmines to set your child up for success.

THE BACKPACK
I is important to teach kids that backpack are not for storage! They are for active traveling paper. Teaching them to prioritize what they carry is a great lesson in organization. Take time to go over how they are using their backpacks and how to out with them weekly until they get in the habit of doing it themselves. Do this with the mindset of teaching because these skills are not innate. Keep it positive.

THE LOCKER/DESK
These are important components of the paper flow system as well. These are vehicles for storage and children need to learn simple ways to make then work. Just separating morning and afternoon classes in a locker help kids get what they need quickly and more successfully. Simply loading desks, lockers, and backpacks with items in largest to smallest order is extremely important in for being able to find things in a hurry.

THE BINDER OR ACCORDION FILE
Taking time to build this system from the start might be the best thing you do all year. Do it with your child and let them have input. This will help them have “buy in” and there will be subtle agreement on where and how papers should travel and be stored. It will give you a chance to explore your child’s ability to process what is important to keep. This system will need to be tweaked as the year goes on. This is a good thing. Being organized is being able to adapt to changing needs.

PAPERS AT HOME
We recommend a desktop file that mirrors the section set up in the binder. This help keep the binder de-cluttered because papers that are needed for later review have a home! For older students computer files can also be set up in the same way. Don’t forget color! Try to keep one color per class for even easier retrieval!

So now you can look forward to more successes by setting up simply systems from the start that help student prioritize!

OK, I’ll admit it, I really don’t like 3 ring binders! This is a huge confession coming from a professional organizer! Organizers LOVE binders. Professional Organizers will “binderize” anything that is not nailed down! I always found it laborious to punch holes in hand outs and those jaw-like clips scare me! More things would lay on top of my binder than get in. But the point was driven home when i was reading Donna Goldgerg’s book, The Organized Student. She addresses the student’s organizational style and suggests that binders don’t work for some students. Her main point was that LEFT HANDED students can’t write on paper that is attached to a binder. Well call me slow, but I AM LEFT HANDED and I really never realized that all of you RIGHTIES were actualy writing in those binders. No wonder I can’t stand them. I guess on some level I knew because LEFTIES even have trouble with spiral notebooks, but I felt so much better after seeing it in print! So Mothers of LEFTIES, please don’t make your child use a binder if they resist. Use an accordian file or folders and you may see them have more success!