Get Organized Pittsburgh

Leslie was featured on KDKA Pittsburgh Today Live this week! Watch her interview here to learn more about some of the best new organizing items!

As we continue through our three part series about working with couples, please see part one about Organizing With Couples. In part two I thought it might be interesting to share some thoughts with you about working with new parents and how organizing yourself and your new roles as a new family is so important as you welcome a brand new member to the family.

New Parents:
I love working with new parents, they are fun because they’re full of possibility and are engaging in a really positive process and are usually very open to new ideas and systems. If you were slightly disorganized prior to becoming a parent, it is really important to acknowledge that and see the need to have systems for your new needs in order to make it work. Otherwise, that new little bundle can swiftly amplify the problem.

New parents are really looking for an answer and it’s a really good time to find these new systems because they haven’t really established the rules yet. It’s nice to help them make those rule together so that one person doesn’t end up doing it all only because they are the one who put the system in place.

Responsibilities:
When talking about roles for couples, there are a lot of different things that happen within a family that need attention like daily money managing, long-term financial estate planning and insurance. When a couple decides on who is responsible for these items it is important to consider which person might be better suited for the day-to-day finances verses who might be better working with the long-term planning and insurance. You might be surprised to find one person may not fit both roles. The same process should be used for deciding who would be better at keeping the family social calendars or making travel plans. Think about who is in charge of what duty and clearly establish the roles.

Historical Roles – Do They Still Work?
We typically fall into similar roles that our parents were responsible for. But it’s important to take a step back and question those roles.
Ask yourself these questions:
Does this work for me in my current position in life?
Can I do what my dad did?
Does that makes sense?
Does the role my mom played work for the life I’m are leading now with the job I have outside of the home?

I think for the most part this is the first generation where previous roles really do not work like they used to. I tell new mothers that you have no role model for this. This is new territory so you need to organize it and think about how you want it to happen because it’s not going to come from the seat of your pants.

Add a little clean up time before meals instead of before bed. It’s almost time for dinner, your children are smelling your meal and it’s the perfect time to get them to think about cleaning up before they eat. I’ve found that waiting to clean up at bedtime usually means they want to take their time because they don’t want to go to bed. But EVERYONE wants to eat right? And they usually want that right now (at least I know my kids do)!

Give it time, 15 minutes before dinner is served, direct a quick clean up of a certain area, toys, entry, laundry. Suggestions like “Let’s just take care of this and when you’re finished dinner will be ready.” Remember to let them do it. As soon as they finish, it’s time to set the table and sit down. Everyone is ready to eat and you’ve got a mostly tidy home. Can’t beat that!

We love this product the Lay-n-Go product for easy LEGO clean up. For more toy storage ideas check out our collection of Play Area ideas on Pinterest and be sure to give us a follow there too!

Cleaning up before bedtime is the WORST time to ask kids to cooperate and clean up their toys/rooms. There is no motivation not to stretch this chore out for hours so that they can stay up later. This is when kids are tired and cranky too! Have your children clean up before a meal time. There is a built in reward to get busy and get the job done. It also lets the kids be busy while you are putting the finishing touches on a meal. Keep it positive and make sure they have enough time to succeed.

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!

With ten days left before our daughter goes to college, we are preparing and packing to help her “fit” into her new life. This transition involves saying good bye to friends and family, and trying to get ready in many ways for a whole new lifestyle! We all know that space will be tight and we want this transition to be a smooth as possible. It is tempting to show our love and caring by making sure our new college student has everything they need!

But what do the NEED? If parents paid attention to all the prepared lists that retail outlet produce we would be having new bulletins of college dorms exploding all over the country! The more they have…the more they need to maintain. We want them to live simply and concentrate on their studies and having fun. So here are a few tips:
As you pack things, think about where they will fit in your child’s room. Pack in storage containers that will be used.
Use vertical space. Hang things from the wall. The 3m removable hooks are great. There is more hang up space than drawer space–use it!
Wait until you get there for the finishing touches. This will give room mate a chance to work together on a little decorating and to develop systems that work.
Pack a little tool kit for move in day and buy some laundry pre-stain products to help between laundry days.

Your job is to simply get them started and let them figure out the details!