Archive | August, 2009

Back To School – Routines

Posted on August 27, 2009 by in Back to School, Home Organizing, Time Management

Organizing with Routines

It’s the morning chaotic rush, school bus is waiting, kids are trying to find their coats, put their backpacks on and run as fast as they can, screaming-”Wait for Me”!

Morning chaos brings us to stressed out kids and stressed out parents!  With a little planning and some organization with routines, your mornings and evenings can go much smoother!

Here are some suggestions in achieving the happy child getting on the school bus rather than the stressed out running with paper and clothes flying all around!

1.  Write down all the tasks that need to be done in the evening and in the morning.  Have the list lamented so as your child finishes the task, they can actually check it off with a dry eraser marker!  Great way to instill that to do lists are very helpful in organizing our day!  You’re teaching them the value of organization!  An example of an evening list may include:  Finish homework, pack backpack, choose clothes for next day, shower, brush teeth, read book.  An example of a morning list may include:  Make bed, Get dressed, eat breakfast, take vitamin, brush teeth, put shoes on.

2.  Speak to child’s teacher and get an estimate of how much homework he/she will have, this will give you a better idea of how to manage your evening routine and taking into account homework time, play time, sports and/or other activities they may be involved in.  I am a big believer in not scheduling our children to do everything.  They need down time too, and it’s important to realize this when planning activities.

3.  To eliminate power struggles in the morning, get your children involved in picking their clothes and what they want to eat for lunch the next day.  Hold them responsible with your supervision of course!

4.  Use your family calendar (Review Recent Blog Post Here) to track your activities and go over it with your children periodically.  This is also a good time for a family meeting (Review Recent Blog Post Here).  Review the rules in the house, the chores each child is responsible for, changes the family needs to prepare for.  The more communication, the more prepared your children will feel and be!

5.  Practice your routines before school starts!  A week before, start your bedtime and wake up calls and practice!  Get used to checking off their duties and getting things done in the time allotted.  This also gives you time to tweak the schedule if you need!

Next Blog Post – What to do with all the paper that comes home from school!!

Back to School – School Supplies

Posted on August 24, 2009 by in Back to School

Save on School Supplies

I came across an article from the Wall Street Journal on Sunday that I wanted to share on my blog.  This is a brief summary of 5 ways to stretch your Back To School Dollars….

1.  Go online- Many stores stock less inventory and there’s a good chance you may not find what you are looking for.  Go online to places like OfficeDepot.com and Walmart.com.  This can save you time and hassle, and when buying several items-many will qualify for free shipping.

2.  Shop on Weekdays-  According to FrugalDad.com, many sales run from Thursday – Sunday.  If you go on a Thursday evening, you will find the best selection, if you wait until Sunday, many times you going through left -overs.

3.  Buy more-  Another tip from FrugalDad.com, buy school supplies in three’s, so you won’t have to buy replacements midyear, when they aren’t on sale.

4.  Get creative-  Try making some supplies on your own, for ideas see MarthaStewart.com and ReadyMade.com.

5.  Wait a week or two-  As for clothes shopping, if you can hold off until after school begins, advises BargainBabe.com, you will have a better idea of what other kids are wearing, so there’s no chance that you’ll clothes your child is refusing to wear.

(This article is a summary from an article I read in the Wall Street Journal Sunday – edited by Nikki Waller.)

Back To School – Organize your Backpack

Posted on August 21, 2009 by in Back to School, Office Organizing, Paper Management, Productivity

Organize your Backpack!

There is no doubt the backpack can become a “dumping ground” for everything and anything… It’s easy for a student to grab and throw whatever is in their way into this thing! Finding your homework can become a disorganized mess!

Here are some great tips in helping students organize their backpacks, so next time when the teacher says bring out your homework.. Your child will be able to do so and on time!

1.  Make sure you have the “Right” backpack for your child’s needs.  Make a list of everything they will need to carry with them.  What has to stay in the backpack and what can go into a locker or cubby at school.  This will determine the size of backpack you need.

2. Teach your child how to use the backpack.  You and the child should designate each pocket to have a purpose.  Separate your things by type.  For example all books and binders go in the big section, calculators, pens, etc. go into one section, water bottle on the side. etc. etc.  Make sure important information like emergency phone numbers is located in an easy spot for the child to always find.  I suggest not having your home address in the backpack, in case it is lost and you have house keys in it.  Better to be safe than sorry.  Teach your child for everything there is a place.  If each item has a home within the backpack then each item will be easy to find and easy to return!

3.  Do you need more than one bag? It may be useful to have a smaller bag inside the backpack for gym clothes or after school activities things.  Keeping these items separated from the other things pertaining to school.

4.  Have a designated spot in your home where the backpack is always suppose to go. Every night, go through the backpack and do a quick unload, sort, and toss.  File any loose papers that need to go into the binder.  If you do this daily, the backpack will stay maintained and will not look like a paper bomb went off in it!

5.  Be prepared- pack your backpack the night before.  Make sure all homework is completed and anything that needs to go to school the next day is already in the backpack.  The more you can prepare the night before, the easier your morning will be!

Happy Organizing!

Back To School – Family Meeting

Posted on August 19, 2009 by in Back to School, Home Organizing

Calling all Family Members to the Living Room!

Being a part of a family and a household is somewhat like being an employee in a company!  I believe in structure and I believe in holding family meetings.  I have found this to be extremely important to my children and to my own sanity. If everyone knows the rules and the boundaries, then they know what to expect!

The first thing you need to do is to prepare for your meeting.  If you are not a single parent than all caregivers should be involved, so everyone is on the same wave length, again, this way there are no surprises and everyone knows what to expect.  Decide what to cover in the meeting. Write it all down, and give each member of the family a meeting agenda, you could also use a bulletin board to display key topics.

Because of the upcoming transition of going back to school, here are some ideas on what to cover:

1.  The new schedule for school- Discuss who is going where, when they are going, and how they are getting there.  Talk about what the morning and nightly routines will be in your home (I will discuss more on routines on an upcoming blog post – check back later).

2. Look at the calendar – Discuss how sports practices and other activities are going to effect the schedule, make sure everyone is aware of the changes.  In an earlier post, I talked about the family calendar, bring this out as a visual and show your family how it works.

3.  Make the expectations clear- Every house has different rules depending on your values and beliefs, this is a great time to review those rules with clear expectations, and clear consequences.  Some families change up the rules for TV and video games due to school, make sure you talk about these issues.

4.  Chore Responsibilities- This is a great time to review chores with your children or to establish new ones if necessary.  Use charts as a visual for kids, especially younger ones, they love being able to put a sticker on their chart after completion.

The Family Meeting is a great way for the family to come together and be a part of how the household is ran.  If everyone is clear on what is coming up, everyone will feel more in control of their time, and there are no surprises.  Make the meeting a habit, it’s not meant to do only once, like with any organizing system you put in place, you need to review and tweak as things change.  Make it fun and light, and make it short. Kids do not have a long attention span, I learned the hard way, to make the meeting short and sweet! Allow for questions and discussion, this is a great way to see your kids point of view and be able to problem solve as a family unit.

Discussing these issues leads to living a more organized lifestyle, which is something your children will carry with them for the rest of their lives!

Happy Organizing!  (Next blog post – How to Organize your BackPack!)


How Does Your Student Learn?

Posted on August 11, 2009 by in Back to School

It’ time to think about it… Back to School!  Are you ready?  Most important is your child ready?

Just as we start to get used to summer, we are reminded when we walk into a store that back to school is just around the corner.  I have been doing research on how best to be organized during this transition, I hope to teach you what I have learned myself… the next few blog posts will be dedicated to just this… Back to School Organizing Tips!

The book I am currently reading is the The Organized Student by Donna Goldberg.  Here are some points that I thought were worth sharing.. As well as some of my own input and ideas!

1.  A cluttered room is not always a sign of a disorganized student.  Being messy and being disorganized are two different things.  Being organized is about finding the things you need when you need them. If your child is able to find his clothes, turn his homework in on time, be prepared for tests, gets good grades, then disorganization is probably not the issue.  He or she has their own system that works for them.  If the child has a chaotic bedroom and exhibits signs of academic distress, then learning organization skills could be of value to this child.  Like any other skill, organization has to be taught. This is not to say you should be satisfied with a messy room, you have to go by what rules and values you set in your home about these issues, however it is something for you to think about.  Not too jump to the conclusion that disorganization is the problem.

2.  To teach your children about organization, it is important to know how they learn.  It is also important to involve them in the process of setting up a system.  They need to create their own solutions, that fit their needs not what you think they need.  You want your children to be invested in the process or the system stays in place.  Think of this as a family project, first talk about the current problems, what items get lost, what do your kids struggle with most, what is their day like at school, ask questions and get their input.  This will be the beginning of setting some defined goals, then help your children figure out what tools they need etc.  This is the beginning of setting up a plan.

3.  How does your child learn? If your child is a visual learner, color and sequence will play  a large role in his organizing system, they will learn by watching what you do.  If your child learns through listening, make sure to explain what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and how they should use the tool.  If they learn by doing, make sure the organizing process is hands on, let them assemble and manipulate the tools and show you how they plan to use them.  In any case, remember they need to be involved!

For the next month or so, my blog posts will be dedicated to Back to School Organizing.  If you have specific questions please feel free to email me @ info@takecontrolorganizing.com, and I would be happy to get back to you and consider your question as a topic for a blog post.

If you have a child or children at home and you would like to set up a new organizing system for the upcoming school year and need a little help?  Take a look at my Virtual Organizing services, I may be able to help you no matter if you are local or 5 states away from me!  Contact me @ 541-514-85873 for more information!

Until next time… Happy Organizing!