Tag Archive for: organizing tips for families

Clutter Free Gift Ideas

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giftDo you like giving and receiving gifts? It can be fun, meaningful, and heartwarming.  Unfortunately, it can also make our home feel like it’s bursting at the seams with toys, clothes, and electronics.  After the gift giving season is over do you dread having to make room for all that stuff?  Do you detest having to shift things around, box things up, move things to the basement, or get rid of things, just to fit comfortably in your home once again?  Would it be nice if you could avoid all that?  I have 25 organizer friendly gift ideas that concentrate on giving and receiving consumables and experiences, not stuff.  Therefore, you won’t have to struggle with all that stuff, you can just make plans with family and friends and enjoy.

25 Organizer Friendly, Clutter Free Gift Ideas

  1.  A cultural experience to a play, performance, or theater
  2.  An adventure or fun family outing
  3.  Activities, clubs, classes, or lessons
  4. A day pass, membership or special program at a zoo or aquarium
  5.  A useful automobile related gift like car washing or detailing
  6.  A helpful housework booster
  7.  Tickets to a sporting event
  8.  Movie passes or movie night
  9.  Salon treatment or spa day
  10.  Gifts of time or a financial contribution
  11.  Food in one form or another
  12.  Donation to charity in recipient’s name
  13.  Fitness Membership or classes
  14.  Books or music for electronic devices
  15.  Tickets to a concert or musical performance
  16.  Involvement in nature clubs, groups or organizations
  17.  Shopping for charity
  18.  Membership or passes to a museum
  19.  Gifts of your time and memories
  20.  Small acts of kindness
  21.  Volunteering at a local food bank, homeless shelter, hospital, etc.
  22.  A small dose of nature like cut flowers, floral arrangements, or live wreath
  23.  Assistance for necessities to homeless, seniors, or anyone in need
  24.  Count your blessings and share them with friends and family
  25.  Gift certificate for my services

If you have other clutter free gift ideas please share them with me.

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Happy Holidays from the Helpful Organizer, Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®

©December 2014  Janine Cavanaugh, CPO® All Rights Reserved

Clutter Aerobics

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timerHave you ever heard the term clutter aerobics?  Sounds interesting, doesn’t it?  For some, I’m sure the term evokes two of their least favorite things, clutter and aerobics.  For me, it evokes a desire to crank Katy Perry on iTunes and take action.  Clutter aerobics is when you set the timer for 20 minutes and zoom around and de-clutter.  This is an inventive way to get two benefits from one activity.  As you de-clutter, you’re also getting an aerobic workout by zooming around.  The idea is to work quickly and without interruption for 20 minutes daily or at least 3 times a week.   This schedule will allow you to keep the clutter at bay and get your heart pumping, to Katy Perry, if you so choose.

Your de-clutter activities may include, putting items back where they belong, picking up items from the floor, shredding and recycling as many papers as you can, taking care of dirty and clean dishes, removing items from the kitchen counter and finding a home for them, taking care of dirty and clean clothes, picking up items from the front and back entryway, clearing off the desk, finding a place for everything that has collected on the bathroom counter tops, and clearing the kitchen and dining room tables.

One way to really make progress is to schedule your clutter aerobics on your weekly calendar.  Make a list of the de-cluttering activities you’ll work on each day or week.  The more clutter aerobics you do, the more progress you’ll make, the less cluttered your home will be.  Isn’t that worth pursuing?  Another way to really make progress is to get the whole family involved.  You may have to change your music choice to One Direction, but that’s not so bad.
©  November 2014  Janine Cavanaugh, Certified Professional Organizer®  All Rights Reserved

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Organizing is a Skill

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calendarI’m often asked, “How come some people are so much better at organizing than others?  Is there an organizing gene?”  I’m happy to say that there is no organizing gene.  Organizing is a skill, and just like other skills, some people are better at learning it than others.  For example, typing, speaking a foreign language, and playing golf are all skills.  Yet, some people master these skills much faster than other people.  It’s the same way with organizing.  Some people master it much faster than other people, but everyone can learn the skill of organizing.

The key to learning any skill is practice.  Suppose you wanted to learn how to play the piano.  What would you do?  Would you sign up for piano classes?  Would you purchase a practice keyboard?  Would you seek instruction from a professional?  Would you read up on the subject?  Would you practice, practice, practice?  Yes, you would most likely do all, or most of these things, so that you could learn and improve.

Just like with other skills you need to practice organizing.  You need to devote time and energy into organizing on a regular, preferably daily, basis.  I understand that you may not want to practice organizing, because you feel as thought the outcome of your efforts won’t last.  Unfortunately, that is the case with any skill.  What would happen if you stopped practicing the piano for 3 months?  Would the efforts of your previous practice show?  What would happen after 6 months, or 12 months?  Also, what is the outcome if a beginner stops practicing after 3 months, as apposed to an experienced piano player?  The skill level you’ve mastered makes a difference.

So, how can you practice organizing?  Listed below are a few tasks you can do daily to practice the skill of organizing.  I’d recommend concentrating on mastering one or two of these tasks, and then moving on, after a few weeks, to include one additional task, and so on.

1.  Put all dirty clothes in hampers.
2.  Put all clean clothes where they belong.
3.   Put shoes, coats, and accessories where they belong.
4.  Open and process all mail.
5.  Clean all dirty dishes.
6.  Prepare your outfit for the following day.
7.  Prepare breakfast, and lunch for the following day.
8.  Make one phone call, or do one task from your to do list.
9.  Clear flat surfaces, like tabletops, desktops, counters, dressers, and floors.
10. Have 10 minutes of uninterrupted conversation with your family.

I’d like to hear about your progress.  How is your organizing skill developing?
© October 2014  Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®  All Rights Reserved

NAPO

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Back to School Organizing Tips

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Back to school
It’s back to school time.  Did you promise yourself that this year would be different?  Did you say you were going to come up with a plan to manage all the school papers and homework?  Did you have a great idea for organizing school lunches and backpacks?  What about homework?

It can be difficult to stay organized with school things when so much happens all at once.  However, it is possible with a bit of planning and some family guidelines.  Below are 10 back to school organizing tips to help you plan and establish family guidelines that will help you stay organized.  Allow yourself time (3 weeks) to transition into these guidelines, but stick to it, and you’ll see results.

Here are 10 back to school organizing tips:

1.  Create a defined drop zone for backpacks just inside the back door, and label a location for each pack.
2. Create a vertical inbox for all incoming school papers, and assign time on your daily calendar to look at these papers.
3. Label the vertical inbox with categories that make sense to you.  For example:  school handbook; schedules; menus; contacts; events.
4. Create a clearly defined homework area for each child, and assign time on your daily calendar to review homework.
5. Create a healthy snack box where kids can grab something good to munch on, to hold them over until dinnertime.
6. Establish one family calendar to post everyone’s schedule.
7. Plan school lunches for the week on Sunday, and assign time on your daily calendar to make them the night before.
8. Pick out school clothes the night before and have them ready to go.
9. Plan breakfast for the week on Sunday and have all menu items on hand .
10. Have each child contribute as much as they can to the family guidelines.  Organizing should be a group effort.

Please share any school related family guidelines that have been successful for your family.

©September 2014  Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®  All rights reserved

NAPO

Proud member of NAPO

Organizing in a Large Family

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Helpful Organizer Newsletter – July 2014
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Side Notes:***    My website has a brand new look.  Please check it out and provide me with some feedback.  I’d love to hear what you think.

 

***    I’m sorry to report that the Leaning Connection, where I’ve taught classes for the past 6 years has closed.  However, I’m still teaching at Tri-County in Franklin, MA.  Visit my website for a complete class list and details.

 

 

***  Start with Sort is my first tip that I taped with DoubleACS, a public access TV station in Attleboro, MA.  It was a fun and exciting experience.

 

***  Maybe Box is my second tip that I taped with DoubleACS, a public access TV station in Attleboro, MA.  What do you think?

 

 

 
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Hi  Janine,

Happy summer!  I hope you’ve been able to enjoy this lovely summer weather that we’ve been having.  My organizing clients have been keeping me pretty busy this summer, but I was able to squeeze in a vacation.  I just returned from a trip to Canada, where I caught a rainbow in Niagara Falls.  If you’ve never been to see these magnificent falls, I definitely recommend it.

Large Family

Niagara Falls was one of our vacation destinations, and Toronto, Canada was another.  I have a sister who lives up there.  You may or may not know that I have several sisters.  In fact, I come from a very large family.  (If you’d like to know just how large, email me and I’ll share the double digit number with you.)Growing up in a large family taught me many valuable organizing lessons.  I’d like to share some with you.

Lessons Learned:
1.  Be responsible for your own stuff, because it could easily get lost in the shuffle.
2.  Make room for what’s important, because there isn’t enough space for surplus or unnecessary things.
3.  Everyone has to pitch in and do their share, because one Mom (no mater how super) can’t do it all, and shouldn’t have to.
4.  Put things back where you found them, because the next person who needs it, will want to be able to find it.
5.  Accumulating more than you need or use isn’t possible, because there is no room.

I’d be happy to hear the organizing lessons you’ve learned from your family.  Please share.
From,

Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®
(508)-699-6652

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