*** With the holidays fast approaching I’d like to provide you with my list of consumable gift ideas. By giving gifts that can be used up, we are supporting a clutter-free holiday season.
*** What is your favorite organizing product? Please share.
*** I’ve started blogging! Please check out my blog articles on my website.
*** Do you have a question on organizing that you’d like my advice or opinion on? If so, please ask, and if I think others would benefit from the question, I’ll post it on the ‘Question of the Month’ section on my website
PS: What do you think of my caricature?
Hi Janine,
Happy Fall! The days are getting shorter, the weather is getting cooler, and soon we’ll be gathering with family for the holidays. I’m looking forward to that, and I hope you are also. As many of you know, I come from a large family, and they’re often an inspiration to me in my organizing profession. Here are two stories that were inspired by my nieces.
Practice, Practice, Practice
My 7 year old niece has been asking if she could learn to play the piano for a while. Her parents decided to let her give it a go, and signed her up for piano lessons. Luckily for them, she loves it, and eagerly practices every day.The skill of organizing is similar to my niece learning to play the piano. Like her, you may be better off signing up for lessons with a professional instructor (me), or not. That is your call. But, definitely, you’ll need to practice every day in order to see any improvement. Also, just as my niece needs to repeat her lessons until she has mastered them, you’ll need to repeat your organizing tasks until you’ve mastered them.
Would you like some organizing instructions and lessons? If yes, please email me.
Putting Away
My almost 3 year old niece is a different story. She’s a little rascal. One of her favorite activities is to dump. Just recently, she dumped all the clean, folded clothes out of the laundry basket. Dumping is fun and easy. It’s the putting away that’s the hard part.
As adults, we may not dump things out, but we certainly take things out of cupboards, closets, and drawers. We remove things from our purse, wallet, or work bag. Let’s face it, our days are spent taking things out and putting things away.
Are you asking, what does this have to do with organizing? Well, the key to staying organized is to put things back in the same place again, and again, and again.
Are you good at dumping? Need help putting away? If yes, let’s talk!
For a complete list of my classes check my website.
From,
Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®
(508)-699-6652
If you’d like to share this email message with someone, please click on the Forward email button below. Thank you and enjoy the remainder of your fall!
Tip: Have a designated area to hold ongoing projects. Use a project box, shelf or container to hold the tools, materials, instructions, and notes necessary to complete your project. You may need more than one area to house different ongoing projects.
Tip: Keep a child memory box for each child in an easily accessible place. A child memory box is a container that is used to store memory items that you wish to preserve. Some items that may be worth preserving are report cards, mementos, special greeting cards, and meaningful school papers.
Side Notes:*** I’m happy to report that I’ve been in two local newspapers since my last newsletter. I was interviewed for an article in the Valley Breeze special spring edition in April 2013, and for the Sun Chronicle Living Well section, July 9, 2013 issue.
*** I was also a guest with Jay Rogers on SoMa Radio, a local cable radio show at AM 1320 WARL in Attleboro, MA. My show aired on Wednesday, July 12, 2013.
*** I’ve started blogging! Please check out my blog articles on my website.
*** Do you have a question on organizing that you’d like my advice or opinion on? If so, please ask, and if I think others would benefit from the question, I’ll post it on the ‘Question of the Month’ section on my website
PS: What do you think of my caricature?
Hi Janine,
Happy Summer! I hope you’re able to take advantage of the wonderful summer weather and the relaxed environment the summer creates. Especially since the mad rush for back to school will be in full swing soon. I have a few back to school tips for those who are interested, look on my website.
Legos & Labels
Were you able to get away this summer? I was fortunate enough to take a summer vacation. My husband and I went to 3 different spots in Missouri, and while on the plane I read an article about David Beckham. Did you know he’s really into Legos? While reading I was reminded of a client of mine. I helped her organize her son’s room and his large Lego collection. He liked them sorted by theme, so we put different themes into different containers. That action would have been futile unless we labeled them. We labeled the containers in two ways, with words and stickers that related to the themes. Labeling is an important part of organizing, because it clearly indicates where an item belongs, and reinforces where an item needs to be returned. Labeling is also helpful when more than one person is using an item. Do you think David Beckham let’s his son’s play with his Legos?If you’d like some assistance with using labels to help you stay organized, please email me.
To Do Lists
I’m a list person. I like creating lists and marking off what I’ve completed. It leaves me with a real sense of accomplishment. What about you? However, one important part of creating a to do list is to prioritize the list. This crucial step helps me concentrate on what’s important, but not forget all the rest. Although, I’m a paper and pen list maker, most people are going digital now-a-days. If you’re one of them, here are a few websites to assist you with your list making: Mind Tools,Toodledo, Basecamp.
For a complete list of my classes check my website.
From,
Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®
(508)-699-6652
https://helpfulorganizer.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/images.jpeg176286Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®https://helpfulorganizer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/15-Years-LOGO.jpgJanine Cavanaugh, CPO®2013-08-01 02:12:392022-12-12 17:45:05Legos & Labels and To Do Lists
Tip: When doing back to school shopping, always shop with a list. Go to the store with a clear idea of what you need and work from the supply list provided by the school. Stay focused, limit your time browsing and stick to your list. This will prevent over buying and impulse buying. It’s also helpful to take inventory of the school/office supplies you already have at home before heading to the store. You may already have some of the supplies that you thought you needed to purchase.
https://helpfulorganizer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/15-Years-LOGO.jpg00Janine Cavanaugh, CPO®https://helpfulorganizer.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/15-Years-LOGO.jpgJanine Cavanaugh, CPO®2013-08-01 01:32:302016-04-26 01:16:43Back to school
*** I’ve started blogging! Please check out my 
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