August 2008 / Volume 3, Issue 5     

Wow, time really flies when you are having fun, huh? I can't believe it's August already!

It seems like it was ages ago when we first arrived in Arlington even though it was only 6 months ago. We have really settled into our new place and most things have found a home...but I thought I would share with you- I am still working on it.

I have my office finally set up AND I am thrilled that it functions for both my husband and I. It was touch and go there for a while. Love my Elfa shelving from the Container Store, maybe I'll share a pic in the future. And I have learned to love Craigslist for weeding out what we no longer need or want. Just last week I sold my bicycle, a television (both to upgrade) and a steam cleaner (no longer used it and had no space to store it).

I look at it as letting go of the past and making room for bigger things in my future. Are you holding onto things that are impeding how you live today? What can you let go of? I guarantee that it will be liberating! Enjoy the rest of your summer...and oh, if you are interested in tackling the garage, check out my guest post today at Unclutterer.com.

“Mom, where’s my spelling notebook?” “Dad, you didn’t sign my field trip permission slip and I missed it!”
“Mom, I have a book report due tomorrow and I can’t find my book.”

Does any of this sound familiar? Are you already frustrated by the morning chaos of the back-to-school routine (or lack thereof) just thinking about it? The truth is that organization is a culmination of learned skills. If we don’t teach our children those skills or exhibit them ourselves, we can’t expect them to be organized. But there are simple steps that you can take in order to build organizational systems and skills for the whole family. Here are my 9 organizing ‘lessons’ for heading back to school:

Make Peace with the Paper
Designate a basket or bin for all papers including rosters, permission slips, long term homework assignments and other school related papers that parents may need to reference.

Corral the Family Calendar
Use one and only one calendar to post all of the family events to avoid confusion. There are quite a few calendars on the market that allow a row for each member of the family for every day and make it easy to view at a glance. You can try using color-coded markers instead if you don’t mind the extra step.

Read on...

Want more? Check out my Action Challenge below.

Tools of the Trade
Fridge Mate Paper Organizer

This is a great product for corraling information related to back to school including sports and class rosters, schedules for after school activities, phone chain info, take out menu's...

It's magnetized so you can place it in your kitchen or where ever your home's command center happens to be (it comes with mounting hardware, too). It comes with a magnetic whiteboard for quick messages and tabs to make your info easy to reference.

Click here to order it online at OrganizedAtoZ.com

Action Challenge
Get it Sold!

1. Look around your space to see if you are holding onto anything that you no longer use, love or want. Do you think someone else will use, love or want it?

2. Take a few pictures and upload them to your computer.

3. Write 3 or 4 lines of info about the item, make it fun and interesting but don't let perfection get in your way here!

4. Post it on Craigslist or FreeCycle and get it sold! If neither is active in your area, check out Yahoo Groups for a yard sale, cheap sale or freecycle type group in your geographic area.

Upcoming Events
Coming soon...From Piles to Files: Paper Management Teleclass

More details coming soon!

This has been an issue of "Organizing Connection Ezine" an online newsletter about productivity and organizing for busy household managers. Your feedback is always welcome at lauren@2organizeu.com or by hitting reply.

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'organization connection ezine' ISSN #1936-0940 - copyright 2008 - Lauren Halagarda