Organize School and Papers in 4 Easy Steps

For more Works for Me Ideas, visit We Are THAT Family.

Understandably, many parents want to treasure and capture their children's journey. However, good intentions can quickly create a great area of stress for many moms and dads. The key is to be selective in what we save and organize it so it can be enjoyed and treasured. Having a system in place with limits will help you and your child make decisions as the numerous papers and artwork enter your home.

The Simple Steps


Collect it.
Have a basket or spot for each child to put the finish school papers, permission slips, communications from school that you need to look at. Be sure to put it in a spot that they can reach. Make this part of their coming home routine.

Limit it.
If you kept everything, your home would quickly become a storage site. This is a good opportunity to teach your children that it is OK not to keep everything. Get your children involved in the process to help them to learn the skills they need to help themselves as they get older.

Depending on the age of your child, work together to figure out what papers and projects will be kept and/or displayed. Maybe the keepers go on display and the rest is recycled. Typically, younger kids will want to save everything. As always, use your discretion.

If you find it hard for you and your child to make a decision right away - that's okay! Some families may prefer to keep all the items from a school year and then go back to pick out the best representatives of the whole year. Others may want to limit the collection to whatever can fit inside a designated container.


I recommend, if at all possible, making decisions as you go and use my 3 T's to help you.



-Take Out: Toss, recycle, or give away the items that are not keepers.


-Take Action: Display it for a set time period.


-Take Back: If you are keeping it, take it to the designate storage container in a reasonable timeframe, perhaps weekly, every other week or monthly.

Share it.
Be sure to spend time letting your child tell you about their work. That's why they bring it home to you!

Store it.
However you decide to store the memorabilia, take time to label the containers with the child's name, the contents, and the age or school year of the child. That way when you do want to pull something out, you can locate the items without having to search and dig through one big container.

Do you already have years of school papers and artwork piled or stuffed in large totes? Don't worry! Start from this point forward and then go back later to thin out and organize past memorabilia small steps at a time. Set an appointment with yourself (write it on your calendar now). Get your system in shape before summer starts!

Do you want more ideas for organizing, displaying and maintaining your child's school papers and artwork?

When you order the Tickler File System by June 30, 2010, I'll also send you my popular e-book,
Maintaining Childhood Treasures: A Mom's Guide to Organizing School Papers and Artwork!

Organize School Papers in 4 Easy Steps

School papers and artwork - this is an area I know many moms struggle with because I get asked about this quite a bit. I'll share what works for me. For more Works-for-Me Ideas, visit We Are THAT Family.

Here are the simple steps:

1. Collect it. Have a basket or spot for each child to put the finish school papers, permission slips, communications from school that you need to look at. Be sure to put it in a spot that they can reach. Make this part of their coming home routine.
2. Limit it. If you kept everything, you home would quickly become a storage site. Perhaps you save your favorites from each year.
3. Share it. Be sure to spend time letting your child tell you about their work. That's why they bring it home to you!
4. Store it. However you decide to store the memorabilia, take time to label the containers with the child's name, the contents, and the age or school year of the child. That way when you do want to pull something out, you can locate the items without having to search and dig through one big container.

If you have piles of artwork and school papers you have been meaning to get through and organized, set an appointment with yourself (write it on your calendar now). Get your system in shape now!

Are you ready to put an end to all the paper piles in your home? Want the help to do it? There's still time to join me and other moms on September 26, 2009 for my Paper Organizing for Busy Moms ~A Virtual Workshop~ to learn the exact systems and steps I teach my clients to eliminate those piles. Click here to learn more and to register.

9 Quick Tips for Reducing the Morning Stress! .....September Newsletter Article

Think for a moment how your family starts off the day. How would you describe the mornings in your household? Do they tend to be calm and peaceful or rushed and stressful -or, somewhere in the middle? I found that planning ahead really helps to curb the morning madness. Here are nine quick ideas to help make your mornings less of production for you and your family.

Tip #1: Get up 15-30 minutes before the kids. Give yourself time to get up and ready to go before the children need to be up. I find that when I do this I am more relaxed and able to focus on helping my children. The day is more likely to start off with conversation rather than prodding and nagging. I also feel better about myself. When I feel good about myself, it has such a positive impact on my day!

Tip #2: Make sure the kids have adequate time to get ready for school without being rushed. Note how much time it takes them to complete all their necessary morning tasks and chores. Ideally, I like to have a 15 minute cushion of downtime before they walk out the door.

Tip #3: Have the kids empty their backpacks after school, not the next morning, to avoid any last minute surprises. Designate a drop-off spot for school papers, notes or permission slips that you need to see.

The Night Before
Tip #4: Have your children layout their clothes they want to wear the next day. Make this simple step a part of their bedtime routine.

Tip #5: Make sure the backpacks and school supplies are ready to go near the door. Maybe even the shoes and jackets, too. During the winter month, I get all the snow gear out and ready to go.

Tip #6: What about the lunches? Can they be made ahead of time? Does money need to go to school to pay for hot lunch?

Tip #7: Determine the breakfast menu and set the bowls and cereal out after dinner.

Tip #8: Develop a bedtime routine that works for your family and stick to it the best you can. A rested child is able to focus and learn better than a tired one. Tip #9: Double check your calendar, including the car pool schedule. What tasks do you want to accomplish the next day?

How to Prevent Child Identity Theft

Tips provided by TrustedID.

1) Shred all documents that contain your child’s personal information before throwing them out.

2) Keep personal information in a secure area in your home.

3) Monitor incoming mail in your child’s name. Marketing letters, pre-approved credit card offers or even debt collection notices may not be random consumer mailing – these could be red flags that your child’s identity is being misused.

4) Teach your children not to give out personal information without your permission, and to be careful about publishing information about themselves online.

5) Teach your kids to play games only from trusted sources, and to ask your permission before downloading free software.

6) Try requesting your child’s credit report. You should be told that no such report exists yet, but if you do receive a report, take that as a sign that someone has tried to apply for credit using your child’s Social security number, and follow up accordingly. If your child does have a credit report, request a Minor Alert which works like a credit freeze, stopping any third party from getting access to your child’s credit report.

7) Do not carry your child’s Social Security number in your wallet. If necessary, make a photocopy of the card and cut off the last four numbers.

8) Be careful with whom you share your child’s personal information. For example, if your child’s after school sports program requires a copy of a birth certificate and/or Social Security card, ask if the coach has had a criminal and financial background check done by an independent or hiring source. Show the papers to the coach and then put them in a sealed envelope, and write your name across the sealed flap so you can tell if it has been opened when it is returned to you. Initial the back of each page so you can tell if you got the original back at the end of the season. Ask where these papers will be stored during the season.

Back-To-School Routines

Making that back-to-school transition can be tough. Getting the kids (and myself) back into the routine before school starts works for me. For more Works-for-Me Ideas, visit We Are THAT Family.

I found that it's helpful to break it down and look at all the mini routines. For example:

1. Bedtime: Start the bedtime routine about two weeks prior to the first day of school. The body takes time to adjust and helping your kids get back on track ahead of time will allow them to be more focused and less physically stressed once school starts.


2. Morning: What do you want your children to accomplish before they head off to school for the day? How much time do they need to complete all the tasks without being rushed? Now is the time to figure that out in case you have to adjust the wake-up time. I like to have a cushion of time so the kids can play a bit before heading out the door.


3. Chores: What tasks and chores can your kids do around the house on a regular basis? Perhaps start a chore chart prior to school to get them into the swing of things before other new activities start.

Your family might consider having a family meeting so you can talk with your kids about the routines and expectations during the school year. Take this time to discuss interests or extra activities the kids will participating in during the fall as well. Is it all realistic for your family and for the ages of your children? Will they have time for homework, playing with friends, and good old down-time?

If you are determined to start this school year off right, join me for my complementary teleclass, Prepared, Organized and Focused: 7 Great Back-to-School Tips for Moms to Start the Year off Right! as I share the top seven tips that will help you get focused, organized and ease the stress during this busy time and beyond.

Six Tools to Relieve Your Child's "Back-to-School-itis"

By Charlotte Reznick PhD, author of The Power of Your Child's Imagination: How to Transform Stress and Anxiety into Joy and Success

http://www.imageryforkids.com/

For some kids, going back to school at the end of summer can be traumatic. Anticipating a new teacher, classmates, grade, or school can trigger fear, anxiety, and depression--not to mention very real physical symptoms such as stomachaches, headaches, and insomnia.

Fortunately, your child has a whole toolbox to draw from--in her own imagination. Here are six imagination tools parents can use with young children to relieve "back-to-school-itis."

Teach her to balloon breathe. With her hands around her navel, have her breathe slowly and deeply into her lower belly so it presses into her hands like an inflating balloon. The Balloon Breath has dramatic calming effects and facilitates a waking state of focused concentration and receptivity to positive suggestions. This one tool makes all the other ones easier.

Visit his special place. This is a safe private place within your child's inner world where he can work out problems or take a mini-vacation from stress and worry. He can invite a wise Animal Friend into his special place to talk to and help him, or he can even dig for a treasure box there that contains the antidote to his fear.

Draw the fear. Putting an image on paper: (1) makes her fear of separation realer and less frightening than keeping it inside, and (2) makes her fear less likely to grow because there is a concrete picture to work with. Once she has a picture, she can talk to it, find out why it's trying to scare her, strike a bargain with it, surround it with a soothing color bubble, and so on.

Talk to his symptom. When a child suffers from a worry headache or stomachache, these three questions can help eliminate the pain. Have him do deep balloon breathing (diaphragmatic breathing), then ask: (1) What color is it? (2) What shape is it? (3) How heavy is it? After more breaths, ask him again. Continue to breathe and question in rounds. His pain will likely change or disappear. If it doesn't completely go away, ask the ache what it wants him to know, do, or understand to release any more bits of pain.

Picture the future. Artwork is also an effective starting point when you're working with clear end-goals, like getting a good night's sleep or reducing a fear. Have your child draw two drawings--how things are now and how she'd like them to be. Hang the picture in her bedroom; this is a great reminder of her desired goal and the first step toward getting there.

Encourage drama. For kids whose nature tends toward drama, acting out their worries and troubles is a wonderful way to release them. Let them play it out--with puppets, with their bodies, with anything their imagination suggests. It's amazing what creative solutions come up when given free reign.

* * * * *
Charlotte Reznick is a child educational psychologist, an associate clinical professor of psychology at UCLA, and author of a new book, The Power of Your Child's Imagination: How to Transform Stress and Anxiety into Joy and Success (Perigee, 2009, $14.95). Receive Dr. Reznick's Top Ten For Free: What Kids Most Want and Need From Their Parents here.

Back to School: Tips for Shopping for School Supplies and Clothes

Back-to-school time is a busy and often stressful period for many families. One of the tasks that is usually tackled first is the school shopping. Take some time to plan ahead before you rush out to the stores.

First determine what you need before you start school shopping. If you take the time to do an inventory, you may find out that you don't need to buy as much as you thought (saving money is great!). Making lists will also help you save time at the store and reduce your stress.

School Supplies
Get the supply lists for all your children. Most schools now make these lists available to parents in school mailings, the school website, or at the local stores.Determine what supplies you actually need to buy. I believe this is a great opportunity to teach your children that there is a big difference between need and want.

There is an excitement for kids to have all new stuff for the new school year but what are we teaching them if we have perfectly usable folders and notebooks at home that end up becoming more clutter? Chances are, if you have children returning to school, some of their supplies sent home at the end of the year will be ready to go back.

I tend to buy a few extra supplies to have on hand at home. Check your inventory and the supply lists. What do you need to buy? Get the kids involved and let them create the list.

Clothes
Again, take inventory of the clothes and shoes at home. You might need to have your kids try stuff on to determine what fits and what they have outgrown. Have a bag ready for donations. Drop the donations off on your way to the store.If you do need to stock up on clothes, make a list of exactly what you need. If it will be a while before the weather changes, wait to buy the warm season clothes when they are on sale.

Back-to-school time doesn’t have to be stressful. With some planning and organization, you can help make a great start to a new school year!

P.S. I'm hosting a free teleclass on Thursday, September 3rd called Prepared, Organized and Focused: 7 Great Back-to-School Tips for Moms to Start the Year Off Right! It's free, you just have to register!

Traveling With Children: I Will Not Over-Pack This Time!

I've said it before but this time I am determined!

I will not over-pack for our family vacation. What makes this year different from the last 11 years? This year I have a plan and I'm sticking to it!






Here's My Simple Plan:

1. Use my packing list.


2. Stick to my packing list.


3. Resist the urge to pack one more thing "just in case."


4. Blog about my plan to give myself some accountability.


5. Reflect on the benefits of not over-packing.

We have been going on this "Up North" vacation by the lake for 11 years now (8 with years with children) and I have perfectly clear idea of what we need and what we don't need. So no more excuses for me! I'm just going to focus on why I don't need to or want to over pack.

The less stuff I take with, the less I have to deal with going and coming home. That means more time to focus on the important stuff...family!

Inexpensive Container Ideas for Organizing

You don't have to spend a lot of money when it comes to organizing and sometimes no money at all! I like to use containers that I have around the house when it comes to organizing. Filling containers is the forth step in my simple organizing STUFF System™.

To the right is a drawer in my kitchen. The front checkered cardboard box came from a cheese gift basket. I keep my chip clips in a handy location because we use them so much. The back two baskets were odd and ends from my collection of containers. The items I don't use as much are stored in the back.

I believe I picked up this inexpensive basket pictured on the left at Goodwill or a rummage sale. It works perfectly for my home video cassettes. I keep the tapes right by my photo albums, scrapbooks and picture DVDs.

To the right is a picture of my daughter's "hair stuff drawer". I made use of a set of decorative boxes and their lids. Now, this drawer is not always this tidy! When it gets out of hand, we sit down together to resort and reorganize.

To the left is the cabinet in the main bathroom houses mostly kid stuff. On the top self to the left, I simply covered a cardboard box with wrapping paper--that one holds medicine. The container on the top right holds first aid items. I've made use of another decorative box and the lid on the bottom shelf. Extras are kept in the box and the lid holds regularly used items.

Do you have any clever and inexpensive organizing ideas that work for you?

For more Works-For-Me Ideas, visit We Are THAT Family.

Learn how you can get your copies of my special reports just for moms, 5 Must-Know Organizing Tips For Busy Moms and The Clutter-Free Gift Giving Guide HERE.

Camping and Organizing

We took the kids camping this weekend. I like camping, but one weekend a year is just right for me.

I remember as a kid setting up the tent in our backyard. I loved getting everything just right. Not much as changed and I'm now in charge of packing everything up for the weekend-what a surprise, right? In fact, my husband now knows that’s my job and ‘lets’ me do it.

When we get to the site, he sets up the tent and I unpack the rest and get stuff set up. My 7 year old daughter loves to help me. Half way through the weekend, I do a “reorganizing of the site” and my husband just rolls his eyes at me (I can’t help it!). I’ve also learned to let a lot go and just enjoy the time with my family. The kids are going to remember the fun stuff, not the tidy campsite.

A Quick List for the 4th of July

Happy 4th of July! Thank you to all who work and fight for the freedoms I enjoy!

Our family headed out to watch some fireworks last night. I thought I would quickly list what I brought along in the hopes it might help one mom avoid that "I wish I would have brought......."

1. Bug spray!


2. Blanket and chairs
   
3. Snacks and beverages
   
4. Long pants and jackets, just in case


5. Plastic bag for garbage


6. Camera
   
7. Glow sticks - 12 for $1 at target!
   
8. Lots of friends!

Here's my "I wish I would have brought" items: balls and Frisbees of some sort. The kids ended up improvising with a stuffed toy. Just goes to show you that you should never underestimate your kids' imagination for self entertainment.

Don't Over-Schedule your Summer and Family

Allow for an adequate amount of free time this summer and be flexible. It's not your job to entertain your children every minute of every day. Empower them to think of possibilities and to be creative.

Richard Carlson Ph.D, states in his book, Don't Sweat the Small Stuff with Your Family, "Children who have too many opportunities, choices, scheduled activities, and things to do are often the ones who are the most susceptible to boredom." He adds, "You'll be doing your kids a tremendous favor by teaching them that there's nothing wrong with not having something to do every minute of every day."

What about you? I admit, I'm keeping my kids pretty busy this summer, but we do have down time, too. I find that if I don't plan ahead for certain activities, they just won't get on the calendar. I also love last minute surprises and I can be flexible. Yesterday as a special treat, I took the kids to see Ice Age 3. Swim lessons were cancelled because of the cold!

"I'm bored. There's nothing to do!": Ideas to Eliminate that Phrase from Your Home This Summer

The Works-For-Me theme over at We Are THAT Family this is week is "Mom, I'm Bored." Moms are sharing their tips to beat the summer boredom and to save your sanity.

First, I wanted to share an idea I heard from my friend. Her sister-in-law uses this tactic with her six children. She compiles a list of age-appropriate chores for each child. If they come to her saying they are bored, a chore is chosen from their list. Her thinking is that if they can not think of something to do, she will gladly think of something for them to do.

I could see myself doing this. I have to admit though, I had flashbacks of my childhood. My mother would write chores on pieces of paper and put them in a basket for me and my brother to pick from. OK, I actually didn't mind this - sometimes. But she would often do this when we had snow days. Talk about taking the fun out of skipping a day of school!

A second idea is to create a list of the activities your family would like to do during the summer. The list could include small and big ideas. I did this with my kids a couple weeks ago and they were so excited. They even continue to think of more ideas to add to the list.

What about you? How do you beat the summer boredom in your home? For more ideas, jump over to We Are THAT Family.

No TV for the Summer - Could Your Family Do It?

No TV for the whole summer?

Dave and his family at Home School Dad does this. What about you. Would this be something you would make an effort to do? Could you do it?

We don't watch a lot of TV but I do enjoy watching a movie with the kids. I think I could elminate a good amount of TV time.

I'd love to know your thoughts.

Organizing and Controling Children's Books

If you find that bookshelves are just not working for your kids, try storing their books in an open basket or container. This makes it easy for kids to flip through and easily find a book they want. This also makes returning books simple.

As you can see from my picture, this system also puts a limit on the number of books. I rotate my children's books and store the others in their closets in containers. When we pull out a new selections of books, they love looking at the "new" ones all over again.

Less stuff out means less stuff to clean-up!

My Top Tip for Organizing With Children

Tackling a messy room can be overwhelming for children. Give your child specific directions. Instead of saying “clean up your room”, try

• make the bed


• put your dirty clothes in the hamper


• put the books back on the bookshelf
  
• gather all your school papers into one pile


• put your clean clothes away

By giving you child specific directions, you are also helping to break down the project into smaller, doable steps.

For more Works-For-Me Tips, visit We Are THAT Family.

Label Your Stuff

I've been busy catching up on some organizing projects around the house. When you live in Wisconsin, you tend to have lots of time indoors during the winter to do such projects. Labeling works for me. For more Works-For-Me ideas, visit Rocks in My Dryer.

Make sure to label as much as possible when organizing. This can sound minor but this step can be very helpful. Imagine taking the time to get items organized and stored away in containers. Months or a years later, you want to retrieve something. How many containers will you have to go through to find what you are looking for? When things are labeled, you don't have rely on your memory so much - I like that!

Labels also help with items used on a daily basis. Labeling not only helps you to retrieve items quickly but it also makes returning items to their home that much easier. Labeling comes in handy for everyone in the household.

I've been catching up on some labeling around the house. Here's my latest project - my shoes. I used the Brother P-Touch 1280 label maker. I shared my thoughts on this product here.



Labels work great for children's toys and belongings. I create toy custom labels for my private clients; each label has the word, a colored picture and is laminated.

Having the word and picture is especially useful for pre-readers and those just learning to read. But these labels also help out the babysitter and maybe Dad, too. Kids aren’t the only ones who shove and stuff thing where they don’t belong.

Labeling helps to retrieve and return items to their homes quickly. It works for me.

Helping Your Child Organize Their Thoughts

If you've been reading my blog or attended any of my teleclasses, you know I like to use a mind map. A mind map is a tool that helps get your thoughts out of your head on to paper, it's brainstorming really. I use a mind map when I am working on a project, an article, a new talk or teleclass, or just trying to work through a problem.

I remember learning this in junior high school to help with my writing assignments. It was referred to as a mind web. I even showed my daughter last summer but I didn't go into detail. One of those things I added to my list, "I really should take the time to....".

Last week I stopped into school at the end of the day and sat in on my daughter's first grade Language Arts class. (Stopping into school is also one those things I really should take the time to do more). Her teacher was having the class start a new writing assignment. And to my great excitement, she had them start with a mind web!

I have to get off track here for a bit and tell you why I LOVE my daughter's teacher.

1. She is great with the kids-caring but has expectations.


2. She's organized!


3. She takes the time to answer my questions and communicates what's going on in the classroom.
   
4. She draws cats on my daughter's papers because she knows that's what excites her.


5. She's really organized!


6. She lets the kids go to the bathroom when they need to. Why don't more teachers do this?
   
7. She challenges the kids at their individual levels.


8. And, finally, she's organized! She's also really sweet.

Back to the mind web. So I'm totally into this class now and I look over at my daughter, who also is obviously into it, too because she is sitting on the edge of her seat, with her pencil in her mouth (of course), smiling. It hits me because it's the end of the day-they just came in from last recess-she really does love school (I did not like elementary school!).

The children were asked to write about someone they really love or care about - think Valentine's Day. This is how her teacher had the kids use a mind web for their writing project:

1. Draw a circle in the middle of the paper and write the name of the person you want to write about.
2. Then draw four lines out from the center circle. These will be four reasons why you love that person.
3. Then, write two details for each of the four reasons.

So for example, my daughter wrote about her Grammy (that's my mom).

"I love my Grammy because she played games with me like tag and hide-and-go seek. I also love her because she read books to me, like I Love You When and the Bible.

Doing a simple mind web helped the children brainstorm and organize their thoughts. It helps them break writing down into individual steps. I love that! What a life-long skill.

The Morning Rush: 9 Tips to Reduce the Stress

I originally wrote this post in the fall for my Back to School Series. Now that we are in the middle of winter, it seems the morning madness is creeping back at our house. I am reminded to go back to those routines that work for me. For more Works-for-Me-Wednesday Ideas, stop by Rocks in my Dryer.

How does your family start their day off? How would you describe your mornings? Do they tend to be calm and peaceful or rushed and stressful? If you said the latter, here are some tips that might help make the mornings less of production for you and your family.

1. Have your children layout their clothes the night before.


2. Make sure the backpacks and school supplies are ready to go near the door.


3. Determine the breakfast menu and set the bowls and cereal out after dinner.


4. Give yourself time to get up and ready before the children need to be up.


5. Make sure the kids have adequate time to get ready for school without being rushed.


6. Develop a bedtime routine that works for your family and stick to it.


7. Empty the backpacks after school, not in the morning to avoid any last minute surprises.


8. Double check your calendar, including the car pool schedule, the night before.


9. Help your children to learn how to manage their own schedule. An important goal for me as a parent is to help my children become independent and responsible. I believe consistent routines help with this.

Once you feel your child is able (about age 5-7), create a check-list of tasks they must complete in the morning in order to walk out the door and be off to school on time. As parent, be there to help, teach, and support. Remember, perfectionism is NOT the goal.

Every Child Has a Thinking Style

I really love this book! If you and your child do not see eye to eye on organizing, you might want to check this book out.

Lanna Nakone, Professional Organizer and researcher in brain types presents 4 distinct thinking styles for children. Each has its own strengths, weaknesses and preferences. She explains how parents can tailor's a child's environment to help them learn, thrive and achieve - including organization.

Lanna is also the author of another fantastic book, Organizing for Your Brain Type.