ADD Resources

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Last week I attended an amazing seminar, sponsored by the National Association of Professional Organizers-New England, focused on successful organizing strategies for people with ADD. Led by ADD Coach Victoria Ball and a panel of experts, I learned even more tips and approaches to working with clients who have ADD/ADHD.

If you or someone you know has ADD, here are some helpful resources:

Two organizing books written in an ADD-friendly way:

  • Organizing Solutions for People with ADD, Susan Pinsky
  • ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life, Judith Kolberg & Kathleen Nadeau

Websites to check out:

De-Clutter & Donate: LexFUN Consignment Sale

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Have the urge to do some spring cleaning of your basement, attic or the back of the closet? Now is the time to de-clutter…and get cash for your items at the LexFUN Consignment Sale.

LexFUN is Lexington’s Five and Under Network, an organization that offers social and educational opportunities to families with children, birth to age five. Their one-day Consignment Sale is happening Saturday, May 7th at St. Brigid’s Parish in Lexington.

As a seller you can consign toys, games, books, clothes, high chairs and other baby gear. Register online, gather and tag your items (special barcode tags), and drop them off May 5th or 6th.

Like Toy Story 3, you will have de-cluttered, and given your toys new life in a new home! (And have some extra cash in your pocket.)

Kids Artwork: From Piles to Posters

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Ah, the piles of masterpieces that your child creates! Now give them a proper display with new posters from Juxio.

Simply take photos of your child’s creations and upload them to Juxio. Then arrange in a template, and print or share. What could be easier!

Thanks to Gabby from Claiming Space for finding this new resource.

An Organizer’s Magazine Mania

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Recently I was in my attic and noticed the tall skinny bookshelf filled with back issues of Real Simple magazine. Interesting…I had forgotten all about mystash of Real Simples.

As I flipped through the issues and looked at the dates, I realized that I had many of these when we moved several years ago. I had a few issues from as early as 2000 and 2001. Yes, I paid movers to move boxes of back issues.

I remember transferring most of this Real Simple magazine collection from the family room bookshelves to the attic, in order to make more room for books. So I was using the bookshelves in the attic for their intended purpose…but did I really need all these old magazines?

My answer this time was a resounding, “no.” Why?

  • I had forgotten that the magazines were up there.
  • I couldn’t recall a time when I had gone back to an issue to look at something.
  • I guessed that I could find much of what I needed online now.
  • I could use the shelves to store other things in the attic.

I couldn’t throw the magazines out cold, so I decided to take a quick look: I skimmed the front cover and table of contents to see if there was anything worth keeping.

I pulled out some articles and a few whole issues (focused on organizing ideas). I put the organizing-related articles/issues in my office. I also scanned other articles I wanted to keep into my computer; then I could recycle the paper.

Here’s a picture of my stack. The taller pile is the one I recycled. I should have had my tall first-grader stand next to the stack for perspective – I think the stack was higher!

In the end I recycled most of the magazines. Some editions were easy to get rid of, others were harder to part with. I was surprised at how much I was attached to the issue from the month my daughter was born, for example.

What are the lessons from my magazine mania?

1. Be ruthless in purging your reading material. You probably don’t need 5 years worth of back issues of your favorite magazine.

2. Use your storage space well. Can you store your favorite books on a shelf instead of old magazines or journals?

3. Use technology. Scan articles you want to keep to your computer. Use online indexes and websites for current information, not the back issues.

4. And most important: Look in your attic at least once a year; you may be surprised what you find.

Simple Solutions: Shelves

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Often a simple solution is the best. For this client using the vertical space with shelves made a huge impact in her home.

For this room, we first emptied the bags and drawers, and sorted all the items (the client gave a lot away!). She purchased the shelving unit and found good containers to use to store the different kinds of items. It’s important to know what you want to store BEFORE getting the containers.

Check out the before and after photos:

The client says:  “Since organizing the shelves, I have a quicker and easier time cleaning up.  Everything has a place so I know where to put things. I’m not buying the same thing over and over again because I can't find it, and I stopped impulse purchases because I don't have the space to store the extra items.”

Crib & Car Seat Trade-in Event at Babies“R”Us

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Babies”R”Us and Toys”R”Us are having a trade-in event  for cribs, car seats, strollers and more. From January 28 – February 21, 2011 they are giving “customers the opportunity to trade-in any used cribs, car seats, bassinets, strollers, travel systems, play yards, toddler beds or high chairs in exchange for a 25% savings on the purchase of any new baby item, in any of these product categories, from select manufacturers.”

The trade-in event “places an emphasis on specific baby products, such as cribs and car seats that, due to safety concerns, may not be the best candidates to be handed down or resold.”

This is a great opportunity to take a look at older equipment in your home and see if you can trade it in.

You Can Get and Stay Organized!

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Recently a client wrote to me…”Just wanted to tell you that, a couple years after your initial visit, we're still organized! I hate to remember how our house was before... Happy 2011!” 

This is the best thing that a client can say to me – it means I’ve done my job. It is possible to get organized and learn the habits, tricks, and tools to help you stay organized.

If you are ready to take the first step, give me a call at 617-905-7762 or email elizabeth@thatsneatorganizing.com

Help for Hoarders

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Recently I attended a lecture by Dr. Gail Steketee, Dean of Boston University’s School of Social Work. Dr. Steketee’s work has focused on the psychopathology of compulsive hoarding and her talk discussed the symptoms of hoarding and possible interventions. The information Dr. Steketee and her team have started to piece together about hoarding was fascinating, but there is still much to learn.

If you or someone you know may have a problem with hoarding, here are some resources.

Books:

Websites:

Ready, Set, Snow (Days)

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It’s Winter in New England and we’ve had our share of snow recently. With last week’s major storm came the snow days.

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It was joyful to watch and help my daughter create Lego towns for hours during the snow storm; of course these were scattered across the living and dining room.

After the storm it was my birthday and my family had an amazing weekend full of special activities. I enjoyed every minute of the fun and ignored the laundry, Legos and emails piling up.

Needless to say, we were off our regular routine.

But that is part of life, and we’ve got to take the unexpected (snow days) and expected (birthday fun) changes to our regular routine. After all, being organized is not a constant state and the special times are what we’ll remember!

Some people say that if you are organized you miss out on the fun. If you do spend hours alphabetizing your spices then yes, life may pass you by.

But I find that generally being organized helps me enjoy the special times…because I know I can get back on track when I have to.

How to bounce back?

  • Keep your systems simple and easy to use. 
  • Have a place for everything. If you don’t know where something goes, find a place or toss it out!
  • And the biggest tip, develop your re-set routines—routines for putting things away and taking care of regular maintenance (like laundry). For more on re-setting, read my January 2009 Neat Sheet article, Resolve to Reset.

So the next time your routine is upset, roll with it and be ready to reset.

Need Some Organizing Inspiration in 2011? Calendars Are Still Available!

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smallcalendarIf you’d like to tackle an organizing project each month and start to plan ahead, our desk calendar, 12 Months of Organizing: A Quarter At a Time, can help!

Co-created with my cousin, interior designer and stylist Janna Lufkin, the calendar offers inspiring photos and simple projects.

Only a few are left, and you can purchase here or contact me.

New Year, New Calendar! Resolve to Plan Ahead

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Always feel like you are playing catch up? This year, resolve to plan ahead.

Our 2011 desk calendar, 12 Months of Organizing: A Quarter At a Time is designed to help! The calendar gives you an organizing project each month and a gentle nudge to think ahead to the next quarter. 

Co-created with my cousin Janna Lufkin, we hope you'll find that keeping ahead of things is how you're able to do what you love to do. If you start slow and decide to tackle just one project each month, you'll get the hang of it in no time.

Wishing you an organized 2011.

Making an Effective List

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Sure you can write something down, but then do you ever look at it again? Does one big list help you accomplish what you want to do?

Here’s how I make my lists work as a tool for planning and time management:

  • I create one master list for a project on my computer, making it easy to edit.  What I like about an electronic list is that it provides a place for me to quickly get out all my thoughts and then rearrange and change them later. I may print it out and cross some things off, but then it is back to the computer to update it.
  • I give the list some context with sub-headings. For example, for a renovation project I may have sections like To Call or To Research. Giving context with verbs also helps make the list actionable!
  • I break down the list into smaller more manageable tasks. This is an important part of any “big” project and makes it much more achievable. I know I’m making progress one step at a time.
  • I include some deadlines for the tasks.
  • For specific to-do’s, I put them on my schedule so they actually get done.
  • And finally, I look at my list often!

This list approach works well for me, which shouldn’t be a surprise if you’ve read Is There an Organizing Gene? I grew up seeing my Mom making and using lists all the time. Mom’s lists tended to be neatly written in black ink on pages of paper with much detail. Now that I think of it, my Dad was a list-maker too. He opted for the short-but-effective sticky note approach.

Making and using a list can be a key strategy to stay organized, but there isn’t one approach that works for everyone. The important part is to find what works for you.

What’s Your Jan Plan?

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It’s almost January! How did that happen? It’s the new year, my birthday month, and a great time to reflect on the year ahead.

What do you want to accomplish? What are your goals for the year? Write or type them out, and visit your list* often.

I’ve already started jotting down a few ideas for 2011: places I want to go, fun things I want to do with my family, goals for my business. And in the spirit of The Happiness Project, I’m going to set a few happiness goals again for myself this year.

During this holiday season, spend a little time relaxing, reflecting and then planning for the year ahead.

*Read my tips for making a list work for you!

Email Organization: 1-2-3

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Recently I wrote about how to deal with the catalogs coming into your home at this time of year.  After that post I noticed that my email was also getting quickly filled with shopping “deals” and offers.  While my catalogs were under control, my email box wasn’t.

I realized I could apply some of the same tips for dealing with catalog clutter to organizing my email:

  1. Using outlook rules, I set many of my retailer emails to go to a specific folder called “shopping”; now they don’t take up space in my in box and distract me from other tasks at hand. (Another idea I’ve heard: use a separate email address for retailer emails to keep them out of your work or main email box.)
  2. When I review the emails I delete any I know I’m not going to use right away. I can also quickly scan my new “shopping” folder and delete all the emails at once if I want.  
  3. Even better still, I took myself off several retailer email lists that I just never purchase from.

How do you keep your email in box in control? Post your tips in the comments.