Out of the Pool and Back to School

I know they don’t want to hear it, but it’s coming up fast. Summer daze allows for looser rules, more TV and video games, with later bedtimes. When all this comes to a screeching halt, it can be a very rude awakening!

You can avoid the chaos of back to school with a little planning. Get back into school mode routines during the two weeks before school is back in session. Gradually move bedtimes up to accommodate earlier rising hours to help kids reform their habits. Plan to have meals at normal times again, including breakfast for the kids. Another tactic is to use the time that would ordinarily be used for homework for reading, especially if they haven’t completed their summer list. This will help to reestablish this habit of schoolwork at home. I don’t want you to be accused of “ruining summer”, so don’t go overboard. Begin slowly and work up.

It is also time to take control of those spaces that will be used differently during the school term. Enlist the kids to clear up their rooms so they aren’t tripping over summer clutter as they run to catch the bus. Clear up the homework area, make it conducive to studying. Maybe it’s a desk in the child’s room or den; maybe it’s your kitchen table. (Kids aren’t the only ones who get lax this time of year). Eliminate as many distractions as possible to help kids focus and get the work done.

A good closet purge is in order, how can you know what school clothes they need if you don’t know what they have. Avoid the duplicates and the sock-less-ness. Kids grow like weeds so likely they’ll need a lot, don’t keep what no longer fits. Hand it down, donate it, or discard the beat up duds. You can also take a sneak peek at what they haven’t worn all summer, too. I always tell my clients, you can keep it all if you promise to stop shopping. uh-huh, thought so! Take the time to get the drawers and closet organized so that kids can find the attire they desire in their early morning stupors.

Here’s the biggie, the first day of school dry run. Choose a morning a couple of days before D-Day and run through the morning. You can either make it a game for your kids, or simply go through a checklist for your own piece of mind. The night before the actual day of school, have the kids pick out and lay out their outfits for the day. Fill their backpacks with day one essentials and place them by the door or where they would normally expect to find them. Stage your kitchen to make breakfast and lunch preparation a cinch. I overslept on my first day of high school, so I know how important it is to prepare the night before. Without the preparation, I might have been socially scarred for life or worse, a tardy on my permanent record.

You have planned, organized, and restored routines; your house is now a lean, mean, back to school machine!

Sharing Time with Others...a Message of Communication.

Now, you may argue that I am simply kvetching about bad customer service and I would concede. However, we are all concerned about wasting our time, but we rarely notice how we are wasting other's. We are forced to share time with other people all day, the bank teller, the random person who answers the phone, the person you are waiting for an e-mail from, the person in front or behind you in a line.
Here is my real life example of communication gone awry, causing shared time to be wasted. Fast food drive-thru, 8:45AM, must have caffeine! I order my large Diet Coke from the voice box on the curb. The voice says, "large diet coke, will that complete your order?" "Yes." "$2.00 at the first window." I see that the writing on the screen says large Coke, so I say, "I see that the screen says Coke, I want a Diet Coke." Voice Box says, "it's still $2.00." Fair enough, so I drive around and pay my $2.00, as there is no discount for having the sugar removed, apparently. A seemingly disembodied arm is extended from window #2 holding what I assume to be my beloved large Diet Coke. I grab it, check the lid...the "diet" button is pushed, almost there...I ask the woman who is attached to the arm, "I just want to make certain this is diet." "Yup" and the window closed. Phew! As I drive off while stripping my straw and sticking into the lid, I feel that I am ready to begin my day. At the stop light, I finally get a sip of the sweet nectar. Ugh! This is not my sweet nectar at all! I can feel the fur start to form on my teeth and that tingly feeling in my gums...this is REGULAR!!!! Spitting and sputtering throught the intersection, me, not my car, I am so angry! I gave them two opportunities to correct what I suspected may become an error in my order...two chances not to screw up my morning! So, do I turn around and get a replacement, afterall, I did pay my $2.00! Or do I toss this out and settle for a can from the vending machine at my client's office? I spin my SUV around in a parking lot masterfully pulling off the 20-point turn and head back! In my head, the various ways to play this swirl around. Ask for the manager? Point out whose error it was in a blow by blow manner in a very teacher-esque voice? Or just flat out bitchy? I pull open that glass door with a vengeance, cup in hand, saunter up to the counter and....sweetly say, can I have another cup, please, I asked for diet at the drive-thru, but got regular? The girls says sure and hands me another cup, the disembodied arm chick sashays over and say, "ohhh, that wasn't diet?" I really wanted to punch her in the head, but I wanted my firestarter beverage more, so I got my own damn drink!
My lesson here is sharing time requires good communication, not only delivering it, but receiving it, as well. Listen to what people say to you, ask questions if you don't understand it, and for Heaven's sake do it right the first time and you only have to do it ONCE!!!

Horrified by Your Mess?

It's a common question...what do you do? As I begin to tell people that I am a Certified Professional Organizer, the look of horror fades over their face. Of course, those are only the people that know what that means. Yikes! It's not like I said I was a paid assassin!

So, instead of the simple smile and nod, I get, "Oh you DO NOT want to see my...(fill in the blank) desk, kitchen, garage,office, bedroom..."
Why do you think that I care? If you are not sharing my space or one of my clients, I don't care about your desk, kitchen, garage, office, bedroom...! I will never be horrified by anyone's disorganization, chaos, or mess.

Most Professional Organizers have not taken a vow to single-handedly take on the world's disorganization. Yes, we are excited to help those who want and need assistance to get control over their space, stuff, time and lives. But, we don't randomly go around judging people's "messes."

My favorite response when I tell folks that I am a Professional Organizer...I sooo need you!
And, then, I begin to care about your mess, we will tackle it together!