Support your Student’s Learning by Keeping School Supplies Organized

Keep School Supplies Simple for Young Children

For young children, homework often involves the use of crayons, colored pencils, stickers, colored paper and the like. Keep a small amount of each of these in a handy caddy or a desk organizer. Choose a product which has space for writing utensils and paper. Keep this caddy on hand where your child does homework. An important step in organizing school supplies is to have your student put their tools back into the caddy when they are finished. For example, a sixteen pack of crayons is plenty (vs. a box of 64), your child will be able to make decisions faster and clean-up will be a cinch! Keep it simple. There is no need to create an elaborate

back to school. homework, school supplies, student organizing

5 Simple Self-Care Ideas for Busy Moms

Self-care is so important for all caregivers

Being a mom may be one of the best jobs in the whole world, but it’s definitely one of the hardest as well. Most often we are so preoccupied with our children that we completely forget to do something nice for ourselves and thus unwind all the accumulated stress. Unfortunately, lack of self-care not only has negative consequences on our health and general well-being, but on our children as well since they can feel our frustration and discontent. In order to help you be the best mom and still manage to take good care of yourself, we’ve prepared several simple self-care ideas for you to take a look at. Enjoy!

motherhood, Self-Care, the caregiver

Making the Summer-to-Fall Transition: Prepare Your Home Before Winter Sets in

The end of summer is all about change. Leaves are starting to fall, the weather’s just beginning to cool (okay, at least it’s less hot). The kids are back in school, and everyone settles into familiar and busy daily routines. Soon, you won’t have as much time for those little household jobs that’ll pay off later – or cost you some money if they’re neglected – so do yourself a favor: put down the TV remote, pull on your sweatpants and t-shirt, and get ‘em done now.

Clean Inside and Out

The end of summer is a good time to clean and organize your house, room by room. As your family begins to transition to fall clothing, start putting away the summer wardrobes. Store them safely in secure plastic containers, especially if they’ll be spending the winter in the attic or basement. Put away the doo-dads you picked up on vacation or your kids brought home from summer camp. If things have really gotten out of hand, you might consider having a professional home organizer help you tackle the clutter.

fall cleaning, home maintenance, preventative maintenance

Professional Organizer’s Guide to Writing Thank You Notes

A Professional Organizer’s Guide to Writing More Thank You Notes

I am a big fan of appreciation and thanking someone warmly for a gift or a kind act. I love receiving handwritten thank you notes (I don’t knock email notes either) because it means someone took the time to let me know they both received the gift and are favorably acknowledging the efforts made on their behalf. A personal piece of correspondence is the best kind of mail to get. It’s a treasure in the sea of junk mail, catalogs, and bills. I especially adore a thank you note that points out something spot-on about the item and/or something special about your relationship with that person – bonus points!

Apparently, I am not alone. An article in the New York Times, “You Should Send That Thank You Note You’ve Been Meaning to Write” from July 20, 2018, agreed that people like getting thank you notes. Seriously, who would not like getting a thank you?

gratitude, Professional Organizer, thank you notes

Three Stress Reducing Strategies for The Caregiver

It’s happened. You’ve received that phone call you’ve been dreading for years now. Your parent or beloved relative is ill. It’s time for you to help out, fill in, assume the role of the caregiver. You are probably feeling scared, anxious, overwhelmed. Perhaps you are feeling a whole slew of feelings you can’t even name at the moment. Take a deep breath, you CAN do this. Here are three strategies which will lighten your load.

Caregiver Strategy: Take Notes

Take copious notes from the beginning. As a caregiver you may attend many doctor’s appointments with your loved one. You may spend a lot of time in the hospital. You may need to arrange care providers and follow up with doctors. Take note of doctor’s names, contact information

declutter and thrive, elder care, stress reduction, the caregiver

Top Ten Dorm Room Must-Haves

My eldest child will be moving back to campus next month to start her sophomore year. Just over a year ago, we were up to our eyeballs in Pinterest and other websites with tips on what students need for their dorm rooms. First off, let me just say that, unless your kid is rooming with two friends and they have completely coordinated their color scheme and décor—or they’ve got a single room—there is no way their room will ever look like a Pinterest board!

A dorm room is going to be their home for nine months, so it should reflect their personality, be practical but comfortable, and not too cramped—a place they’ll sleep, study, eat, and socialize in. Most likely the university will provide the minimum: a bed, a desk, and a chair. Everything else is on you.

Here’s the “Top Ten” list of items that are beyond the basics (e.g., bedding).

College, college students, dorm organizing, dorm room, dorm room must haves, must-haves

5 Things You Need to Know Before You Move

Moving can be stressful and disruptive, so if you have a move on the horizon – use these five strategies to save yourself a lot of headache! Recently, my family moved to a new house just minutes from our home town. Here are some of my biggest take-aways for making any move easier.

Declutter Way Ahead of Time

Who wants to pack and move old and unwanted items and outgrown clothes? We certainly did not!

We began decluttering several months before our move. Over time, we decluttered every space in the house. I worked with both of my sons individually and donated old toys and clothes which no longer fit. When we were finished, their bedrooms

decluttering, Dolly.com, moving, U-Haul

How to Bring Your Goals Closer With a Vision Board

What is a Vision Board and how can it help you reach a goal?

A vision board is simply a visual expression of a goal or outcome you wish to reach. Many interior designers use vision boards to give concrete layout and color scheme ideas to clients who want to transform a space. In the context we are using vision boards, we are giving form to a state of mind or goal. It can also bring understanding to shifts in our lives where we perceive that something is off but are not quite sure

Alison Grabicki, Goals, the easily distracted, vision boards

How I Became a Professional Organizer – MARGIE FORTMAN

Becoming a professional organizer has been the smoothest, most enjoyable job introduction I have ever experienced, because what I do for clients is an extension of what I instinctively do elsewhere in my life everyday—organize and simplify!

I remember, as a child, organizing my books by height on the bookshelf and rearranging my bedroom furniture to reflect my changing tastes and needs as I grew older.

becoming a professional organizer, home organizing, margie fortman

Declutter Your Desk in Just 5 Minutes

In our recently published book: Declutter and Thrive: Overcoming 6 Common Disorganization Types to Reveal Your Best You, one of the types we described is The Overburdened Employee – for whom clutter and disorganization at work is a daily struggle, negatively impacting their career.

Work with a professional organizer to reset your office or desk space. Then use the tasks listed in the infographic below

declutter and thrive, paper clutter, productivity, the overburdened employee

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