Archive for Children – Page 2

The O-C Connection

Posted by Carolyn on

May 13, 2009

.. And we are not talking Orange County here folks.

This is “end of year” season. The concerts, open houses, school events, choir performances, track meets are coming at me at such a fast pace my online calendar and handheld device can barely keep up.

Oh, that’s right. It’s May again. I should have known. It happens every May and September.

Sound familiar? When events collide all at once to load up our scheduling demands that “O” word often creeps into our vocabulary – Overwhelm.

Counter with with “C” word – control. The more control you can muster the more easily you will glide through this maze of events like an organizing time professional. Anticipation will help with the control. Look out to the next couple of weeks and see what’s coming. The more you can anticipate the less likely things will catch you off guard and the more likely you are to feel in control.

Follow up with the “R” word – Relax. This too will pass. Summer is coming. And beside, the kids will only be young once. Enjoy.

Home Organizing

Tags : Children, Family Manager, Time Management

The Ten Minute Challenge

Posted by Carolyn on

May 11, 2009

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The ten minute challenge is one of my favourite organizing techniques. It’s great for getting kids involved in a daily clean up and when used regularly, is highly effective at keeping one’s home organized.

Give each person in your home a bag – the new recycled shopping bags are great for this. Let everyone know they have 10 minutes to fill their bag with items that are not in their homes and need to return to wherever that home is.

A common variation on this strategy is to fill the bag with items that the individual is no longer using, no longer wants, fits etc. This is a great way to show children that items we are finished with can be cleared out regularly and passed on to other children.

Home Organizing

Tags : Children, managing mess, mess, organizing strategies

Kids Grow – Clothes Collections Don’t Need To

Posted by Carolyn on

April 1, 2009

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It’s officially spring. If you live in the northern hemisphere, like me, your days are getting longer and warmer. If you live in the southern hemisphere (a big shout out to our African readers) your days are getting shorter and cooler. Whichever the case, the seasons are changing and so are our kids’ clothing needs.

Have you noticed how children grow? We feed them, hydrate them, make sure they get to sleep on time, provide them with lots of hugs and kisses and presto – they grow. Have you ever noticed how the clothes don’t grow with the children?

Very small children grow out of their clothes so quickly, you may find yourself clearing out the too small garments monthly for awhile. Soon it moves to every few months and then settles out at about every half year. There isn’t a better time to do a major clear out than spring and fall.

Be ruthless, just like in your own closet. If your children don’t like the clothes, won’t wear them you might as well get them out of the way (the clothes that is) as they just become clutter. Here in Ontario there are several clothing resellers where “gently used” clothes and live a second or third life and provide you with some money for the next size required. If giving them away is your choice, find the benefactor that meets your needs and purge away.

If the clothes are to be stored for younger children be aware that children’s tastes are different. I don’t recommend what I did – and have become wiser for the experience. I stored my gender neutral daughter’s clothes for her 6 year younger brother. I would have been better off selling them when she was done with them. The fabric ages and in 6 years the elastics were perished. Then there was to issue of style and taste!

Get the kids involved in reviewing the clothes so that they understand basic sorting, decision making and organizing strategies. You can make it a game, put a reward incentive at the end and get them to pick the benefactor of the too small items. They may not thank you today – but they will thank you for those skills later in life.

Home Organizing

Tags : Children, clothes, organizing clothes

More on the Open and Closed Case

Posted by Carolyn on

February 26, 2009

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In visiting other exhibitors at the National Home Show, I have been very impressed with the quality of storage solutions available to home owners. In my mind I have chosen new clothes storage several times over in each of the styles available from each of the closet manufacturers.

It brings to mind, however, the difference in organizing styles the all of us have. Some of us are folders; others are tossers and droppers. Some of us like things quiet and all the same in storage styles which others, less visual by nature, don’t even notice if one container is a different colour to the next.

If you are looking at storage systems for your clothes, try and figure out what your style is. Match up your new system to that style. There are no rules that say clothes have to be folder when put away. With my own two children, I’m happy if the clothes just end up in the drawers at all. Sliding baskets are great for the tosser and droppers so that they can toss and drop into the basket to their hearts content. Open storage is great for those of us who don’t like to have to hunt for the right drawer for each object.

So make your life a little easier and match up your storage with your organizing style.

Home Organizing

Tags : Children, clothes

Valentines’ Cards

Posted by Carolyn on

February 11, 2009

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Has your young son or daughter finished preparing their Valentine’s cards for their class mates yet? Ever wonder what to do with the left over few cards from the box. Like many of us you probably wish you could hang on to them for next year so they could be used but don’t want to add them to the paper clutter in your home. Here’s a couple of different ideas. Hopefully one will fit your home.

Store them with your craft supplies and use them for craft projects.
Send them to your children’s daycare so they can use them for craft projects.
Keep a box of gift cards and greeting cards and add them to this box.
If your Christmas decoration box is easily accessible, store them in there. They will be ready to pull out when you put next year’s Christmas decorations away.

Home Organizing

Tags : Children, Paper, Valentines Day

Project Control – Put a Lid on It!

Posted by Carolyn on

February 3, 2009

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Have you got a big project underway at home that is getting the better of you? Is your organization falling apart as this project mushrooms all over the house?

Take a tip from the design world to help get a big project under control. Find a container big enough to hold all the bits and pieces and put the whole project into the container.

For a child’s school bristol board project a clear garbage bag may do the trick. Use a clear one so that they remember what’s inside and so that it doesn’t end up in the garbage by accident.
For a sewing or craft project consider a box with a lid. The lid will keep the dust, cat and prying hands away.
For a project with odd shaped items, consider a basket, laundry hamper or other flexible container to accommodate the odd shapes.

When the project is finished the container can be used for the next project or repurposed elsewhere in the house – the laundry perhaps!

Organizing Strategies

Tags : Children, managing mess, project management, school projects

Anticipation – Plan Ahead

Posted by Carolyn on

January 23, 2009

· No Comments

For many people the concept of anticipating what’s coming down the road is hard to to grasp. We are all wired differently and not everyone has the same orientation to the future.

In this case, I find helping clients to plan ahead is more helpful. How far can you plan ahead? Many of us work with financial planners to plan ahead for our retirement. That’s a form of organizing the future. Some of us plan ahead for our children’s education with education funds. That’s also a form of organizing the future.

How about planning ahead for summer activities? Have you thought about your children’s activities for the summer? Have you booked the camps that they want to attend? Plan ahead to that you, and your family, are not disappointed by applying or acting too late.

How about planning ahead for the weekend? Have you made plans? Have you organized the gear that you might need for those plans? Are you using the weekend to plan ahead for the next week.

Try writing a list of a couple of things you need for tomorrow to make it an easier day. See if you can get those accomplished today before you turn out the light. That’s planning ahead and organizating your life, one step at a time.

Organizing Strategies

Tags : Children, Time Management

25 Things to do Before Christmas – #8 Clear out Toys

Posted by Carolyn on

December 18, 2008

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#8 Clear out Kids’ Toys – There will be more toys arriving in a week’s time. Why not get a jump start on your organization before they do?

Give your children each a box appropriate to their size and age. Tell them they have 10 minutes to fill the box with toys that they no longer play with, may have outgrown or do not like.

Ten minutes later you could all make a trip to a local charity office to donate the toys. (Depending on your space for storage you may want to save them for a garage sale in May or a toy box for younger sibings.)

With the toys reduced, you will have an opportunity to review if the toys storage for your children is still appropriate for their age. If you have children moving from toddlers to preschool age, do you have shallow bins on the floor for them to access their toys? If you have school age children, have you moved from the shallow bins for preschoolers to sorting bins? Sorting and patterning is one of the first task children master in school. They can do the same thing at home sorting toys into difference coloured bins for pre-readers and labelled bins/boxes for the older children.

Home Organizing

Tags : Children, Recycle, sorting strategies, toys

The Seasonal Clear out – a la Hong Kong

Posted by Carolyn on

November 12, 2008

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Still trying to get that seasonal clear out completed? Hop over to Dim Sum Mom and hear how she accomplished it for a family of six: that would be Mom and Dad, son and triplets!

Home Organizing

Tags : Accumulation, Children, clothes, organizing clothes, small spaces

Lighten your Closets – Results

Posted by Carolyn on

November 12, 2008

· No Comments

The weather is chilly, the snow is threatening and winter is looming in the shape of a big, grey, cold cloud. I promised last week that I would report on the success of Bob McGee’s (CHFI, Toronto) coat drive from last weekend. Toronto has proven once again it is a city with lots of heart and closets with lightening potential. Over 10,000 coats were collected which will be distributed to children where needed. Here’s a picture of the truck loads. Way to go TO!

Home Organizing

Tags : Children, closets, clothes, organizing clothes

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Archive for Children – Page 2

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