Challenging Disorganization and Hoarding Expert Ellen Hankes

School Papers: Which Ones to Keep?

A great summer project for the kids is to go through last year's saved papers. Get out all the saved drawings, completed homework, and other school papers. With your help they can learn valuable lessons in sorting and decision-making. Plus, it is a way to acknowledge the increase in skills through the year.

You'll need at a minimum, a recycle pile and a save pile. Discuss at the beginning with your child some guidelines for deciding which items to keep. For example, the child may want to keep all papers with animals on them and you may want to keep the sentimental ones. Whatever criteria are chosen, use that as a decision-making aid through the sort.

School Supplies for the ADHD Student

School supplies are appearing in the stores. Your child's school typically provides lists of supplies that are needed for the activities at school. Let's provide our ADD/ADHD children a designated space for supplies and for doing schoolwork in the home. Chronic disorganization is a challenge for many students.

Here are some ideas for making this the best year ever for your ADD/ADHD and/or chronically disorganized student:

Will The Next Generation Want Your Stuff?

  Recently a middle aged couple was asked what percent of their household belongings their children would want when they were gone. Both Mr. and Mrs. agreed that five percent was a realistic estimate.

Generation X and Generation Y are wired. Rather than get information the way their baby boomer parents did from books and newspapers, the Gen X and Y's learn and communicate via the electronic world of computers, Ipods, and smart phones. Consequently, many times, but not always,the younger set finds relevance in different types of belongings.

Check out The Tough Facts About Organizing for the Generations for organizational profiles of several generations.

Searching for Space? Go Vertical

     Space seekers can find space by going up! In addition to bookshelves, stacks (and yes, those pesky piles) can utilize limited floor space to give maximum storage.

For example, a four drawer lateral file takes up the same amount of floor space as a two-drawer piece. You get twice the amount of storage with the same footprint.

The builder of my home deserves a big hug! When we moved into the house the master bedroom closet was outfitted with three layers of clothes hanging space. The top rod requires a pole with a hook to transfer clothing but it is wonderful for off season clothing storage. This is a great example of a creative way to use the vertical available space to create more storage.

When looking for more space, don't overlook that vertical space!

Do you have a special vertical storage area that works for you? We would like to hear from you.

Horizontal Surfaces: Stuff Magnets

Tabletops, kitchen counters, ironing boards, workbench tops, and the list goes on. These horizontal surfaces love clutter! Horizontal surfaces are Stuff Magnets for the chronically disorganized.

Clutter-prone individuals use horizontal surfaces to the max.Here are some of the ways the horizontal surface attracts Stuff:

• Parking lot. The books needs to be returned to the library. The note with the size of the furnace filter will be handy when we go to the home improvement store. The recipe is there to put later in our favorites file. Further action is needed and the horizontal surface collects those items in transit.
• Back-to-it-later. The surface collects projects that are interrupted and the day's mail. Current gets mixed in with old.
• Mystery stuff. The unidentifiable, undecidable things that no one wants to move on also get piled on the surface. Yours gets mixed with mine, new gets confused with old, and it becomes more of a mysterious mix.

Become more aware of your use of horizontal space. There are ways to accommodate a preference for the use of horizontal space. It is important to work with your goals and abilities.

Are your horizontal surfaces a Stuff Magnet? Let us know what works and what doesn't for you.

Quilt Center is Study in Priortization

Several dozen hushed women and men listened intently to a guide at the International Quilt Study Center in Lincoln, NE earlier today. The sampling of quilts on display for the current exhibit "Quilts in Common" varied in era and type. While some of the exquisite works were made by professional contemporary artists, many were crafted by unnamed individuals. We can only assume at least a portion of these artful quilts were assembled during leisure time.

The work quality was awesome, the use of color was striking, and the design was harmonious. It was a real treat for the senses.

If quilting is something that interests you as an art form or a leisure time activity, go for it. If you need help prioritizing the things that bring you joy, get that help. The help may come from a professional or from family or friends.

Do you find time to do what you enjoy? Let us know how you make that happen!

Celebrate Summer with a Sumptious Picnic

Summertime is a great time to plan a cool easy picnic. Everyone in the family can get involved. Think beyond your home and get your neighborhood or apartment building involved.

Picnics are great lessons in organizing. Kids can help with the planning and preparation. Preschool children can count out napkins, plates and other picnic supplies. Elementary age students can practice writing and planning skills by compiling shopping and other To Do lists.

Make a game of taking what you need to an off-site picnic without taking any more than you have to tote.

Some of the best parties are impromptu. Since picnics can be held at the park or the back yard, that is all part of the fun.

Do you have enough picnics in your life?

Suitcase Savy? Take Our Quiz!

Whether you are a seasoned or a seasonal traveler, you will want to keep yourself organized coming and going. Here are some questions to ask about your traveling style:

1. Do you use luggage that is large enough to accommodate necessary items yet convenient for you to carry by yourself? Most of us are, by necessity, responsible for toting our luggage. Take advantage of shoulder straps on bags and suitcases with wheels.
2. Is your luggage distinctive to be recognized quickly by you? The common black carry-on bag can easily be claimed by someone else unless yours has an easily recognizable ribbon or yarn attached. Another alternative is to choose red, hot pink, or hounds-tooth luggage!
3. Could you accurately describe the contents of a bag if lost? Consider using your digital camera to record the contents of your bag.
4. Can clean clothes be separated from dirty clothes? I like my red nylon laundry bag that goes on almost every trip. Upon arrival home the bag of laundry goes straight to the utility room.
5. Do you pack similar items in the same place in your luggage for each trip? I can always find the chargers and cords when I put them in the small black zippered bag.

What's your Suitcase Savy Score? If you answered Yes to all five questions, consider yourself organized coming and going! Four or less Yes answers mean you can fine-tune your travel organizing tactics.

What do you do to keep yourself organized while traveling? Share your thoughts--we would like to hear your ideas.

Fuzzy Appointments Can Keep You On Time

At 9:00 a.m. we need to be here and 10:00 a.m. finds us at yet another place.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could make Fuzzy Appointments? This technique is tricky at best!

Here's how Un-Fuzzy Appointments work. When we make a dental appointment it is for a specified time. We show up at that time and receive dental services.

With a Fuzzy Appointment, we specify a range of time when we commit to doing something.

Here's an example-- In the midst of a busy day I dropped off my Calahan Solutions, Inc. auction item for the upcoming Heartland Family Service Strike a Chord fund raiser. When I called to verify that someone would be at the drop-off location, I told them I would be there within the next hour. That gave me a time frame of 50 minutes plus 10 minutes of travel time. Now I did not have to play Beat-The-Clock!

Keep in mind that Fuzzy Appointments will work for some situations (informal type commitments) and not in others, such as dental appointments. You are the master of your own clock!

Have you tried Fuzzy Appointments? Share your results with us!

Organized & Entertaining--Part III

You have planned, prepared and pictured in your mind the festivities to entertain. Invitations were issued and the day is here!

To keep your cool, here are a few tips to remember on the day of the event.

• Work your plan. When the neighbors came over for supper on our deck last weekend, I consulted my written menu as i set out the food. That helped me remember, even in the midst of great conversation, what to put on the table. If you need to put things in the oven at a certain time or pick up a pizza, set a timer as a reminder.
• Keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. Improvise as needed to create a cold zone for foods that need refrigeration. Use a larger container (even a child's swim pool) and fill with ice before setting the cold dishes in it. Two hours is the maximum time for food--hot or cold--to be out on a buffet.
• Ask for help. Most guests are willing to lend a hand. Don't wear yourself to a frazzle when there are others willing to help with last minute details as well as cleaning up!
• Have fun. Pretend you are a guest at your own party. Be part of the conversation and flow of the event.

If things don't go as smoothly as you would like on the day of the event, observe what could be changed the next time you entertain. Save your notes and lists from planning this event. Refer to them the next time you entertain.

What obstacles prevent you from entertaining? What are your tried and true strategies for successful parties? We would like to hear from you.