Back to School Organization ~ Champagne Living

Friday, August 7, 2009

Back to School Organization

Yesterday I had the privilege of attending a webinar sponsored by Office Max with Peter Walsh. Yes, Peter from TLC's Clean Sweep as well as Oprah's favorite organizer. It was a great way to prepare for back to school, and I found it quite inspiring. Peter has a way of helping that's so easy to understand and makes you REALLY want to go out and just DO IT!

Although I'm done with little one's going back to school, I do still have a college aged son and for some reason, organizational skills seem to wane with age. I thought I'd pass on a few of the great tips that I learned that are going to help our family get organized.

As we all know, being organized reduces stress, increases the quality of our lives and creates an environment that is conducive to learning. By starting with a clean slate, and paring down (less stuff, means it'll be easier to organized) life will flow a little more smoothly.

Peter showed that by using some of his newest products from the [IN]Place line at Office Max your life can much easier. Here are some of the highlights from the webinar.

ORGANIZATION AT HOME -

1. Find the vision you have for a space. - know where you're going to work (desk, table, etc)

2. Make organization a family value.

3. Use the right tools for great organization - color code folders for subjects, use a desktop organizer, keep pens/pencils in a pencil cup.

TIPS FOR ORGANIZING YOUR CHILD -

1. Show that you value organization and your child will follow suit.

2. Establish clear limits and routines.

3. Always "finish the cycle" (complete a task) - complete the project, put things away, replenish

ORGANIZATION IN THE CLASSROOM -

1. Establish clear routines.

2. Involve kids with classroom organization.

3. Use words, pictures and colors to help organize.

Not only are these great organizational ideas for your kids, but I'm going to tackle the office at the Mansion and reorganize it as well.

Oh and thanks Office Max for sending these great back to school notebooks, pencils, organizers, etc. This was a great way to get us started. Now I'm going to head over to Office max to get some more supplies and MAYBE, JUST MAYBE the office at the Mansion will be as organized as I've always dreamed it could be.