by Heidi | Oct 20, 2013 | Uncategorized
Welcome to ‘Day 20’ in the month long series of articles cataloging
Simple Organizing Solutions!
If you’ve been reading from the beginning, you’ve hopefully already, 1) Gotten the right mindset and motivation needed to get organized. 2) Zeroed in on one small area to focus your efforts. 3) Have begun narrowing down your belongings to what what you love, use and actually have the room to store. and 4) Considered how to cut clutter at the source by giving each item a specific ‘home’ stored in groups of like items (5) & set a maintenance plan in motion.
Once you’ve been successful in harnessing the POWER of habit in your own life, direct some time & effort in guiding your children in creating some positive habits that will result in a more organized lifestyle.
The HUGE benefit to you as a parent in guiding your children in this way is that the need to nag or constantly direct your children will be eliminated!
The best way to get kids started on new habits is with a checklist (just like I suggested on day 18) created just for them.
Check out my article, about Routine Chore Charts for Kids for even more examples and suggestions.
I have seen the use of charts/checklists work wonders in our own home – particularly in the mornings.
I started using a routine chart with our eldest child when he began attending school to help guide his activities to prepare for the school day as well as when arriving back home. By the time he entered 2nd grade, he didn’t even need the chart anymore.
Now, mornings flow extremely easily for him. He moves quickly and efficiently through his morning routine as well as in the afternoon and it’s time to put things away and get a jump on homework or prepare for after-school activities. It’s absolutely wonderful for me to not have to expend time/energy making sure he’s on task. We do have opportunities for ‘reward’ that definitely help motivate his efforts, but as he gets older, the need for these lessens.
Our youngest child is currently still in the beginning phases of adapting to routine daily habits with the help of a chart. I have observed he needs a little more ‘motivation and reward’ than his brother did to accomplish these tasks, yet I know the effort to identify how best to motivate and instill these habits in his life will definitely be worth it as a life long skill.
Have you observed the power of habits in your family life?
Never miss a future post by
Perhaps you’re currently feeling completely overwhelmed by clutter & mounting personal organizing goals?? Or, maybe there is a space or two in your home that simply needs a fresh set of objective eyes to bring it to it’s fullest organized potential?
Maybe having an organizing buddy, cheerleader and coach that could encourage you with one-on-one hands on support would help to achieve the success you need and deserve – to allow you to live a more peaceful life you LOVE with more time and energy to fully and freely participate in activities and interests you enjoy!
Contact me to learn more about how to get organized with my Professional Organizing and Family Management Coaching services. Operation Organization by Heidi provides customized organizing solutions to ‘cure’ your unique clutter challenge / condition. Based near Atlanta, Georgia, this Professional Organizer serves clients one-on-one in the surrounding area of Fayette, Coweta, and Cobb Counties :(Peachtree City, Fayetteville, Newnan, Brooks, Marietta, Kennesaw, Acworth and expanding!)
by Heidi | Oct 19, 2013 | Uncategorized
Welcome to ‘Day 19’ in the month long series of articles cataloging
Simple Organizing Solutions!
If you’ve been reading from the beginning, you’ve hopefully already, 1) Gotten the right mindset and motivation needed to get organized. 2) Zeroed in on one small area to focus your efforts. 3) Have begun narrowing down your belongings to what what you love, use and actually have the room to store. and 4) Considered how to cut clutter at the source by giving each item a specific ‘home’ stored in groups of like items (5) & set a maintenance plan in motion.
In the past few days, I’ve been sharing a few benefits to creating routine habits to control clutter and messy build-up in the home.
Initially, it will take a lot of intentional effort to keep up with those habits. However, the GREAT news is that after a few weeks, it won’t seem as difficult.
You see, our brains are hard-wired for habits. Good or bad, without even intending to, you probably already have several ‘habits’ implanted in your days/weeks.
You probably sit in the same chair to eat your meals at home.
You probably take a particular route to specific locations.
You most likely have a preferred ‘order of operations’ for how you get yourself ready for the day and/or wind down in the evening.
And, you don’t think twice about it when it’s happening.
That is THE POWER OF HABIT at work.
Once you initiate a habit, and you truly value the ‘reward’ of that habit, you’ll eventually begin to perform on ‘autopilot’ and it will begin to seem as though your home is cleaning/tidying itself!
Alternatively, if you observe there are some negative habits in your life that may be thwarting your organizing efforts, taking the time to analyze and diagnose these absentminded habits will be of tremendous value in reaching your goals.
Never miss a future post by
by Heidi | Oct 19, 2013 | Uncategorized
Welcome to ‘Day 18’ in the month long series of articles cataloging
Simple Organizing Solutions!
If you’ve been reading from the beginning, you’ve hopefully already, 1) Gotten the right mindset and motivation needed to get organized. 2) Zeroed in on one small area to focus your efforts. 3) Have begun narrowing down your belongings to what what you love, use and actually have the room to store. and 4) Considered how to cut clutter at the source by giving each item a specific ‘home’ stored in groups of like items (5) & set a maintenance plan in motion.
Using a routine checklist will go a long way to help keep you on track with managing your basic home maintenance tasks. A physical reminder will keep you accountable and the act of checking items off gives a sense of satisfaction and reward for your accomplishments.
Never miss a future post by
by Heidi | Oct 17, 2013 | Uncategorized
Welcome to ‘Day 17’ in the month long series of articles cataloging
Simple Organizing Solutions!
If you’ve been reading from the beginning, you’ve hopefully already, 1) Gotten the right mindset and motivation needed to get organized. 2) Zeroed in on one small area to focus your efforts. 3) Have begun narrowing down your belongings to what what you love, use and actually have the room to store. and 4) Considered how to cut clutter at the source by giving each item a specific ‘home’ stored in groups of like items (5) & set a clutter maintenance plan in motion.
When it comes to routine home maintenance,
It’s easier to KEEP UP, than it is to CATCH UP.
Think about what happens in your home each and every day that results in messy build-up…
People eat – resulting in dirty dishes
People wear clothing – resulting in dirty laundry
People make messes – resulting in dirt/crumbs etc.
Paper will enter your life – piles will build
Developing a habit of tending to a few routine tasks per day will ultimately save you large amounts of time and stress that will result when allowed to build up over time.
If you’re new to building routine home maintenance tasks into your day, don’t forget to ‘
start small’ with this goal as well…
You can work towards adding in new routine tasks slowly over time.
What is one small task that if tended to daily would ultimately save you time and lessen stress?
*DISCLAIMER*
If you are a mother to an infant, I encourage you keep this ‘one task’ your goal and be exceedingly satisfied. 🙂
Click here for a full index list of articles from this series
Never miss a future post by
by Heidi | Oct 17, 2013 | Uncategorized
Welcome to ‘Day 16’ in the month long series of articles cataloging
Simple Organizing Solutions!
One of the biggest motivators for ‘getting organized’
is to achieve a general sense of peace and calm.
The pathway to that peace comes through
developing the drive and initiative to create and commit to
Though seemingly mundane,
the knowledge of a reliable plan in place
produces both peace AND productivity.
Never miss a future post by
