Organizing Central Florida (Orlando, Tampa and palm coast)

A Space That Works’ Professional Organizers offer an array of services from advice to one- on-one organizing. Servicing homes, business and training in time management we remove the stress and frustration of disorganization leaving peace and time to do what you love.

Get cords out of the way

Have a lot of electrical cords jumbled up and on the floor? Wrap them together with an old spiral telephone cord (this allows individual cords to stick out where they need to and contains multiple cords into one bulk cord) then use hooks to hang the cord bundle up and off of the floor so little ones cannot reach it.

Baby Clothes

When preparing for a new baby you will invariably get dozens of cute outfits and hand me downs. If they are too big for your baby right now then separate into bins and label them by size as well as by season. It is common for an infant to grow a size in a season, so if you don’t get to wear the winter coat because they outgrow it before winter, re-gift it or donate it to a charity that specializes in helping children.

Organizing for ADD/ADHD

(As published in Bright Feats.com, May 2008)

By Suzanna Letchford, Professional Organizer and owner of A Space That Works Organizing. www.ASpaceThatWorks.com

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) pose special challenges when creating and maintaining organizational systems. Though it seems that it is just clutter there are many missing skills that are tied to the issue – the clutter is simply a symptom of a deeper problem. The simple act of organizing has greatly affected many areas of my clients’ lives; I have heard numerous reports of children taking on more responsibility and being more motivated after just one organizing session. Things like getting dressed, getting ready for bed and cleaning up on their own are huge changes that occur after they have a system in place that supports their needs.

Although disorders like ADD and ADHD affect individuals differently there are key strategies that can help – adult or child. There are many options available and techniques that can be tailored to your special need. Many Professional Organizers specialize in working with ADD/ADHD and have a long list of ideas but here are a few of the basics.

Make it Fun. A lack of focus is one of the most noticeable traits of the ADD/ADHD child. This occurs most often when tasks are uninteresting, routine or tedious. Matters like scheduling, organization and maintenance are particularly difficult. Making organizing into a game or challenge is an effective way to keep their interest. Setting a time limit and challenging them to complete a certain task, such as gathering all Lego’s into the Lego bin before the timer goes off offers motivation and excitement to an otherwise boring job. Make sure these time limits are small and you keep the excitement up by announcing time left, using music or some other reminder to point out the time ticking away. Create new challenges frequently to keep them fresh.

Get them on board. When your child has a say in what is happening to their space they are more likely to be involved and interested. This also helps them want to maintain their space. Let them help choose bins and tell you what their most important items are. Display special memories on higher shelves and use bins to keep toys off the floor and out of sight. Limit the number of posters and artwork on the walls and items on surfaces to minimize the busyness in the room – the more serene an atmosphere you can create the more control they will feel they have in their space.

Us e Centers. Create different “centers” in their rooms dedicated to specific activities. Reading centers, art centers, homework centers and more can help define where items belong and give a defined space for activity, creating a sense of structure, order and purpose and making the organizing system more logical.

Label! Using labels or pictures on bins and shelves can help your child remember what goes into bins without having to pull them out and also where to return them when they are finished. Label both the bin itself and the shelf underneath for maximum benefit. Letting the older child create the labels can be a fun project for them, too.

Use the energy. Create small projects that can be done in a short amount of time with high energy if possible. Using the excess energy an ADD person gets is a great way to quickly organize a closet, under a bed or sort a Lego collection. Make sure the project can be completed before energy is completely sapped and be aware and work with, not against, their moods.

Set goals and celebrate. Set goals and celebrate successes – a closet cleaned or a dresser top cleared off is a reason to celebrate! Make noise, sing a song or give a treat when you have accomplished a goal and take time to enjoy it.

Take one bite at a time. For a big project break it down into smaller parts. Decide to do one piece at a time – the bookshelf this weekend and the toy box next weekend. The project will eventually be completed without the burnout.

Create routines. Help your child to create new routines in order to maintain order. Tying a new routine to an old one is a great way to remember the change. Emptying the dishwasher before getting out a breakfast bowl, wiping down the bathroom mirror when brushing their teeth or putting away all of their books when they pull out their nighttime novel are some examples. Placing reminders in hard to ignore areas also works. Leave the garbage bags in front of the bedroom door to remember to take out the trash on the way to the bus or have them place a note on a book-bag so that homework is not forgotten can be especially helpful.

Create support. Many of our distractions can be eliminated simply by being held accountable and having someone pay attention as well. Stay in the room when it is being cleaned to prevent distraction or set a timer to go off every ten minutes so they can check whether they are doing what they should be doing. Hyper-focus (focusing too much time and attention perfecting a small portion of the job while ignoring the larger need) can also be eliminated in this way.

Know when to ask for help. Sometimes we simply do not know the best way to help our loved one. If a job is too overwhelming or you are not sure how to help your child to succeed at organizing professionals are available. A Professional Organizer with training in dealing with ADD/ADHD can help teach time management skills, set up systems that will work with your child’s needs and help you to understand the best way to encourage them.

The best way to organize for ADD/ADHD is to work with it, not against it. Use the fantastic moments of energy and focus to your benefit and create routines that are logical to your child’s way of thinking. Once he/she has built up a list of smaller successes you can continue increasing the responsibilities. They will feel better about themselves and you can feel good knowing that you are giving them skills they can use throughout their lives.

For more ideas on organizing, motivating and scheduling for ADD check out my blog at: http://aspacethatworks.blogspot.com/ and www.ASpaceThatWorks.com.

Suzanna is an organizer with a passion! She is owner of A Space That Works Professional Organizing (www.ASpaceThatWorks.com) and works with both businesses and families organizing their homes and lives. She has previously worked with special needs children as an Assistant Teacher in the Autism and Special Education classes of an elementary school and high school. She has also spent years volunteering with special needs children and has training in organizing for disabilities and ADD/ADHD. Passion for the process, creative use of space and a supportive and friendly disposition help her in both home and business organization projects.

Storing outfits together or choosing many easy mix and match items, few different colors of socks and limiting the overwhelming number of clothing and accessory choices can help your child succeed in dressing and putting away laundry.

Acknowledge even the small successes.

Creating Summer Memories

So, you are going on vacation with the kids – how do you make these memories last? Postcards and magnets are all fun, but to create true and lasting memories you want to go deeper.

The best way to create positive memories that will last through adulthood is to focus on the quality time spent together as a family. Start your vacation when you leave your house – not when you reach your destination. Speed is not a goal, explore exciting discoveries along the way and get to know each other, too. When you see a sign for the world’s largest ball of twine – pull over and check it out! The excitement of discovery and the unknown is half the adventure.

A long car ride can also be the perfect opportunity to get to know your children. Get a book of questions or create your own ahead of time. Questions such as “What is your favorite toy and why?” or “If you could be any animal in the world what would you be? Why?” are great conversation starters – and perfect ways to get to know your kids on a deeper level. Make sure to include the why part of the question – this can lead to some interesting discussions. Make sure everyone answers the question and has time to talk as long as they want to.

How do you record these memories? One great way to keep the memory alive and special is to create a family vacation scrapbook or journal. Before leaving arm each family member with a journal, a fun pen, a digital camera and a large envelope. Throughout the trip have them jot down favorite moments, thoughts, sketches, what they did, funny things other people said or write a narrative of parts of the trip. They can take pictures and collect brochures, leaves and other small, flat objects. When you get home combine everybody’s experiences, pictures, maps and artifacts into one scrapbook or even get them bound at your local office supply store. Captions can be added to photos and drawings can decorate the pages. It is a lot of fun to see how everybody viewed the vacation and remembers different events. It is also a fun way to build a family experience library and look back as the kids grow up to see how they change.

Make sure to focus on the real reason for a vacation – to relax, have fun and spend quality time together. This will make memories that will last a lifetime.

For a list of fun kids’ games and activities to play as well as more travel ideas visit my Central Florida Moms forum at www.centralfloridamoms.com in the forums under Life > Organization.

~Suzanna

Practical gifts

Looking for a great gift idea for teachers or the person who has everything? Don’t want to add to their clutter? Want something they will remember? Event tickets or service gift certificates for a service will be remembered and appreciated (and won’t take up any space in their closets!)

Cherishing Memories, Clearing Clutter

Ah, memories. We all have them – and the stuff that comes with them! But do we really need all of that stuff? And how do we teach our kids to cherish the memories but let go of the items?

Teaching kids early how to handle items makes a dramatic difference in their adult lives. One great way to manage all of the things we collect that come with our memories is to create a time capsule. Now, this does not have to be buried and we can use this system even into our adult lives (I still do!)

The time capsule can be as simple as a shoebox with the year written on it, a fancy basket or a decorative box. Make sure it is small (so we can’t keep too much.) A great way to get kids excited is to have them decorate their box any way they want to. Keep this on the top shelf of a closet, a higher shelf, under a bed or somewhere else out of the way.

What goes in this magic box? Ticket stubs, rocks, figurines, jewelry – whatever artifacts your child keeps to cherish their memories. For larger items, take a picture of it to put in the box (a large science project, the first tree they climbed, etc.) Important memories can be displayed on shelves on the wall and items can be traded out from the box to display or removed when a new item comes in to display. This clears all of the surfaces of memorabilia, displays important items (but with a limit) and still cherishes the item and its memory. Your child can even journal, write a story or draw a picture about the items in the box so they remember the event clearly.

On New Year’s Eve you can start a tradition of everyone in the family going through their boxes and explaining why the item is important to them and what they remember from the event. This is a great way to honor the year that has passed. After you have shared you can decide if the item should be kept in your main memories box (try to limit to 1 Rubbermaid tub or its equivalent if possible) or if you can donate or toss it. Sometimes taking a picture of the item or keeping just the journal entry about it is enough. Trust that you do not need the item in order to remember the event. If you do not remember why you kept it that is a good sign that you can let it go. If it is valuable or very interesting, can you give it as a gift to a friend or relative? A school? A charity? Can it be sold?

On New Year’s Day you can have fun decorating the new year’s box (throw out the old one – take a picture if you have to.) You can then look forward to another amazing year!

Phone Time

For those of us who have to be on the phone uninterrupted but have small kids this can sometimes be a big challenge! One idea is to have a phone toy box. Put a few fun toys into a box and put it away where the kids can't get it (on top of the fridge or near the phone are two good places.) When you need to talk on the phone uninterrupted you can pull out this box and let the kids play with a toy from inside until you are done, then the toy goes back into the box.

Kids look forward to your phone conversations now and feel like they get a treat when you are on the phone. This also keeps the toys seeming fresh and new to them, ensuring they do not lose interest as quickly!

For more tips and tricks watch my blog at: http://aspacethatworks.blogspot.com/

Or, visit the free organization discussion groups - more info can be found at: http://messies.meetup.com/65/


Suzanna Letchford
Professional Organizer/Owner
A Space That Works
407-416-6118
www.aspacethatworks.com

"There are two ways of spreading light; to be the candle or the mirror
that reflects it." --Edith Wharton