LAZY DAYS OF SUMMER, NOT REALLY
Summer is a great time to de-clutter and reorganize. Here's why I believe this to be true:
1. More time to do this kind of work
2. It makes sense to do this when you have children as it is now the end of the school year
3. More hands to help if you have children home
4. Great way to spend a staycation
5. Seems like a popular time of year to move
Now let me expand my thoughts on this.....
When you have children you spend alot of time running them around in the evenings after you get home from work during the school year. For many of us, that seems to slow down with summertime. Why not, spend a designated amount of time on a particular project? For example, you could set aside a half hour per evening to work on a closet in your house. This could be done sooner if you could designate more time but anything is better than nothing!!
With the end of the school year comes many pieces of paper, awards, etc. This is a great time to take a picture of the artwork and let your child select which things they want to keep. We like to use a computer paper box in our house to save the memories for the kids. Each child has one and when they leave one day they take it with them. We just gave our 24 year old his box when he moved away. He was really surprised at the things he saved and we had a blast walking down memory lane with him!!!
One of our traditions is for the children to go through their back packs and binders to decide what to hang onto or what to get rid of. They do this on their 1st day of vacation. This also helps me know if they are going to need a new backpack with the upcoming school year if it's worn out.
As I leave a list for my kids each day, I make sure to include an organizational task. This is my way of subliminally putting the thought into their heads to be better organized. WE ARE ALWAYS A WORK IN PROGRESS and it takes alot of practice to become good at it for some of us. Others, it just comes naturally for. That's why I became a professional organizer, it is easy for me.
It is important to note here that we, as the parents have to be organizational role models, practice what you preach. Please make sure you talk this through with your child. This should not become a battle zone or you will have EPIC FAILURE! Your definition of organized is probably not the same as your child's. It's a good idea to talk this over first as far as your expectations. The discussion definitely needs to be tailored for each child taking into account their age and temperament. The younger they are the more basic this conversation is. With the older children it it important to really fine tune this. Depending on your child's temperament you may need to offer an explanation why it is even important to be organized. Identifying what's in it for the older child(tween-teen) is really key to you being successful in this.
A staycation is the perfect opportunity to tackle the dreaded, procrastinated deed like becoming more organized or just touching up where you were once organized. Can you imagine what you could do with 7 days home with all of your stuff?
You could make a priority list of projects you need to do. Once you have a list and 7 days, UNPLUG and go through your list. It could be set up as one project/day or multiple mini-projects/day. If you are not an organized person by nature, the mini projects may be more appealing to you. It also feels good to be able to check them off the list because you can move through them quicker making you feel so much more productive!!!! Save your evenings for some relaxing rewards like a bubble bath or go out to dinner to give yourself that feeling of being on vacation. After all, they say all work and no play makes you a dull person. We can't have that!! No dull people here, absolutely NOT!
I live in an area with a high military population and this is the time of the year they are transferred. Moving, is the best inspiration for de-cluttering. Since many of the military families I know move every 2-4 years, they are really good at keeping clutter to a minimum. Do you know why??? They purge! Yes, it is as simple as that. Purging really takes your clutter down significantly. They have learned that it is not necessary to hang on to every little thing. Depending on where they are moving to, they are limited as to what they can bring. They live with a different perspective than those of us who haven't moved in years. These families have learned what they can live without. Most of us cringe when they hear "live without"! We just don't like being away from our "stuff". If you have ever had your items stolen, burnt in a fire or lost in a move you realize what you need and what you never really needed. That is the mindset to have when you go through the different areas of your home.
If you have been craving some more organization in your life, summer is the perfect time to find it. Life is hectic and with children the school year is especially crazy so it is natural to let things go. I encourage you to give it an honest try. Make a plan based on your priorities and enjoy the rewards.
Would love to hear from you if would be willing to share your success with us.
