I came across this darling picture of my daughter headed to summer camp. What great memories!

Do you have kids going to camp this summer?

Here’s what I did for packing for my kids for camp.

Camp is all about fun for the kids not staying clean or worried about their belongings.

I used Ziploc® bags for their clothes. I would put an entire outfit in one bag – socks, undies, a top and a bottom.

I packed a Ziploc® bag for every day that they were to be gone and put it in their suitcase/or duffel bag. When it was time to get dressed each morning, they would open a new bag and put on whatever it contained.

I also used a bag for their swim suit, towel and sunscreen.

I told my kids that it was okay for the dirty clothes to go back in their suitcase without a bag. That way they knew what was clean and what was dirty.

Bagging their clothes also insured that their outfits matched, I know, only a mother would care about that!

With my son Branden, it was not unusual with him to come home with half of his clothes still bagged! He was so busy having adventures that he would forget about changing clothes!

Oh well, at least the clothes were available!

I’m lovin’ Pinterest! When a client needs a special twist on organizing, I head over to Pinterest for ideas. In fact, follow me on Pinterest – I’m always pinning!

Here’s a photo collage of some great kids closet to round out my closet series this month. In trying to give credit where credit is due, click on the links below the photo to get more information.

Love the colors and the simplicity of this closet. The boxes can hold shoes, pjs, toys, you name it!

iheartorganizing

Just his size. Love that this closet is scaled to the child. It’s important to teach independent dressing and managing of clothes early on. This closet makes it possible!

Parents Magazine

This closet is so organized it doesn’t need doors. Love the color scheme and the fact that the hamper is right there with the clothes.

HGTV.com

This is a closet for 2! The hooks on the inside of the doors let you set up their clothes for the next day. The boxes are useful to organize toys, blankets, and clothes that are too big.

bethallison

Closet dividers are all the rage right now. You can set it up to have the weeks’ worth of clothes ready for your young ones or get dividers to divide up those various sizes of baby clothes, your little one will quickly grow into!

Get these on Etsy!

This month we will focus on your clothes closet.  Let’s get going by looking at 10 reasons you may want (need) to organize your clothes closet.

1. You find yourself wearing the same outfits week after week
2. You can’t shut your closet door(s)
3. You can’t move your clothes hangers , it’s packed so tight in there
4. You can’t find your favorite shirt but you are sure it’s “in there somewhere”
5. Your closet rods are sagging
6. You can’t see the floor of your closet
7. There’s a layer of dust on the shoulders of some outfits
8. You can’t find the other shoe
9. You have clothes now hanging on hooks behind every door
10. You have clothes piled around your bedroom with nowhere to put them

If you can relate to any of these reasons, stay tuned for more closet clearing strategies. In fact, we’ll take a look at my closet (before and after)!

So you are determined to be more organized than ever but you don’t live by yourself… There’s your other half, the kids and maybe even a mother in law in the mix! You may be wondering how to get them organized. The answer … you can’t.  It’s like making someone love brussel sprouts (sorry mom). You cannot make someone be organized, and if you could, they certainly would not be organized the way YOU expect them to be.

Amen!  This is a guest post from my friend and Clever Container team leader, Melissa Schmalenberger aka Ms. Simplicity. If you like this article, please tell her so!

So often when I work with client’s they are terrified to throw* anything of their child’s away. I am not sure where this fear comes from, but parents everywhere I give you permission to start to throw your kid’s stuff away. I am talking about gum wrappers, broken bracelets, one earring without a mate, torn books, pieces of half scribbled on paper and toys they no longer play with. I am not telling you to get rid of their prized possessions, simply the junk and clutter in their room that surround them.

Organizing your kids

This is my concern, if you don’t teach children now while you are living with them what is of value and what is not of value when will they learn it? Will you be visiting their first apartment and have to move the pile of clothes that they don’t wear off of the couch before you can sit down. Will you go into a bathroom filled with beauty products where only a handful are used?

Interesting enough when I have the children working with me, guess who is okay with getting rid of the stuff? It is true, it is the child. What I often hear is a mom saying, “but that this the stuffed animal that uncle Alan got you on your first birthday?” I hear the parent trying to talk the child into keeping the object. Who has the problem with clutter I wonder….the pack rat kids or the sentimental parent?

This lesson became laser focused on me when my husband and I were watching a YouTube video from one of my boys’ favorite videos when they were young. My husband and I were laughing and saying how we couldn’t believe how much our boys loved that video. Both of our older boys looked at us and said they didn’t remember it at all. Then it dawned on me…..it was my memory of the video and the good times we had while watching it….it was not their memory.

So ask yourself when helping your children declutter, whose memory is it anyway? Learn how to give with purpose and show your children that when they drop off a load of clothes and toys to a battered women’s shelter it is going to have a direct impact on a child. Chances are your kids will step up and do the right thing….will you?

*I use the term throw loosely here. Please know that I encourage recycling in every form and I encourage my clients to do so as well.

To Joyful, Simplified Living,

MS. Simplicity

MS. Simplicity, also known as Melissa Schmalenberger  operates her business as I Did it with MS. Simplicity.  She is a Professional Organizer based out of Fargo, ND and her website can be found at http://www.ididit-fargo.com/

In a forum for Professional Organizers, I saw a post asking about a timer that would help an ADD client. I quickly paid attention to that discussion thread as I often help ADD clients and parents of ADD children.  The tool that was suggested was the Time Timer.

So guess what? It’s today’s Tool Tuesday feature! I’ve done a little research and really think this is worth checking into – even if you don’t have ADD!

It comes in many shapes and sizes:

• In three sizes as a battery operated clock ($30-$40)

• It’s an iPhone app (1.99)

• It’s an iPad app ($6.99)

• It’s a wristwatch ($40)

What’s unique about it?

• It is a visual representation of time. The red area indicates the time remaining.

• It is quiet, no loud alarms.

How to use it:

• Stay on track in a meeting – everyone sees how much time is left.

• Finish projects more efficiently.  Saves you time and keep your clients happy.

• Use it to keep distractions to a minimum; set the timer and do the work!

• Teach children about time.

• Become better at estimating the time a job will take.

• Use to time tests, event speakers, breaks, and more.

• Help those with ADD stay on track.

• Help those who are chronically late get out the door on time for appointments.

Check it out for yourself! I’d love to hear your comments here on the blog to encourage others.

The slogan for Time Timer is “Whenever time needs to be managed or measured, you can count on the Time Timer to make every moment count.”

I think they are right on target!

I was on a mission earlier this summer to reduce the amount of memorabilia that I saved.  That was one of the reasons I put together the questions for memorabilia.  My husband and I have been married for 14 years and in that time we have moved 4 times.  Now I am used to moving, I was a military kid.  But what I noticed during the last move was how many boxes of memorabilia we were toting around.

So I set a goal – reduce our memorabilia by 50%.  That may sound a bit harsh to some of you but as the saying goes “to each his own”.  And I love a challenge – they motivate me to succeed! Let me start out by saying that at this point all of our children are adults and all but one is living on their own.

Here are some photos of what I started with.

A pink box with boy baby mementos, and a pink one for the girl baby mementos. 

As I started pulling out the little outfits, I took a trip down . After snapping myself back into the present, I also saw stains! Stains from baby vomit reappear after being laundered and squirreled away, I guess. Honestly, having those stains was a blessing, it made my decisions about what outfits to keep a lot easier.  I also cut back on the baby toys I saved; only keeping the favorite for each child.  I really struggled with what to do when I found the Children’s Bible. So, I left it out in plain sight for a month and let the options roll around in my head.  The final decision was to donate it.  All the children have other bibles and this one was not a special dedication or a rare addition.

After the kid’s boxes were my husband and my childhood memorabilia. I managed to organize the papers and Boy Scout and Girl Scout awards fairly well. And I hung onto Mr. Peanut, Danny O’Day (my ventriloquist dummy) and the Pipi Longstocking doll my mom made me.  Some decisions were hard, others easy; but in the end – I did it! I reduced our memorabilia by 50%! I packed things up very carefully and labeled the boxes.  The next time they are opened, I hope my children and grandchildren will be gathered around to hear the tantalizing tales that go with each piece of our family’s memorabilia.

I said all that to say – here are the steps for dealing with your memorabilia:

Set a goal

Eliminate anything that is ruined

Ask yourself questions abut what you truly want to keep

Organize what’s left

Pack it up and label it

 Found some really darling ways to display the art our little kids bring home. to learn how it’s done, just click the link below the photo. Enjoy!

 Painted frame shapes on a wall

 Sharing Our Kids Art Space.

Hung a board with clips

a little of this, a little of that: DIY: {Kids} Art Display.

Repurposed a large frame

Delightful Order: Child’s Art Board Tutorial.

Scanned the artwork

Get The Look: Children’s Artwork Collages | Apartment Therapy Ohdeedoh.

Hung a wire clothes line

*Random Thoughts of a SUPERMOM!*: Pillow and Art Wall Questions..

Awesome product- window like frames

www.dynamicframes.com/

Have you heard of Pinterest?  You can see the ideas I find there by following my pin boards.

“When shelf space is at a premium, these boxes go a long way in keeping a number of items neat. Tame your paper clutter or sort out any smaller items with these crisp, stackable boxes.”

Organizing with boxes… Okay that’s nothing new but I like these document boxes by Clever Container. Not only are they colorful, but their uniform size makes them perfect for many areas in your home or office. Here are a few ways I have recommended using them:

• One for each family member to be used as in-boxes

• One per child to store (and limit) the amount of school projects and artwork kept for the year

• One per project at work or home

• Containerize crafting tools

• Containerize small toys (barbie outfits, small cars, etc.)

• Holds the art supplies

• Holds vacation/travel memorabilia

• Teachers can carry back and forth with papers to be graded

• Store doilies, napkins, napkin rings in linen closet

• Containerize all small office supplies (extra staples, paper clips, tape, scissors, etc.)

• Give them as a gift to each adult child with their old report cards, sports ribbons, and memorabilia inside

And the list goes on. How would you use these versatile boxes?

If you want a set, you can order them online at my Clever container website – www.clevercontainer.com/Natalie.

For about a year now I have been putting something out there on the social media sites on Tuesdays.  So many people ask me  for recommendations of productivity and organizing tools. It occurred to me that I should be putting these tools here on the blog! So starting today…

Welcome to Tool Tuesdays!

Today’s tool spotlight is GripIt

GripIt is a flat organizer that has rubberized elastic bands designed to hold objects of all shapes and sizes in place.  Unlike a pencil case or accessory bag where your things get jumbled and you stab yourself trying to fumble around and find things, GripIt allows you easy access to your small objects.  Here are a few uses for the GripIt:

• Back to School – pens, pencils, highlighters, Post-Its, calculators, iPods, earbuds, chargers, hand sanitizer

• Diaper Bag – diaper ointment, nail clippers, thermometer, pacifier, bib, extra socks

• Purse – pens,mirror, checkbook, Bluetooth, charger, small notepad, hand sanitizer, chapstick

• Gaming – extra cords, chargers, small game cartridges, accessories, timer (so they don’t play too long!)

• Sewing Kit – thread, pins, scissors, seam ripper, measuring tape, safety pins, ruler

• Mobile Office – pens, highlighter, smart phone, earbuds, flash drive, charger,, business cards

• Beauty – makeup, brushes, lipsticks, liners, lotions

• Tools to Go – screwdriver, pliers, allen wrenches, flashlight, wrench, scissors, zip ties

If you’d like to try GripIt, you can order direct from my store at www.clevercontainer.com/Natalie.  Let me know how you use your Grip-It.