How Do You Make Organizing A Lifelong Habit?

Being organized is all about having the habits in place to maintain order. Being disorganized is all about having habits in place that inhibit maintaining order. As you go about your day, stop yourself and ask, "Am I finishing tasks that I begin?" I happen to be easily distracted and have to work hard to complete tasks. My husband is a task master, when he starts a project, nothing can stop him until it's complete and every piece is properly put away. I, on the other hand, get distracted at a moments notice. I can fly from one thing to another without a second thought. I have to work to remind myself that I'll be so much better off if I take the time to put everything away when I finish. I've used this quote with my children since they were very small, it's a constant reminder to me and to them, "finish one project before you start another".

If you want to create habits to help yourself become more organized, read my blog post, "How To Create A Habit". Living organized is all about having the habits in place and the discipline to maintain them--much easier said than done!

How Do You Encourage Someone Who Needs To Get Organized But Doesn't Want To?

Although I'm answering the questions from our eBay Classified Twitter Chats about organizing with kids, I wanted to make this one more general because so many people live with or work with a clutter bug and it can be a tough dynamic. Here are a few things to keep in mind.

They don't see the clutter like you do. Do you wonder how your kids can walk right over their dirty clothes, or throw their backpack in the middle of the entryway and leave it there? They just don't see it the same and it doesn't matter to them the way it matters to you. Speak with them about the clutter in a positive way and acknowledge how you see it differently.

Give them plenty of alternatives. They will probably not want to organize it the same way you do. If they have several options (like hooks vs. hangers or open baskets vs. bins with lids) and different ideas, something may click.

Be flexible. The other person may not want to organize things to the same degree that you want it done. Remember to praise even the smallest signs of orderliness. Be encouraging because being a nag will get you nowhere (Can you tell I have teenagers LOL)!

How Do You Get Kids Into The Concept Of Organizing?

Kids follow by example. They may walk behind you like a tornado cluttering everything in their path, but if they see you putting things away, they will eventually start to model this behavior. Does that mean that they'll start cleaning up after themselves when they're 3, probably not, but you'll improve your chances of this happening if you make it easy for them to clean up and put things away. Place hooks low so it's easy to hang up jackets or even clothes in their closet. Have bins accessible and organized with only the toys they currently play with. If you keep too many things out, it provides opportunity for your child to make more of a mess, thus more for you to clean up. Regular decluttering and weeding out with children is very important. Let them know, if they want a new toy, they need to donate or sell an old toy. Modeling this behavior with your own stuff will teach your children how to do the same.

What’s the Best Age to Start Teaching Kids About Organizing their Belongings?

We had a some great conversations at our Ebay Classified Twitter Chat last night. There were many questions that I did not get to fully answer, so I thought I would post the Q&A here on the blog for all to read, respond and put into action if possible.

So the best age to start teaching kids about organization? What ever age your kids are is the best age to start! Your kids will model your behavior, especially when they are very young. As they get older, they will push your limits on everything including the level of organization of their room etc. As the parent, you set the bar. If you expect it neat, you will need to make it easy for them to keep a neat room. This may mean keeping less stuff in the room for them to mess up. Adding bins and hooks to easily place things in so that maintaining order is easy.

Once person tweeted in that they think they've waited too long because their 11 year old daughter was very disorganized. It's never too late, many of us struggle with different organizational issues throughout our lives. Encourage her, help her get in to a place where she is able to maintain it. The more positive you make the process and show the benefits of an organized lifestyle, the more likely she will be to follow suit.

eBay Classifieds Twitter Chat Tonight!

Are you a Twitterer? If your not, maybe you should be. Twitter is a great place to find very current information quickly. Many people who do not use Twitter complain that it's a waste of time, and it certainly can be if you waste time with it. But if you use it properly, it can be a terrific resource for so many things.

If you have kids and you find that it's a never ending battle to get organized with your 3 year old tornado following you around the house, you'll want to join the very first eBayClassifieds Twitter Chat tonight at 8:30pm ET. Search #eBChat and get answers on best practices for organization and efficiency.

Back to School Tips Contest for Disney on Ice Tickets!

Kids are just getting back to school and this is the perfect time for parents and children alike to get organized. We at Chaos to Order know that when kids have a sense of order, they are more likely to be successful students. If you have a child between the ages of 5 and 15, have them tell us what they do to be more organized in school. It can be related to desk and locker organization, or about time and how they plan their day. We will then pick a winner, based on the usefulness and creativity of the organizing tip. The winner will receive free tickets to Disney on Ice at the United Center on September 8, 2009. Please send your tips and contact information to info@chaostoorder.com by Friday, September 4, 2009. Let’s hear those organizing tips!

Organizing Children's School Papers & Artwork

Keeping up with all the papers children bring home from school can be a full time job. Having a good system to manage homework, artwork and school correspondence is crucial to keeping your child (and yourself) organized during the busy school year.  I keep a file for each of my children with a label for the grade that they are in. Important papers that come home from school go into this folder. At the end of the year, my child and I go through the folder together to determine what papers should be kept and what can go. It's a fun project to do together in the summer reflecting on the past school year. I keep a box that the folder goes into every year. This way, the keepsakes are organized chronologically. 

Artwork is the trickiest of all papers to organize because it doesn't usually fit into a file folder or box. Sometimes artwork can be forced to fit by trimming the picture and saving only the best section as you see in the photo above. Another way is to take a photo of the artwork and keep it in the current year's file. The artwork can also be stored digitally. One company that makes a beautiful artwork keepsake book is The Little Author or even a digital photo book from Shutterfly can be used. Keeping artwork on display (within reason) helps your child to know their work is appreciated, but keeping too much can cause clutter and chaos. Reevaluate from time to time which artwork to keep displayed, and remember, if you keep too much you can't find what's really important!