Getting Organized for School/College - Software Tools

My nephew Jeff (the technical guru in the family) sent along a tip for software he recommends for high school and college students at a great price:

“The Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 from Buy.com may be of interest to your readership. It definitely goes along with the “back to school” theme of your recent blog posts. The Home & Student suite comes with Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and a note-taking program called OneNote . It’s great for saving those little bits of useful information that don’t fit anywhere else. Anyway, $85 is a good price, especially considering the license allows it to be installed on three computers.


As you might imagine, with a name like “Home and Student,” the license for this version doesn’t allow for commercial use."

Thanks, Jeff! (I noticed that OneNote retails for $99 itself - so it is a very good deal!)

This fits in perfectly with an article from PC Magazine, 12 Tools to Keep Your School Life Organized, which lists software to help college students organize their studies, time, social life, diet, entertainment, and more!

Related Posts: Getting Organized for School - A Successful Day Starts the Night Before, Getting Organized for School - School Supplies and Backpacks, Hope for Disorganized Students!, Homework battles, Getting Organized for School - Backpack Checklist, Getting Organized for School - Learning Style, Getting Organized for School - Document Organizing System, Getting Organized for School - Creating a Hub, Getting Organized for School (and life!) - Getting Enough Sleep, Get Organized for School (or life!) - A Family Calendar, Organizing for School - Papers, Get Organized for School - Clothing Inventory

Decluttering in 5 - 20 Decluttering Tasks You Can Do In Five Minutes or Less

I used to hate emptying the dishwasher - until one day I decided to time myself and see how long it took to do this dreaded chore. Around five minutes. For some reason, knowing that it only took five minutes removed my mental barrier! It's still not my favorite thing to do in the world, but I don't dread it like I used to do.

Next time you find yourself procrastinating about some unpleasant task, time yourself. See if that knocks down a few of your mental barriers against that task.

My mom mentioned reading an article in her local paper about decluttering tasks you could do in five minutes. So I got to thinking - what are some other dreaded chores that only take a few minutes. Here are a few I came up with:

1. Sweep the bathroom or kitchen floor
2. Mop the bathroom or kitchen floor
3. Dust one room
4. Empty the dishwasher
5. Fold a load of clothes
6. Clean the kitchen countertops
7. Wipe off the kitchen or dining room table
8. Sort the mail
9. Clean the storm door window
10. Declutter the surface of a coffee table
11. Clean the bathroom sink
12. Clean the kitchen sink
13. Empty the trash
14. Clean off your desk – or a corner of it!
15. Throw away the old food in your fridge
16. Have everyone in the household pick up their items in a common room and take them to their own room
17. Place newspapers in a recycling bag
18. Clean a mirror
19. Clean out a drawer
20. Make a to-do list (relieve your brain of clutter!)

So, if you have a few minutes, you can make your surroundings more pleasant with little effort! By doing a little at a time, decluttering and cleaning don't have to require enormous chunks of time.

What do you do to declutter in short snatches of time?

Related Posts: Decluttering in 10 - Entry Way, Decluttering in Three, Decluttering in 5 - Check out the Shelf Life of Your Spices, Declutter in Five - Decluttering your Bookmarks or Favorites

Getting Organized for School - A Successful Day Starts the Night Before

Wouldn’t you love to have a peaceful, stress-free morning tomorrow? Starting the night before can help eliminate the rush and push, getting your day off to a pleasant and calm start.

Getting Your Child Organized

Knowing how much sleep your child needs is essential to his well-being and his success at school. Trying to function well in a sleep-deprived stupor is impossible. I feel strongly that a huge role of mine as a mom and foster mom is to create an atmosphere where my child can succeed. In order to insure that my children get enough sleep, I work backwards:

- I figure out when my child needs to be in bed with the lights out in order to get the sleep she requires.

- We determine how much time is needed for her nightly routine – shower/bath, brushing teeth, room decluttering, prayers, reading, etc. – and start the routine that much earlier than bedtime.

- Knowing how much time is needed for her morning routine - shower/bath, brushing teeth, breakfast, etc., have your child set the alarm to allow enough time for her morning routine to be accomplished without rush.

- Before her evening routine starts, I ask my child to choose her clothes for tomorrow and lay them out.

- Before choosing her clothes, she should have packed her backpack – homework assignments, permission slips, gym clothes, etc., checking her backpack checklist (see post on July 30, 2008).

- Before packing her backpack, she can pack her lunch and put it in the fridge. If she doesn't want to make a sandwich the night before because it will get soggy, at least she can pack everything else and know which kind of sandwich she will make in the morning. (I must confess, I made my girls’ lunches throughout high school. For some reason it stressed them out, and I didin't mind doing it.)

Getting Yourself Organized

If I am running behind in the morning, it makes life stressful for everyone! So I try to create the same type of routine for myself. If I am sleep deprived, I get crabby and little things that shouldn't bother me trigger inappropriate responses.

- I need to know how much sleep I need and determine when I need to be in bed with the lights out in order to get it.

- Working backwards again, I calculate how much time I need for my nightly routine and start the routine that much earlier than bedtime.

- During my routine, I think through what my morning routine will be and how much time it will take, including fixing breakfast and making sure everyone else gets out the door on time. I set my alarm to allow for that to happen without panic. Ten minutes can change panic to calm, so I try not to cut my morning routine too short.

- Before I start my routine or during my routine, I think through what I'm going to wear tomorrow and make sure it's clean, ironed, etc.

- Before that, I think through my schedule for tomorrow and pack my briefcase and/or purse (backpack or diaper bag for some of you) with what I need for the day tomorrow. I'm much less likely to forget something if I can think it through calmly.

- If I'm going to need a lunch, I'll prepare it before I pack my bag and stick it in the fridge. If I take leftovers from dinner, I try to package them while putting the food away after dinner.

- While I'm packing my lunch or while preparing dinner, I look to see what I have planned for breakfast. When I plan my meals for the week, I also plan breakfasts so I can get what I need when I do my weekly grocery shopping.

- After dinner is a good time to set the table for breakfast. If you have two tables - one in the kitchen and one in the dining room, you can set both whenever you empty the dishwasher - one for breakfast and one for dinner.

It’s a lot to think about, isn’t it? It’s easy to see why time slips away without even realizing it. But by being intentional about your evening schedule, you’re creating an atmosphere of success for both your child and yourself which will hopefully result in a peaceful and productive day tomorrow!

What do you do to get your day off to a good start?

Related Posts: Getting Organized for School - School Supplies and Backpacks, Hope for Disorganized Students!, Homework battles, Getting Organized for School - Backpack Checklist, Getting Organized for School - Learning Style, Getting Organized for School - Document Organizing System, Getting Organized for School - Creating a Hub, Getting Organized for School (and life!) - Getting Enough Sleep, Get Organized for School (or life!) - A Family Calendar, Organizing for School - Papers, Get Organized for School - Clothing Inventory

Getting Organized for School - School Supplies and Backpacks

School Supplies

One of my daughters was a procrastinator. More than once she would announce after dinner that she had a project due the next day and needed poster board or other supplies.

To prevent myself from having to participate in her procrastination by making a special trip to get supplies, I started keeping supplies of poster board, foam board, report folders/covers, printer ink and paper on hand. I tried to maintain a good supply of markers, colored pencils, glue sticks, and other such items, too.

If you haven't purchased all your school supplies yet, you may want to pick up report and project supplies at the same time and save yourself a trip. I find that Sam's frequently has pens, paper, and ink at more reasonable prices than office supply stores. And the dollar store is a great resource, too!

Backpacks

Wheels are wonderful! A backpack on wheels is much kinder than one that must be carried over the shoulders. I've tried to lift our foster daughters' backpacks without success - I don't know how they do it!

However, if your child or his school insists on unwheeled backpacks, here are a few tips I have recently learned:

- the weight of a backpack should not exceed 15% of a child’s body weight, according to the American Occupational Therapy Association

- to prevent back strain, the backpack should be carried on two shoulders and should have wide, well-padded straps

- the lowest part of the backpack should be no lower than 4 inches above the waist

- heaviest books should be carried closest to the back with lighter objects in the front pockets

- backpacks should be cleaned out weekly to eliminate unnecessary items.
Source: CNN/health.com.


Any tips for us? Please click comments below to share your ideas.

Related Posts: Hope for Disorganized Students!, Homework battles, Getting Organized for School - Backpack Checklist, Getting Organized for School - Learning Style, Getting Organized for School - Document Organizing System, Getting Organized for School - Creating a Hub, Getting Organized for School (and life!) - Getting Enough Sleep, Get Organized for School (or life!) - A Family Calendar, Organizing for School - Papers, Get Organized for School - Clothing Inventory

Are the Olympics Causing Road Rage?

I’m suffering from sleep deprivation. Each night I think, “I won’t stay up tonight to watch the entire Olympics.” Then my husband turns on the TV and I become immersed in (get it?) watching Michael Phelps make history by winning 8 gold medals and setting 7 world records, cheering on Dora Torres competing at age 41, witnessing the women’s gymnastics team win gold and silver in the all around – a first ever. I can’t believe I watched the entire women’s marathon! What is this magnetic hold the Olympics has on me?

I noticed I was rather grouchy on Friday and started wondering if there is more road rage on the East Coast due to the Olympics. Are there more cases of aggression, abuse and assault? When the Olympics ends after midnight on some nights (close to 1 am on the night of women’s gymnastics), what is the effect on those living in the Eastern time zone? Do we have a whole region of the United States living on frayed nerves?

But, hey. You need to experience those special events at times. No matter how organized and scheduled you are, you need to throw it out the window every once in a while and witness history or make memories.

When we lived in Kenya, the Safari Rally came through our little town of Kericho. At 2 am. The Safari Rally is considered by many to be the toughest rally in the world. My husband felt like this was an experience our girls should not miss. So he rousted them out of bed and took them to the main road, where they sat on the hood of our car in their pajamas watching the racers pass by.

Sleep is a wonderful and necessary thing. Having a workable schedule is essential to accomplishing your goals and leaving a meaningful legacy. But being spontaneous, making memories, and experiencing history-in-the-making energizes your life! Then, take a nap.

Getting Organized for School - Planning Dinner

Although I love summertime and the more relaxed schedule, I'm usually ready for school to start in the fall. By then, I'm looking forward to a little more structure in my life. An aspect of that is putting a quick, tasty, balanced meal on the table every night. I feel strongly that providing a good meal for my family is part of creating an atmosphere for their success.

These days, It is even more motivating to plan dinner with food becoming more expensive. I recently read an article on ways to fight rising food costs, which suggested:

- eat at home
- plan your menus before shopping
- shop infrequently
- don't buy prepared food.

With a little planning, you can prepare delicious and nutritious meals at home for a fraction of the cost of eating out. When you consider four combo meals at a fast food restaurant comes out to about $20, you could buy steak or fish, real vegetables and fruit for less than that for a family of four. It takes a few more minutes, but you don't feel guilty afterwards!

If you are at a loss as to what to plan for dinner or if you're bored with what you've been cooking, I have an answer for you: Hassle Free Dinners. I spent a couple of years creating this CD with a year's worth of seven dinner menus per week. Each weekly menu contains color-coded instructions for each day of the week and a weekly shopping list.

Recipes show amounts for two, four, and six servings so you don't have to do the math. Nutritional information and cost per serving is listed for most recipes. And no entree is repeated during the entire year.

Each week includes 1-2 chicken, 1-2 beef, 1-2 pork, and 1-2 fish recipes, with one meatless meal. Each meal includes protein, starch, and something red and something green - fruit and/or veggies. Menus are listed according to months, and use seasonal produce for that time of year. Don't worry - no liver or brussel sprouts!

This system allows you to shop once a week, saving bunches of time and money. I read the other day about a woman who plans her meals on the way home from work, keeps recipes in her car, and stops at the store each night on the way home. Even if she spends only 20 minutes each time she shops, that's 100 minutes for five days. I can usually do my weekly shopping in an hour or less when I have a plan.

Hassle Free Dinners is for people who don't mind cooking, but don't like to plan or are out of ideas. It's a marriage of dinnertime and professional organization, streamlining the time you need to spend in the kitchen in order to put a decent meal on the table.

For more information about Hassle Free Dinners, click the title above.

How do you streamline the time you spend in the kitchen?

Related Posts: More Reviews by Multitasking Mama, Fun Food Tips, Saving Money by Being Organized, Planning Dinner

Organizing Your iTunes Music

There are a couple of programs out there that can help you organize your iTunes music, especially those designated "Track 01" where you don't know what song it is until you play it.

John Sanders from WBAL in Baltimore recommends TuneUpMedia.com which will read the digital fingerprinting on each song to identify the name of the song, the artist, and will even put the album artwork on your computer while it's playing. It's free up to the first 500 songs and then it's $12 a year after that for unlimited use. Sanders says that MusicBrainz is free but leaves a bit to be desired as it doesn't organize every song.

Sanders also recommends Last.fm, which is kind of like social networking for music lovers. It updates your profile with the songs you're listening to, as well as making it available for your friends to see.

To learn more from John Sanders' Web Trends, click the title above to see his article and video about organizing iTunes music.

It's Launch Day at Ellie's Bags

Ellie's Bags has some very creative ideas when it comes to diaper bags! These are not your mom's diaper bags. It's evident they have put a lot of thought into their diaper bag systems, and even have a tutorial on how to use them. Click the title above to see how cute and efficient they are!

My Guest Blog on Creating a Mudroom

Drop in on Laura at I'm An Organizing Junkie and see my guest blog on creating a mudroom. Check out her Round-Up for this month which is on entryways/mudrooms. Organize yours, submit it, and you may win her prize! Don't forget to look around while you're there to see all the resources she offers to make your life more organized.

Getting Organized for School - Document Organizing System

David Schwartz over at DOC-OA Document Organizing Assistant tells me that they have updated their organizing system for students. It's a very streamlined document oganizing system for elementary through college, helping students keep track of assignments, study sheets, finished homework, and more. Check it out! Click the title above to learn more about it.

Related Posts: Hope for Disorganized Students!, Homework battles, Getting Organized for School - Backpack Checklist, Getting Organized for School - Learning Style

Organizing Your Herb Garden, Part 2 - Drying Herbs

After listening to me rant and rave about squirrels destroying my herb garden, I want to assure you that I eventually did have herbs in my garden. In fact, I have a plethora of some of them! I decided to try some new herbs, one of which is pineapple sage. It smells delightful, and we've tried it on chicken, which wasn't a great hit. After searching for recipes using pineapple sage, I hit upon pineapple sage tea - delicious! Just pour boiling water over several leaves and let it steep.

Little did I know when I planted pineapple sage that it would grow into a monstrous bush! My husband has already trimmed it once to keep it from overtaking the other herbs around it - a good time to dry them.

Last year, Al, the guy who put in our new windows, advised me on how he dries herbs, so I used his method: wrap rubber bands around the stems of a bunch of the same herb and hang upside down in a dry, airy spot. I must say I felt like I was walking right out of the pages of Little House on the Prairie, having those herbs hang from pegs in my kitchen.

This year, however, I'm trying a different method. A woman in my arthritis aquatics class belongs to an herb club. Rose told me that you can dry herbs in your microwave. I tried it on some basil and it works wonderfully. I placed one layer of basil (make sure it's not wet) between paper towels. I started with one minute on high and repeated until the basil was dry, being careful not to burn it. I put my dried basil in a zip lock for now until I have time to take it off the stems.

Last year I put my dried herbs (sans stems) in my plastic colander and rubbed them through the holes into another bowl. My husband suggests whizzing them around in my mini-chopper this year, which I haven't tried yet. But it sounds like a good idea.

So if you were inspired to grow herbs this year like my friend Margaret, yours may be ready to dry. To keep your herbs tasting good, pinch off the flowers when they start to grow. If they go to seed, it makes the herbs bitter. I found out by accident last year that my parsley would grow through the winter. More than once, I brushed snow off my parsley and cut some for dinner. Even after cutting them for drying, some herbs came back and grew until frost.

Do you have any herb tips - cooking or growing?

Related posts: Organizing Your Herb Garden, Organizing your garden, Score: Squirrels 1, Bev 0, Feed the Squirrels? - Hah!, Managing Invasive Herbs

Getting Organized for School - Learning Style

One of the greatest gifts you can give your child is understanding her learning style. This greatly increased my ability to help my children learn - knowing whether she was an auditory, visual, or kinesthetic learner. I didn't force my learning style on her.

Cynthia Tobias has written several books on learning styles and learning in general. I'll recommend two that I found very enlightening: The Way They Learn and Every Child Can Succeed. She gives numerous ideas of implementing each type of learning style.

As you talk these concepts over with your child, knowing his leaning style gives your child confidence, the ability to adapt his learning accordingly, and the freedom from comparison. You may find it helpful to discuss this information with your child's teacher, especially if he is a kinesthetic learner aand must be moving in order to learn.

Click the book images on the sidebar to get a more detailed description of each book.


What have you done to help your child learn? What books do you recommend?


Related Posts: Getting Organized for School - Creating a Hub, Getting Organized for School (and life!) - Getting Enough Sleep, Get Organized for School (or life!) - A Family Calendar, Getting Organized for School - Backpack Checklist, Organizing for School - Papers, Get Organized for School - Clothing Inventory, Hope for Disorganized Students!

Organizing for College - or Just Having Fun

If you're taking your child to college or just trying to squeeze in some fun - Expedia is offering a fabulous deal - 50% off hotels through the end of September. Even they say this is one of the best deals they've ever had. Just had to pass this along to you. Click this link to save some bucks (http://www.dpbolvw.net/click-2537020-10489996?GOTO=DAILY&page=/promos/deals/50_percent_off/default.asp&afflid=aff.wd.promo.50%_off.20080804)!

Ellie's Bags - A New Idea in Diaper Bags - For You or as a Gift

Ellie's Bags is getting ready to launch their new line of diaper bags on August 13. In the meantime, they are sponsoring a giveaway - a $25 gift certificate. Use it for yourself or give it to a friend. Click the title above to sign up!

Organizing for College - Time Management Tip for Campus Calm Blog

Campus Calm is a wonderful resource for college students. Maria Pascucci founded Campus Calm to help students reduce the stress in their lives while still succeeding in college. She has loads of resources and numerous experts who provide insight in many areas.

I am privileged to be the Time Management Expert for Campus Calm. Click the title above to check out my time management tip for college students for this month. While there, wander around the site. Give your friends who are college students a gift by pointing them in the direction of Campus Calm . Or buy them a membership to Campus Calm University!

Related Posts: Organizing for College - Guest Blogger Sarah Scrafford, Great info for college students, their parents, and college professors, Packing for College, Review of Three Steps to Time Management for the College Student, College Survival Kits, Organizing For College - Dorm Room, Organizing for School - Papers, Getting Organized for School - Backpack Checklist