Well, the Les Mess Organizing Card Game is just the trick to help accomplish these oftentimes difficult tasks.

According to their website, “LES MESS, a fun interactive card game that teaches children how to clean up after themselves and manage their possessions.”

Les Mess recently sent me a deck of these cards to try out and my kids have had quite a bit of fun with these.

The game is set up so that your child draws a card and then does the task in the allotted time.  There are also “Bonus” cards that allow the child a free day or some other twist.  You can then set up the game to offer a prize or reward when the task is completed.

This game seems like a handy way to get your kids involved in tidying up his or her things as well helping out around the house.   Ideally they will then become a bit more aware of keeping things organized and develop a habit of picking up more often.

Well, if only it were that simple.  I don’t know how many times I’ve bought a bunch of nice storage bins, carefully put a bunch of things in each one and threw them up in the closet or on a storage rack…only to pull them all apart a month later desperately looking for that missing glue gun or electric stapler.  Now I know I put that in one of these boxes!!!

The key to using storage bins and racks to get organized is to have a logical system of classifying like items as well as using the right type of storage item.  You’ll want to take some time before you buy your storage boxes to establish your precise needs.

You don’t want to use a large plastic pin for smaller items because they’ll most likely get lost in the mess.  Likewise, don’t bother putting one large item in one small box since that’s really a waste of resources.

~ Plan your system before you buy by thinking clearly about what you’re out to accomplish.

~ Buy the appropriate type of storage bin or box for your project.

~ Make sure you have enough room to house the box or bin you buy.

~ Use this time to purge some of the unnecessary or unwanted items in your home.  You don’t have to keep everything, and sometimes it feels great to lighten the load a bit.

~ Use colors logically to help you identify the contents of a box, or consider using clear plastic bins so you can see the contents without having to open everything up.

~ Label your boxes well so you know what’s in them.

~ Consider keeping a brief inventory elsewhere, like on your computer or even a printout, with a list of items in each storage box. You don’t have to list everything, but perhaps just the basics or the theme of each storage bin.

~ If you don’t have the shelves for storage boxes, consider stackable storage bins or containers.

· Clear your desktop and drawers of everything except large items like computers or printers. While you have your desk clear, wipe down surfaces and drawers.

· Put desk accessories (pencil cups, calendars, desk pad, rolodex) back on the desk where you are able to easily reach or see what you need. Insert drawer dividers or other desk organizers you need to keep like items together and stay organized.

· Sort the items you cleared from your desk. Set up boxes with categories like: shred, recycle, trash, office supplies, equipment, papers to file, decorations, and elsewhere (items that don’t belong at the desk to be put away later). Place items in these boxes.

· Put items you have sorted away. Place the things you use daily within easy reach, items you use weekly close enough to reach them with little effort, and supplies you use monthly or less often away from your desk. These can even go in a closet or storage area in another room. Keep your workspace clear so that you have a clutter free environment that allows you to focus on your work and put like items together so you can easily find them.

· File papers. If you do not have a good filing system, set up simple system for handling paper where you can find the paper you are looking for in less than a minute. Don’t pile—file!

· Place any decorative items where they can be seen and enjoyed, but not on your workspace. Display items that inspire you most, but minimum the amount of decorations so you are not distracted from your work.

· Maintain the hard work you have done. Take time to put things in their proper place each time you use them. When you are working your desk can become cluttered, which is understandable. Just make sure that at the end of the day everything is put away and the desktop is clear, ready for a new day of work.

Cathy Bates is owner of Practical Solutions Professional Organizing and a Golden Circle Member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO). They offer hands on organizing help for homes and offices. To find out more about how they can assist you, contact them at www.psorganizing.com or call (909)810-3719.

First I encourage you to de clutter your email. If you have a hotmail account, aol, or just a local ISP. Merge them all into ONE. My only recommendation is GMAIL. Gmail is one of Googles MANY tools to get you organized. Besides, if you have multiple email accounts you can check them all via Gmail as well as send and receive emails from a POP account.

In addition, it’s easy to organize your family life with the use of different Google applications such as Google Calender, Google Black Berry Sync, Google Contacts, Google Documents, Google Mail, and Google Voice.

Google is quick to point out to business; the value of time saved using Google to manage their business. Busy Moms rejoice because these same tools can save you time and sanity for both your busy family and yourself as well!

So how do I manage my family’s schedule with Google ?

The first step is to register for a Gmail account for each of your family members old enough to have an email account (old enough to learn how to use one.

I do not suggest creating a ‘family account’. Each user needs to have their own individual Google Account. Google will allow you to share what you want with each user.

Once you’re signed up with Gmail you can begin to coordinate the different accounts and start organizing you family life from wherever you might be whether it’s at home or on the road.

You can head over to the Google Calendar section and begin filling out your own calendar that you can then share with everyone, other individuals or specific groups of people.  You can limit some events to private settings while sharing other information with a different level of access.  You can even sync your calendar with other popular applications like Outlook or you Iphone or Blackberry.

So here are my tips for looking after your family computers and keeping their maintenance up to date.

1) Check your antivirus programs and make sure they are downloading their updates. If you don’t have one, get AVG free. Make sure you only have one anti virus program or you will find your computer will stop liking you.

2) Protect your kids ? Hey PROTECT YOUR COMPUTERS. Kids will visit any and every website on the internet and downlaod all kinds of nice and not so nice things to your computer. So stop right now and get cyber patrol. Know what your kids are doing and keep them from doing things to your computer that they shouldn’t.

2)  Run a disk Defrag. Go to Start -> All Programs -> Accessories ->  System Tools -> Disk Defragmenter *do this every week. Need more ?  You need to do this each week

3) Clear your internet cache. You need to do this each week. Videos:  Fire Fox Internet Explorer

4) Take your videos, photos, and music off your computer. Most of us don’t have enough memory to store all of these on our computer without slowing down your computer.

5) Remove unused programs using the Control panel  add/remove programs.

6) Go to windows update and make sure you have all the latest updates for your computer.

7) Run a registry cleaner. I use Registry Mechanic. Be sure you have all of your driver disks in case you need to reinstall something.

Set a day each week to run a defrag  and cache clear on your computer.

As a Myers-Briggs personality profile facilitator, I have learned that stress relievers are not generated from the areas of your natural giftedness, but the opposite. Can you see that moving out of the area where you spend most of your time is a break from the usual – a relief?

For some, cleaning and organizing provides that break. Here are a few 5-minute stress relievers in this area:

1. Clean out a drawer.

2. Clean out a drawer or shelf in the fridge.

3. Make a list of your favorite things to do, and plan when you will do one.

4. Declutter a room or surface.

5. Make a to-do list or prioritize the one you have.

6. Clean a bathroom sink or counter.

7. Dust.

8. Go through a magazine rack and toss old magazines.

9. Declutter your car.

10. Empty one shelf of the dishwasher.

11. Clean your kitchen sink.

12. Fold a basket of clothes.

13. Clean out your purse or wallet.

14. Take out the trash.

15. Organize a shelf in your pantry.

16. Organize a closet.

17. Sit in a room that is irritating you and think about what is not working.

18. Make list of possible options for your dinner menu next week.

19. Remove and hang clothes from the dryer.

Set the table for your next meal.

If doing some organizing and cleaning will relieve your stress, take five!

Beverly Coggins is an organizing expert, speaker and author of the 1-2-3…Get Organized series – books, workbooks, and ebooks written for the organizationally overwhelmed. Her blog contains tips on organizing time and space. Contact information: Bev@1-2-3GetOrganized.com. 330-922-0755

I am lost in a pool of paper and determined to not be as ‘unorganized’ as I was last year. or to drown under the pile.

So this busy mom has dusted off her mom time management skills and has managed to get through the first week of school with everything under control.

My family time management control center is back up and running… complete with;

1) a LARGE desktop calendar – stuck onto the cork board with double sided tape. The little ‘30 day family calendars have never had enough space to write down all of our schedules.

2) the large envelopes (on the corkboard) are used for teacher notes, school forms ect.

3) my ticket (the small blue paper). Graciously handed to me by a local RCMP officer who felt I did not come to a full and complete stop at the four way  intersection this week. Which by the way will cost you $140 Canadian dollars ! I use the board for items I know I will need during the week and that’s one bill I have to get paid ;)

4) the  wall hangers on the side – there is one for each child and it will hold agendas, homework, and library books.

5) Hooks – each child has one hoody and one rain jacket (we live in the rain forest of BC). Another set of hooks holds each child’s school bag. Lunch boxes are kept in the kitchen.

The back of the door has a white board- which up to this morning held a quote from Obama’s Back to school speech. It now holds the notes of things for my housekeeper to do (yes I gave in and she comes 2-3 times a week for 2 hours because I can not do it ALL) and the following note for my son:

Liam: All video games are gone.

We will talk next Sunday at 7pm about them coming back based on:

1)Being up ready for school by 8:00 am. HAPPY

2)All homework done and agenda being used

3)In bed sleeping by 9 pm

4)How you treat your siblings and your mom

So that gives you a bit of insight to the ‘Almost Always Organized Mom’s’ crazy life. Have a great week and I would love to hear your back to school organization tips.

Spring is here and all around people are cleaning up their gardens and yards. This year that one item is at the top of my Spring to do list. Clean up my yard.

Clearing the over grown blackberry bushes is the obvious starting point in my back yard and today I jumped through that step. Now I am looking for hints for spring yard clean up and now I am researching what comes next in Spring Yard Clean up.

This looks like a great tip and it’s my next step:

“Do you want new beds? If so, lay out newspaper 5 or 6 sheets deep, then add several inches of compost over the top. This kills existing vegetation by smothering it. Four months later, you can dig it up to work the compost into the soil. No sod removal is necessary. “ Click Here for more Spring Yard Tips

Would love to know your Spring Gardening tips.

My excitement was evident and my son was quickly caught up in it as we opened the parcel.  Upon opening the parcel, he was a bit disappointed to learn that the book was “about cleaning his room”. He perked up when I asked him to be my model though.

So just how do you win a copy of Lorie Marrero’s  book The Clutter Diet: The Skinny on Organizing Your Home and Taking Control of Your Life?

The contest starts Saturday February 28th and runs through to March 14th 2009. (Hopefully this will be enough time for me to get through the book and share my favourite sections with you.)

During this time you can earn one entry for each of the following (be sure to comment and tell me which you have done and provide your email address in your comment):

1)  Tweet this contest out to your followers for one entry (you can do this each week for two entries).

2) Simply leave a comment telling me why you need this book

3) Mention the contest on your blog for two entries.

UPDATE: Contest is now over.

On March 14th one winner will be selected using Random.org and notified by email. The winner has four days to reply at which time a second winner will be selected. This contest is open to residents of the USA, Canada, UK, and Austrailia.

Good Luck !

The Almost Always Organized Mom

One of my must maintain issues discussed when we decided to work together and blend His family of four and mine is this Laundry RULE;

* Fold and put away ALL clean laundry as soon as it comes out of the dryer. Folding it when it is still warm keeps you from having to iron as much. Also you don’t have unfolded laundry reminding you that your work is never done. Cathy Bates – Professional Organizer -  PSOrganizing.com

I have to add my laundry saving grace – My children’s clothing is not in their bedroom (with the exception of dress clothing in the closet and one drawer of PJ’s). I have a white pantry (slim) for each child in the laundry room. All of the clothes come out of the dryer, are folded, and put int heir pantry. Each evening I pick out an outfit for the younger kids and bring it to their room (prevents fighting and saves time in the morning) and the two oldest simply grab their clothes in the morning.

Happy organizing !