Back-to-School: 4 Benefits of Hiring a Professional Organizer
14 Aug 2017
Back-to-School: 4 Benefits of Hiring a Professional Organizer
When we at Organizing Boston ask our clients to tell us their main inspiration for wanting to de-clutter and organize their home before their children go back-to-school, we’ll get a similar answer from most parents: that they’re worried the effects of a disorganized home will lead to a chaotic and stressful year. The good news for them and anyone else with the same concerns is that it’s relatively easy to instill good habits in your children through simple games and tasks that will help teach them to appreciate and practice order, both now and later in life. Watching your children learn and grow to independently practice these organizational skills can provide a stress-free environment at home.
Though there are many ways to go about teaching children good organizational habits, we’ve listed just a few ways that a professional organizer CAN HELP YOU prepare for back-to-school success and teach your children to become better organized too!
1. We can teach you tasks that involve thinking organizationally. Sorting laundry, putting groceries away, re-organizing a closet: all of these chores require the ability to think logically about the best means of completing a task. Our professional organizers can help teach you the importance of organizing systems in the laundry room, kitchen, mudroom, and closets and how to incorporate storage solutions throughout your home. Human beings are creatures of habit – once a new task is learned, the more you practice it the more you will use it.
Making a game of these tasks and setting a reasonable time limit for their completion, for example, making who hangs up their coats and backpacks first a “race” – can help children learn to think on their feet about completing chores both efficiently and correctly.
2. We can teach you how to brainstorm checklists. The simple act of introducing kids to the idea of strategizing prior to starting a task can set the tone for their future habits. Besides, everyone loves crossing off a line on their mental or actual “to-do” checklist. Teaching your kids to feel rewarded once they’ve completed a chore is a great way to encourage time management, but let’s get back to YOU.
Do you have poor time management skills? Our professional organizers can help organize your entire home so that the words “time management” and “stress” don’t go into the same mixing blender together ever again. Creating organizing systems in the areas that get cluttered the fastest (mudroom, kitchen, children’s bedrooms) is a great way to tackle the monster before it enters the room.
Start with a simple list and hang it in a room that you are in just before ending your day – “School Supplies I Need to Buy” or “Things to Do Before Bedtime” – and work on YOURSELF to plan out the best way to accomplish these tasks in the limited amount of time you have to do them.
3. We can help make organizing fun. Professional organizers are sometimes referred to as “miracle workers”, but the truth is we really have fun doing what we do, and so should you! Being 100% organized every day in your life isn’t always possible, but once you have systems in place to help you stay organized you’ll be dancing to a different tune before you know it. Hanging cork boards, labeling storage containers, installing shelving in closets, and adding other items to your home are just a few ways to make organizing fun, but when you’ve worked all day, still need to cook dinner and get the kids to bed on-time it can become challenging to find the time to get organized. That’s where OB comes in…..in case you’re wondering who OB is that’s us – Organizing Boston! Let us help YOU!
It’s no secret that children often challenge parents’ rules to assert their independence, but keeping their bedrooms in order can become something they associate with their own time, rather than an “assigned” task, if they enjoy seeing their surroundings “just so” and appreciate the space that you’ve created.
4. We can teach you the importance of rewarding good organization. If your child masters the organizational tasks you give them, it’s always best to reward their efforts. Hanging up a backpack, finishing their homework, laying out clothes before bed, putting away toys in the playroom, etc. – these are all very good signs that what you are doing is working. Keeping the rewards organization-theme can help encourage future behavior in children!
Now, let’s hit the rewind button and get back to YOU. Are you really prepared for back-to-school in a few weeks? If you are feeling even the slightest bit of hesitation, relax, take a deep breath and know that everything will be okay. You have all the support you need right around the corner from you. Once you’ve worked with a professional organizer, you’ll be waving your disorganized life good-bye in the rear view mirror and it starts right after your first drop-off at school!
For more information, contact us at 617-893-9242 for a complimentary phone consultation!
