Get Organized Month 2014: Operation Preschool

What is January is known for?

Blizzards.

White sales.

Lots of award shows on TV.

January is also a time for setting goals for the new year. Maybe you're looking to lose weight or get your finances in order. Or maybe...just maybe...you're thinking of getting organized!

Well, if that's the case, you're in luck because January is Get Organized Month (also known as GO Month).

In 2005, the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) proclaimed January as Get Organized Month. They developed a national campaign to stimulate public awareness of the profession and the importance of getting and staying organized. Local chapters of NAPO as well as individual professional organizers use this month to help individuals, businesses and schools bring time management, organization, storage solutions and productivity into their lives.

The last chapter-sponsored GO Month event I participated in was when I was seven months pregnant with my second child. It was held at the IKEA of Paramus and my job was to walk around the store answering questions and taking pictures of my colleagues giving demonstrations and workshops. Instead of walking, I was waddling and most of the questions I was asked by shoppers were less about organizing and more about my pregnancy!

NAPO started sending out emails about GO Month in late 2013. At around the same time, the director of my son's preschool approached me for assistance. She knows I'm a Professional Organizer and mentioned to me that the two storage closets designated for the preschool were disorganized and could use some TLC. Could I help? "Sure," I said.

When I told the teachers I'd be organizing the closets and they all asked, "Have you seen them lately?" To which I replied, "No. I'm sure they just need a little organizing and some love."

Then I took a look...

Here's another view...

Then I walked into the other storage closet...

OK...maybe they'll need a little more TLC than expected...

This is my personal 2014 GO Month project--to get the storage closets of my son's preschool organized.

What will result once these storage closets are organized?

• The teachers/director will be able to find the supplies when they need them.

• There will be no need to buy extra supplies because what they need is not accessible or can't be found.

• It will de-clutter and free up space in the classrooms and office.

• It will bring smiles to the faces of the people who have been so good to my children (and it will make their jobs A LOT easier).

I'll keep you updated on my progress!

Organizing Up and Down - a Vertical Makeover

If you've read the 'About Me' section on the right hand side of my blog, you know I grew up in a tight space. My bedroom was 5'x12' and I had to keep most of what I owned in that room. Because of space constraints I could not spread out much. But I quickly learned that horizontal space was not the only space I had in my room--I also had VERTICAL space.

I have worked with clients in spaces as small as a studio apartment and as large as a mini-mansion. Regardless of the size of the home, I have found that people use horizontal space more often than their vertical space. It is at that point that I remind them of a very basic organizing principle:

If You Can't Go Outward, Go Upward!

Translation: If you've run out of room in your room, buy some products to help you utilize the wall space you didn't know you had.

Here are a few products that will help you to use your vertical space efficiently:

Bookcases
They're not just for books--bookcases are perfect for anything you want to store or display. Measure your space from floor to ceiling. Then buy the tallest bookcase you can afford. For ideas, Google, "how to use a bookshelf for storage." You won't believe what people are getting off the floor and tabletops and putting on to bookcases... Try IKEA for inexpensive options.


Shelves
These shelves are ones you mount to the wall. Great for displaying collections, photos, and knick-knacks.


Freestanding Closets
Need extra closet space? Purchase a freestanding closet. Again, buy the tallest one you can fit in your home and make sure it has at least one shelf at the top for extra storage.


Cabinets
If you have low cabinets or don't have enough, consider cabinets that go to the ceiling. Take advantage of high-up space for things used only once in a while like holiday dinnerware or guest towels.


File Cabinets
Need lots of paper storage? You can buy a file cabinet that is five drawers high instead of two or more that are two drawers high to save on your horizontal space.


Step stool/Stepladder
Unless you're 7' tall, you're going to need a step stool or stepladder to reach your vertical storage places. I recommend having at least one of each depending upon your needs. To reach my high up storage spots, I use a Rubbermaid step stool and a 3-step ladder I got at The Container Store.

When you've finished reading this post, take a look through the rooms in you home. Could you use a vertical makeover?

NAPO-NY at IKEA Brooklyn

Live near Brooklyn, New York? Need some post-summer organizing tips?

If you answered 'Yes,' grab a notepad and head on over to the free 'Get Organized for Fall' event at IKEA-Brooklyn on Saturday, August 27th. Professional Organizers from NAPO-NY will be available from 1pm-2:30pm to answer your questions on clutter, organizing challenges, and maximizing your space.

Here's the schedule:

1:00-1:30         Office & Home Office Organizing Tips
1:30-2:00         Back to School Organizing Tips
2:00-2:30         Home Organizing Tips

You can get there by subway, car, water taxi or bus--here are directions. 

Why not make a day of it? Have lunch at the IKEA cafeteria and then be on the lookout for a NAPO-NY professional organizer. Bring your questions, ideas, photos--they're a knowledgeable bunch!

NAPO-NNJ's Get Organized Month Event

On Saturday, January 30th over 25 Professional Organizers (including myself) gathered at the IKEA of Paramus to educate their guests on the benefits of getting organized with IKEA products in honor of 'Get Organized' Month.

It was amazing to see so many people coming out to shop and learn about organizing on such a frigid day. We met hundreds of people who wished for better organization in their homes and in their lives. We gave out tip sheets, did presentations and gave advice on helpful IKEA products.

A few pictures from the day:

Our Tips Table in the Cafeteria

Greeting IKEA guests

Organizing a Kitchen presentation

Helping out an IKEA customer

What will NAPO-NNJ do next year for 'Get Organized Month?' Who knows--but whatever our event may be, we hope it is a s successful as our day at the IKEA of Paramus in 2010.

Come to IKEA of Paramus!

If you're still not sure what to do this Saturday, drive on over to the Paramus, NJ IKEA for the NAPO-NNJ event: 'Organize to Economize' in the New Year with IKEA Products.

Or, if you live in Manhattan/The Five Boroughs of NYC the #171 bus out of the Port Authority George Washington Bridge Terminal in Washington Heights will get you there. It stops right at the IKEA--and you can shop, stop by the cafeteria for a yummy lunch and get your organizing questions answered.

For more information, go to:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/store/paramus/activities

or

http://www.naponnj.org/news_special_bulletins.html

See you there!

Professional Organizers at Paramus, NJ IKEA!

Make any New Year's Resolutions for 2010? Great! Did any of those resolutions have to do with getting organized in 2010? Even better!

Want some free advice and a fun place to hang out and grab a bite in this frigid weather we're having? Then plan on heading to the Paramus, IKEA of NJ on Saturday, January 30th for the NAPO-NNJ Get Organized Month Event: 'Organize to Economize' in the New Year with IKEA Products.

We're going to have 'Tips Tables' at major entry points of the store, an 'Ask the Organizer' Tips Table in the Cafeteria from 12pm-2pm, as well as presentations and mini-workshops for adults and kids between 11am and 2:30pm.

The event is FREE! The help from Professional Organizers is FREE! You'll have to buy your own cinnamon bun but the tips, advice and expertise is FREE.

For more information, go to: http://www.naponnj.org/news_special_bulletins.html

Looking forward to seeing you on the 30th!

Get Organized Month

I know we haven't gotten through 'the holidays' yet but I'd like you to start thinking about an event that occurs in January--'Get Organized Month.' It is the professional organizing industy's national event dedicated to raising awareness of the benefits of getting organized and of hiring a professional organizer. It's not a coincidence that 'GO Month' (as we organizers call it) comes at the start of the new year. It's a time when many people make resolutions to get their homes and lives more organized and NAPO is here to help.

If there's a local chapter of NAPO in your backyard, chances are there's a GO Month event planned. If you're in and around Northern New Jersey between 11am and 3pm on Saturday, January 30, 2010 take some time to attend the NAPO-NNJ Get Organized Month Event at IKEA of Paramus, NJ. We're calling it 'Organize to Economize' in the New Year with IKEA Products. And the event is FREE!

There will be professional organizers on hand to greet you as well as staffed 'Tips Tables' in the Restaurant and Marketplace area. We'll also have members of our NAPO-NNJ chapter giving presentations on organizing closets, home offices and kitchens as well as mini-workshops for kids. I'll be there early to greet IKEA guests and I'll be photographing the event for the chapter.

For more information go to: http://www.naponnj.org/news_special_bulletins.html

So come on down, grab a famous IKEA cinnamon bun and get your organizing questions answered. It may not fulfill your resolution to lose weight but you'll be on the road to getting and staying organized in 2010. See you there!