Dear Geralin,

My husband and I are both fairly organized, but our third child is going to be born shortly and we know we’ll be overwhelmed soon. One area where we are not so organized is keeping track of all our passwords. Do you have any tips for keeping our passwords organized? The less tech-y the solution, the better. (more…)

This month’s question came from a woman I met while doing a presentation; she asked: ‘Geralin, are you always super-organized and if not, what do YOU do to get motivated?”

Short Answer: Heck no!

Long Answer: I dread processing the daily mail so I put it aside and open it once weekly on Trash Eve.* I think whoever said, “Touch your papers only once” must have been talking about Kleen-X because I think anyone with children has to go through their papers more than once, especially when the teacher needs photos from their past or an address for their Flat Stanley buddy in Alaska. (more…)

Dear Geralin,

Since having children our paperwork has grown into a chaotic mess that stresses me out. We have papers everywhere (and I do mean everywhere). We can never find anything so we spend a lot of time looking around for things. I don’t know where to begin. I feel like a failure because I can’t even figure out where to begin. (more…)

HIRING A PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZER–ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

Dear Geralin,

I recently started reading Clever Parents and thoroughly enjoy your organizing video clips and articles; these are the next best thing for some of us who don’t have our own professional organizer. I have 2 toddlers and don’t have a lot of time to research how to hire an organizer. If I were to hire an organizer, what should I ask when interviewing, and where do I find one?

Ava (more…)

Dear Geralin,

I’m not a tree hugger but I want to do my part to save the planet. Do you have any eco-friendly organizing hints for an average, SUV-driving mom living inside the belt line (i.e. inside the city limits)?

PS: Your “Master a Disaster” article was a lifesaver for me – thanks!

Molly in Raleigh

Good Golly Ms. Molly in Raleigh!

I have a black belt in shopping and am not a granola type of gal, so I am far from being an expert on this topic! I, too, am trying to go green but I have a disclaimer: When it comes to being green, I’m playing checkers while others are playing chess!
I’m like Kermit; it isn’t easy being green!

Maybe I’ll just tell you about my personal 12-step eco-program and, hopefully, it will inspire you. (more…)

Problem:

Dear Geralin,

Help! I need an organizing hint. Here goes: I never know what to do about getting my kids out the door with all their sports stuff; I home-schooler mom with have 5 kids. I need each of them to pack their own things but usually someone forgets something, including me. Any ideas for getting me out the door without a return trip home for forgotten items?

Kim in Wake Forest (more…)

Summer’s here! Do you know where Stephen Leatherman, Ph.D. is? More importantly, do you know who he is? He is the lucky dog who creates an annual list of America’s 10 Best Beaches. What a job, huh? He probably travels all over the United States looking for out-of-the-way beaches and then “hides out” there for a few days of boating, sunning, drinking ice-cold beverages and watching glorious sunrises while contorting into pretzel-like yoga positions. All this while we sit home reading about these fabulous destinations on uncomfortable plastic patio furniture.

Since the “best beaches” job is already filled, I’m hopeful that we, as Clever Parents, could have a bit of good old-fashioned summertime fun and create our very own list too. After all, summer has officially arrived!

Summer is here…Do you know where your clutter is? Please join me in creating the very first interactive list of home-based clutter hiding spaces. To be more specific, places we hide *things*. (more…)