Getting Your Child Organized for Camp

With summertime quickly approaching, many of us are preparing to send our children to camp. Deciding what to pack, how to make certain items more durable and camp-ready, and worrying about the consequences that might accompany forgotten items can be frustrating, to say the least. As a professional organizer, I think you might find these tips helpful.

The task of sorting, packing, and preparing items for the trip doesn't have to be as overwhelming as it might initially seem, however. There are a number of ways that you can ease the pain, and actually make this a fun and organized experience for both you and your child.

To begin with, it is most important to involve you child as much as possible when preparing to send him or her to camp. Ask that your child accompany you in creating a list of favorite things that your child feels are essential for his experience. By doing this, not only will you ensure that your child is equipped with what he feels is important to him, but it gives you the opportunity to discuss certain items as well.

Remember that your child will be spending an extended amount of time away from home, and by bringing items which he holds dear, you can rest assured that he will have access to things that provide comfort when needed. Here are a few additional tips from my organizing service you might wish to consider when getting your child ready for camp:

Disposable Camera

Remember to pack a camera for your child to use during his or her stay at camp. In addition to disposable cameras, there are a number of waterproof cameras available on the market. Encourage your child to share the camera with friends and camp staff so that your child might be included in the pictures as well.

Waterproof Electronics

Consider purchasing waterproof electronics whenever possible. If purchasing this type of equipment is not an option for you, there are a number of ways that many electronic devices can be prepared to that they are more durable and water resistant.

Flashlights

Be sure to pack a flashlight with extra batteries, or consider purchasing one with an extended life, such as the 10,000 hour flashlight.

Clothing

Do not overwhelm your child with too many articles of clothing, but be sure to pack a variety of versatile pieces in order to allow him to be prepared for a variety of activities and weather conditions. Check the camp's dress code before packing items which might be questionable.

Supplies

It might be wise to pack an additional backpack for camp outings. You will wish to consider including such items as sunscreen, lip balm, a compass, and a water bottle or two.

Use the Checklist

Most camps will provide a checklist of suggested items to pack. Making use of this checklist will help to ensure that your child doesn't leave anything behind.

Donate Unwanted Items

While going through your child's belongings in preparation for camp, you might ask your child to assist you with selecting items which are no longer of use to him or her. Organize the items in separate containers, and include such things as winter clothing and coats, outgrown summer attire, toys, and accessories. There are a number of charities, and even church organizations, which will appreciate donations. Many of the donated items will be given to children who are less fortunate. Explain to your child that by discarding items that he or she will no longer use, he may be helping children whose families can't afford these things otherwise.

In addition to organizing and packing your child's belongings for camp, you may wish to consider other types of preparation as well.

• Doctor's Appointments: Schedule doctor appointments accordingly.
• Health Forms and Paperwork: Be sure all paperwork is completed in its entirety.
• Deadlines: Be sure to make a note of any deadlines.
• Confirm Travel Arrangements: Confirm any travel arrangements for your family (or your child) in advance.

I hope this organizational tips help make summer camp more enjoyable for everyone!

Robert Mizrahi
Chaos Commandos
NYCOranizers.com

Organizing Your Kids Paperwork When The School Year Ends

With school coming to a close, here is a a how-to list for sorting through all the paperwork and artwork.
 
We as parents all love to see our children’s artwork and awards they get. We feel proud for our children and maybe even daydream a little about the future Picasso or President that may dwell within. What can be tough however is sorting through what we want to save and what we choose to throw away.

By the time a child hits middle school, you could potentially have boxes of old artwork, report cards and awards. What we as parents have to do is get with the digital age as there are so many tools now to do exactly what we have been doing the hard way. Here are a few steps and tools to help us sort through everything and make storage easier than we ever thought.

1. The first step is to sort everything by category. I would sort as follows: Most important artwork first. There may be artwork that you just have to keep physically either due to its quality or emotional attachment to you. What you should do is buy a portfolio case and store that artwork separately. This way they do not get damaged and store easily. You can find a quality portfolio case at most of your office supply stores or on sites such as Amazon. Average price of a quality case runs between 35-70 dollars.

2. Next comes the awards and certificates that could just as easily be scanned and stored digitally. You could scan and store them either on your computer, CD format, or even using cloud storage. Even better, you could have your child stand holding some of the more important ones while you take digital photos. You could then do this with future awards as they are won and make a timeline of your children’s progress. This keeps you from having to save every good citizen or attendance award your children will often earn and let you save only the most important ones physically. This method also works great for projects that your child completes but may be too big to store anywhere such as science fair or building projects.

3. Next comes the artworks that you may not want to keep but do not have as emotional of an attachment to. These could be simple drawings, small art projects, or handmade cards your children will often make for you. Why not simply scan the works and store them digitally. You could even scrapbook them if you want either physically or online on services such as Snapfish or Shutterfly. This way they are stored for life and your children and grandchildren can view them later. You and your child can also see how he or she grew over the years and how their artwork changed. It may be embarrassing to the child sometimes, but the nostalgia is well worth it.

4. Throw away all the boxes you may have been using to store all of the awards, artwork, term papers and other writings. Once you have properly stored all of these precious memories, you will find you have much more space. You can even store many of the school papers on PDF and use an online service like Dropbox or Microsoft cloud services. A parent starting this while children are still young will have far less work to do than a parent of three school age children. You will find that you no longer have to feel badly about throwing away something your children made or wrote and will have more space as a result.

I know that as parents we often feel bad about deciding what to keep and throw away when it comes to our children’s artwork, school awards and papers. Thanks to the many digital options we now have, this is no longer a heart-wrenching experience. Since we often store our vacation photos and even photos of our pets digitally, this should be a snap for many of us. Simply take the steps to categorize and properly store each item and you can ensure that you and your children’s memories will be available for each generation to follow. Who knows, maybe your child does turn out to be the next Picasso and you get to show the world what your artist was like as a child, and maybe the next President is hidden in those old term papers and report cards.


I hope you find some value in these tips and I invite you to learn more about my Home Organizing Services by visiting my website.

Robert Mizrahi
Chaos Commandos
NYCorganizers.com

A More Thorough Spring Cleaning List

As the snow melts and the flowers start to blossom, you may start to realize how much clutter has accumulated throughout your house. Although many things may be difficult to part with, in order to welcome the new season with low stress, a thorough, all-encompassing spring cleaning needs to take place. 

Don't know where to start? Here are some great tips and accessible resources to get you on the path to an uncluttered, stress free household:

Get Rid of Expired Medications and Pharmaceuticals

Not only are expired medications extremely unhealthy to ingest, but they also take up a lot of unnecessary counter space and produce clutter. Seek out community drug take back programs that enable individuals to bring their unused or expired drugs to a specific location to ensure proper disposal. You can find this contact information by looking up your city or county government's household trash and recycling service.

Some pharmacies even offer a drug recycling program. Do not throw your medications in the trash unless your pharmacist specifically advises that it is okay to do so - this can be extremely dangerous if done improperly. Also, prescription medications should not be flushed down the toilet or sink. They can add harmful toxins to the water supply.

What's In the Garage?

As a Professional Garage Organizer, I recommend you take a thorough and honest inventory regarding the stuff you can get rid of from your attic and/or garage. Many of us like to store items without any real value indefinitely to collect dust and take up space. Admit to yourself which items need to go - consider donating any items that are in good or fair condition to a local shelter or goodwill and dispose of the rest.

Be clear with yourself about which items actually carry inherent value - if something has not been touched in years, get rid of it without batting an eye. Engage in a thorough cleaning of the attic and garage to avoid any insect or critter accumulation.

Do You Need All of those Catalogs?

Take yourself off of catalog mailing lists. Not only is it doubtful that you actually read through all of the catalogs you receive, but the buildup of paper is not good for a clutter free household or the environment. See if any of the catalogs you are interested in still receiving have e-mail lists instead and sign up for those.

Having less stacks of paper around will automatically guarantee you less stress and keep your home looking well kept.

Organize Your Bookmarks

Remove yourself from all and any school related websites, e-mail lists, and user groups until the fall. It is not the beginning of the school year any more. Having children in school brings with it a whole slew of additional stressors, but you can hold off on addressing these until the start of the new year. Be kind to your e-mail inbox, also making sure to remove yourself from any newsletters or promotional paraphernalia that is no longer relevant to you.

Cleaning up your inbox will significantly clear your head a bit and prevent you from slumping in front of the computer for hours on end to tie up loose ends.

Join a Local Free Cycle Group

Join a local Free Cycle group and give your stuff away completely free of charge. This network is all about reuse and keeping stuff out of landfills and offers community members a free and easy way to move their old stuff along to people who genuinely want and need it more.

The website is extremely simple to navigate and not only will you feel good about diverting your old items from landfills, but your home will be one step closer to shipshape and someone else will benefit from your good will.

End the cleaning process with a spontaneous family get together or dinner and have everyone guess what Mom and Dad have been storing in boxes for tens of years. Give the family a chance to laugh and make a game out of it, while still sticking to your mission of ridding the house of all unnecessary items. Your kids may even want to keep some of your old possessions as keepsakes for their future kids.

Robert Mizrahi
Chaos Commandos
NYCOrganizers.com