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Live Talk

Live Talk > The Best Ideas For Getting Organized With Asha Dornfest Of Parent Hacks

The Best Ideas For Getting Organized With Asha Dornfest Of Parent Hacks

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- Emily 3 comments
- We are SO excited for this Talk with Asha, Christine and Meagan! Getting organized is a big focus for me this year so this conversation couldn't be coming at a better time!!!!!
  
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  4 months ago

- Cooper 0 comments
- Welcome everyone! This is going to be an amazing and productive conversation today! So glad you all are here!
  
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  4 months ago

- manny 0 comments
- Looking forward to the live talk!
  
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  4 months ago

- saracarl 3 comments
- I can't think of anyone I'd rather spend my lunch break "with" than Asha. :)
  
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  4 months ago

- Homa24 4 comments
- Perfect timing for this chat: my husband was working with our new label maker yesterday and he put the pictured labels in our medicine cabinet in the laundry room. He was worried since the whole shelf wasn't full it would be filled in randomly the way it always seems to (the label reads: "other meds / no toothpaste / no junk"). I think he is hinting at something? :)
  
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  4 months ago

- BusyDad 4 comments
- My wife's favorite thing in the world, even more than chocolate, is organizing. I believe that she's even cataloged all the contents of her brain on spreadsheets. I should tune in just to take some tips that I can spring out of nowhere later. The look of shock on her face would be priceless.
  
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  4 months ago

- Kayla S 0 comments
- So excited for this chat! My mom always says, "Organization is the key," and I tend to believe her. It makes everything work better :)
  
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  4 months ago

- loranstefani 1 comment
- Item #1 on my organizational wish-list: to purchase the Swiss Army tool that you have as your logo. Just think - replaceable sucker heads! :)
  
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  4 months ago

Featured Guest
- Meagan Francis 2 comments
- Looking forward to discussing organization with all of you!
  
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  4 months ago

Featured Guest
- Christine Koh 4 comments
- Hello folks! I am here and looking forward to chatting with you all!
  
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  4 months ago

- Amy McCready 1 comment
- So happy to be here with all of you! I'm ready for some organizing ideas!
  
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  4 months ago

- Emily 2 comments
- Welcome everyone!! Asha, Christine and Meagan, we are THRILLED you are here. And do we need this Talk!!!! :)
  
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  4 months ago

- Brandie 3 comments
- So happy to be here. My house, in short, is a mess. No real organization has happened in almost a year! Yikes! We've just been barely able to keep up with cleaning. So I really do need all the help I can get!
  
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  4 months ago

- Erin O 8 comments
- I have a love-hate relationship with organizing, especially when it comes to my desk. I tend to let papers pile up for months before finally filing them or putting them in binders.
  
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  4 months ago

- Emily 2 comments
- Everyone, click the play button on the video recorder at the top! Asha is doing an intro video!
  
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  4 months ago

- Emily 2 comments
- Asha, Thanks for the great intro!! You look as beautiful as ever!!!
  
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  4 months ago

Talk Host
- parenthacks 4 comments
- Video off! That was fun. OK, ready to go!
  
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  4 months ago

Featured Guest
- Meagan Francis 3 comments
- Loved Asha's intro video - and that she admits she learned to get organized at the "school of hard knocks." Baby #3 did it for me. I realized I couldn't continue in my sloppy ways and ever get out the door or find anything I needed!
  
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  4 months ago

Featured Guest
- Christine Koh 0 comments
- OK people -- ask away, we'd love to help with your organizing quandaries!
  
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  4 months ago

Talk Host
- parenthacks 2 comments
- I thought I'd start with some basic "big picture" ideas and we can then get into specifics.
  
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  4 months ago

- Brandie 3 comments
- Also books. We have so many books. They dont' fit on our shelves. But I struggle to get rid of them. It's like their little friends and if I take them out of the house I'll break their heart. Which is silly. I know books are inanimate objects. But still. So hard!
  
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  4 months ago

Talk Host
- parenthacks 1 comment
- My overarching recommendation when you're approaching Getting Organized (with capital letters) is SIMPLIFY, ROUTINIZE, DELEGATE.
  
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  4 months ago

- Becki 10 comments
- My big problem is paper: I can recycle the junk mail, but it's the bills, the school notices, the things that "something" needs to be done with, but not necessarily right this second. Sound familiar? Any ideas?
  
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  4 months ago

- Kayla S 3 comments
- So...my issue is that I have a huuuuuge container of scrapbooking materials. I'm talking books, markers, ribbons, scissors, photos, stickers; I've got it all! Now that I'm starting to organize everything, I find myself at a loss. Do you recommend book shelves, containers, or what? Is there some sort of wonderful thing I should be purchasing to help?
  
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  4 months ago

Talk Host
- parenthacks 3 comments
- Simplify: 1) don't organize more STUFF than you need to. (Declutter first.) 2) don't organize more FINELY than you need to. (Don't create files if a shoebox will suffice.)
  
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  4 months ago

- SmartyPantsMama 2 comments
- Hi Everyone!
  
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  4 months ago

Talk Host
- parenthacks 3 comments
- Routinize: Create routines wherever you can. The more you think through the steps in your regular tasks, the easier they will be to knock off without thinking. I have routines for "getting kids ready for school," "evening cleanup," "work check-in," etc.
  
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  4 months ago

Talk Host
- parenthacks 3 comments
- Delegate: once items in your home are decluttered and you have specific routines and places they "live," you can more easily pass along jobs to other members of the family.
  
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  4 months ago

Featured Guest
- Meagan Francis 3 comments
- One thing I've learned: Papers have a way of attracting more papers, toys more toys, junk more junk, etc. Attack it before it has a chance to grow! BE RUTHLESS!
  
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  4 months ago

- indiana 8 comments
- My coupons!! I have yet to find a good organizing tool for them and then I end up loosing them or forgetting to take them to the store. OR I'm so frazzled at the checkout I don't have time to get them out to use.
  
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  4 months ago

- SmartyPantsMama 4 comments
- I struggle with ALL those papers especially bills and statements. I have huge piles. How do I handle that?
  
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  4 months ago

- saracarl 1 comment
- Do you write your routines down? Post them somewhere? Or just have them in your head?
  
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  4 months ago

- saracarl 1 comment
- And do you write down routines for the kids? I'm thinking I need to do this, but haven't...
  
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  4 months ago

Featured Guest
- Christine Koh 4 comments
- Admittedly, one of my key strategies to establish household harmony is getting stuff BEHIND DOORS. We implemented this storage solution a couple of years ago and it has been perfect for storing dining goods and my daughter’s explosive collection of craft supplies and books. See http://www.bostonmamas.com/2010/07/perfect_storage_solution.html and image hopefully attached here. PERFECTION.
  
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  4 months ago

Talk Host
- parenthacks 4 comments
- I've actually put together a page of resources just for you, which I'll be adding to once the chat is over. Here you go:
  
  http://www.parenthacks.com/organizing-tips.html
  
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  4 months ago

- Brandie 2 comments
- Does anyone have a household binder? Do you love it? Use it? Hate it? I keep thinking I should start one, but just haven't yet.
  
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  4 months ago

- Emily 2 comments
- I love this clipboard idea that Christine just posted from Pinterest. It's From thewrendesign.com.
  
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  4 months ago

- Becki 7 comments
- I also have a problem with my daughter's stuff. She's nine. To her, every drawing or craft she makes is sacred, every stuffed animal is a family member. She creates these fabulous and creative installations in her room, but then taking them apart is like destroying her "art." But it looks like a mess to everyone else!
  
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  4 months ago

Featured Guest
- Meagan Francis 5 comments
- So how many of you feel guilty about throwing away/recycling kids' art? I tend to only keep the stuff that's really unique or that I think will remind me of the child or put a smile on my face in 20 years. To be honest, that's not a whole lot of it. If I'm in doubt, I sometimes put the art on a shelf for a few weeks and see if the child ever asks about it or if I think about it. If no, it gets tossed. :)
  
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  4 months ago

Featured Guest
- Christine Koh 3 comments
- RE: routines and taming paper clutter, I just responded to someone individually but just wanted to share this brilliant idea on the main thread. I just bought the clipboards to do this.http://pinterest.com/pin/166914729909154126/
  
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  4 months ago

- juliepippert 3 comments
- I don't worry about tossing kids' art -- we have one storage tub for the special stuff and otherwise I photograph it if we want to keep a memory of it.
  
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  4 months ago

- Erin O 6 comments
- I found this cute DIY calendar on Pinterest the other day, and I'm considering making one to help keep track of schedules. You can use dry-erase markers on the glass of the picture frame, and it will rub right off. Prettier than a standard dry-erase calendar!
  
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  4 months ago

- Brandie 3 comments
- On calendars - we have one of those huge desk calendars hanging on the door to our garage. Everyone has to write down anything they want us to know about on that calendar. It works too because we leave the house via that door 97% of the time, so we can see what is coming {as long as, you know, people remember to write things down on it anyway LOL!}
  
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  4 months ago

Talk Host
- parenthacks 11 comments
- I'm hearing lots of frustration with how to manage paper without getting overwhelmed. The key (which I have yet to successfully pull off) is to chip away at the piles AND the inflow a little each day.
  
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  4 months ago

- loranstefani 5 comments
- We do bi-annual consignment sales for the kids clothes/toys. Anyone have any tips on easily keeping clothes organized by size/season?
  
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  4 months ago

Featured Guest
- Meagan Francis 4 comments
- How many of you work from home? It took me a long time to come up with a method of keeping track of my deadlines, my kids schedules, and ideas I had brimming that weren't quite "to-do" items yet. I now have a separate wall calendar for family stuff, a desk calendar for work, and then a white board where I write down "big picture" ideas.
  
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  4 months ago

Talk Host
- parenthacks 8 comments
- Absolute necessity as you undertake getting organized: a calendar and a to-do list. Whatever format works for you...use it and keep it with you every day. There's NO way to keep everything in your head.
  
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  4 months ago

Featured Guest
- Christine Koh 5 comments
- RE: paper/art clutter/storage. And I also just mentioned this re: kid's clothes. Think in terms of the concept that the more space you allocate the more you will fill it. We are ruthless. For example, we have one cardboard box per grade to store art/papers from school and one large plastic bin for clothing. When space is limited, it forces you to trim down and only save what you really want to save!
  
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  4 months ago

Talk Host
- parenthacks 4 comments
- Keyword from Christine and Meagan: RUTHLESS. Ha! But remember, too, that getting rid of stuff means making decisions, and that can be hard. Be gentle with yourself! You don't have to organize your entire life in one week!
  
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  4 months ago

Featured Guest
- Meagan Francis 2 comments
- I mentioned in a comment to Asha's post but I think it bears repeating: the key to getting organized isn't finding that one true perfect system (let's face it, we can spend a LOT of time doing that...) it's creating A system. Any system. And then doing it! You can always tweak as you go!
  
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  4 months ago

Talk Host
- parenthacks 4 comments
- Jedi to-do list trick: You WILL be interrupted throughout your day. So add rough time estimates to your to-do items (5 mins, 15 mins, 1 hour, etc.). That way, when your kid throws up and your three hours of writing time gets reduced to 15 minutes, you can plug something into that open slot.
  
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  4 months ago

Talk Host
- parenthacks 2 comments
- Regarding getting overwhelmed by the process: break it down into steps. Organize a single drawer. Or a single pile of papers. Set the timer for 15 minutes, work with focus, then QUIT and pat yourself on the back.
  
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  4 months ago

- loranstefani 10 comments
- We talked about artwork earlier - how about art supplies? Easily accessible (crayons, pencil colors, etc.) vs. deadly weapon (permanent markers, scissors, glue). It can be as simple as low vs. high cabinet space, but I thought I'd throw it out there in case anyone had any creative solutions they'd like to share.
  
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  4 months ago

Featured Guest
- Christine Koh 5 comments
- There's something else I wanted to toss out there, because I know we are all super busy and juggling a million things. As an entrepreneur and to-do type of gal, I tend to want to do everything myself. But the reality is, sometimes my time is better spent doing client work I love and that pays the bills and outsourcing other organizational tasks. I am a bit obsessed with Task Rabbit for outsourcing. I have used them for everything from household picks ups and purging to event planning and virtual assistant help to rides to the airport! Some examples here: http://www.bostonmamas.com/2011/10/rabbits_to_the_rescue.html
  
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  4 months ago

Featured Guest
- Meagan Francis 7 comments
- Related to the big picture and Asha's journey to becoming more organized - I would like to debunk the idea that you are either "naturally organized" or a slob. I am FAR from naturally organized, and used to think that trying to get more order in my life would go against my free-spirit ways. But I have come to realize that organizing my life helps me be MORE creative and MORE spontaneous because I'm not wasting time putting out fires!
  
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  4 months ago

Talk Host
- parenthacks 8 comments
- C brought up the importance of delegation. Can't repeat this enough. Delegate to your partner, your kids, and to paid help if need be. Swap organizing "services" with a friend. You do NOT need to do this alone, nor should you.
  
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  4 months ago

- saracarl 1 comment
- Similar to Erin's dry erase calendar, I like this "routine chart". (It's more a daily to-do, in order.) I love that she puts things like "create" "practice" and "play" on it.
  
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  4 months ago

Talk Host
- parenthacks 2 comments
- Wow, time's flying! Just want to remind you all that I will be adding to this resource page based on all of your comments here. So inspiring to hear your voices...we all struggle with the same sorts of things.
  
  http://www.parenthacks.com/organizing-tips.html
  
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  4 months ago

- loranstefani 2 comments
- I'm out! Thanks guys for all of the tips - this will go down in history as one of the most productive lunch breaks ever. ;-)
  
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  4 months ago

Talk Host
- parenthacks 2 comments
- Also: We can continue the witty repartee on Twitter! @parenthacks @bostonmamas @meaganfrancis (You can also "like" our pages on FB.)
  
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  4 months ago

Featured Guest
- Meagan Francis 1 comment
- For those of you who have fallen off the wagon....no worries. It happens. Pick at it a little at a time and go easy on yourself.http://thehappiestmom.com/2011/04/on-backsliding-cleaning-and-organizing-is-a-process-not-a-goal/
  
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  4 months ago

Featured Guest
- Christine Koh 2 comments
- Hey folks, sorry to share a couple more links from my main blog, but these are some of my favorite organizational items...people always comment on them in our house!
  
  1. We have a set of these chalkboard circles in our kitchen for menu planning, schedule notes, household to-do’s. Our 7 year old loves being the scribe!
  http://www.bostonmamas.com/2008/08/chalk_it_up.html
  
  2. A fast and easy way to get photos off your floor/out of boxes and onto your wall.
  http://www.bostonmamas.com/2010/12/easy_staircase_gallery_walls.html
  
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  4 months ago

- Emily 5 comments
- Wow, has time FLOWN!!!! It's so interesting to see the themes that have come up and helpful to know that we're all doing our best with similar challenges!
  
  We will post a summary of highlights later. There is so much here, I'm not quite sure how we'll narrow it down, but we will!
  
  Thank you Asha, Christine and Meagan for leading this inspiring, creative conversation!!!!!! We all learned a TON!!!!!!!!
  
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  4 months ago

Talk Host
- parenthacks 5 comments
- Well folks, time's up! I wish we could do this longer. There's something so wonderful about knowing we're all in this together! Thank you so much for taking time with us!
  
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  4 months ago

Featured Guest
- Christine Koh 1 comment
- Such a pleasure chatting with you all! If you have additional questions, please feel free to ping me on Twitter @bostonmamas xoxox
  
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  4 months ago

Featured Guest
- Meagan Francis 1 comment
- Loved discussing "good-enough" organizing with you all :) Would love to see you on Twitter or FB if you want to keep up the discussion! http://www.facebook.com/thehappiestmom http://www.twitter.com/meaganfrancis
  
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  4 months ago

- Cooper 1 comment
- That was awesome. WOW. I cannot believe the amount of amazing pointers and inspiration. Thank you so much everyone. Asha, Christine, Meagan - YOU ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  
  Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  
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  4 months ago

- ClumberKim 2 comments
- I'm late but I got kidnapped for lunch. I'll be reading through this talk. Thanks to all who participated!
  
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  4 months ago

- Cooper 0 comments
- Hi everyone! You can read the full Talk Summary (with a Top 20 list even!) of this AMAZING Talk here: http://www.themotherhood.com/blog/?p=1775
  
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  4 months ago

Talk Description

Join Asha Dornfest of Parent Hacks to swap tips and tricks for organizing your home with a minimum of fuss, time and stress. We'll all learn from Asha, but, even better, we'll share our own best ideas. Come be inspired and learn new ways to get rid of the clutter and tidy up your home life!

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Jan 23,2012 Monday, 1:00pm EST

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