Learning the skills of organizing your bedroom is so much more important than just making your mom happy.

Bedroom organizing basics

The older you get, the more food and laundry you will have in your room. The younger you are, the more your toys will be all over the floor.

Each week, no matter what, start by doing these 3 things first:

1. Pick up ALL the trash and put anything food related back in the kitchen.

2. Pick up all the dirty clothes and put them in the hamper or laundry room.

3. Pick up and put away what is on your floor.

Every week and every time we talk, I am going to be encouraging you to get rid of stuff and declutter your bedroom. Here's why...

1. Your bedroom is not a house. You have limited space to store your treasures and you need to make sure they are STILL treasures and not just old stuff you don't know what to do with.

2. You are always getting NEW stuff which means you need to get rid of OLD stuff.

3. Things break, you lose pieces, and you just stop playing with stuff over time.

HOW do you do declutter your bedroom?

1. Decide what you no longer play with or want.

2. Take it to your mom and see if she or your siblings want it.

3. Help mom create a donation box or basket for you to put stuff in each week that you no longer want.

Where do I START organizing? That's the number one question I get asked as a professional organizer.

And while that is a loaded question with multiple "right" answers, I have decided to start all of my clients with a simple system I call The Sunday Basket.

It's not magic, and you don't have to use a basket... any bag or box will do.

You see, organization is a way of living and "being organized" is a way of thinking.

The Sunday Basket is a system for processing mail, kitchen counter "to do" papers, and ongoing household projects.

The weekly routine of collecting, processing and maintaining household to dos and papers is the perfect training ground for all your future home organization skills.

And, like it or not, the mail just keeps on coming... giving us plenty of practice to hone and refine our organizing skills.

I have complied all the best videos, podcasts, and posts from all over my website into one organized page to help you get your Sunday Basket started in 4 easy steps.

Sign up for the FREE 4 step Organization 101: The Sunday Basket here.

In the last 4 podcasts I shared how the executive functioning part of the brain affects home organization. Today I want to share 5 general tips for achieving home organization success if you have ADHD.

1. Simplify EVERY area of your home EXCEPT for your passions.
2. Box up past projects and put them in storage. {Keep them, but not in your work space.}
3. Clean up your craft/ project area every 1-3 weeks. 
4. Maintain and straighten you home every 2-3 days.
5. Reflect on what IS and is NOT working often.

View the post and podcast here: http://organize365.com/organizing-with-adhd/

Link to Alpha Brain: http://GetOnnit.com/365

I have been hedging my affinity for Goodwill due to the backlash in public sentiment. My goal is to help you declutter your house, not debate current news events.

However, when I received an email from the Butler County Board of Developmental Disabilities agency asking to help spread the word about the goodwill that Goodwill was doing in our community, I was excited to jump in.

In today's podcast, I go more in depth about my affinity for Goodwill over the last 20 years and how I have experienced excellent service and amazing opportunities in my community for the disabled because of the opportunities Goodwill provides.

By using the voucher in today’s post, the value of your Goodwill donation will NOT be sold. It will be given as a CREDIT to the less fortunate in our community to use as money in the Goodwill shops.

It has been my experience that Goodwill lives up to their mission, "Goodwill Easter Seals of Miami Valley and Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries provide vocational training to people with developmental disabilities. Goodwill’s core mission is to empower people with disabilities and other needs to achieve independence and to enhance their lives.  The local Goodwill organizations are a part of the world’s largest and most successful network providing employment and training services for people with disabilities and other barriers to employment."

No matter where you donate, giving the items in your home which have become clutter to others in need is always a blessing!

View the post and voucher link here:

http://organize365.com/spring-cleaning-donations-goodwill-vouchers-people-butler-county/

This week, you will turn your clocks forward and lose an hour. Oh, how I hate to lose time! However, the changing of the clocks reminds me to do a few other semi-annual maintenance tasks!

Here are 12 things to do When you change the clocks this weekend.

I LOVE to sort paper! But I know even the strongest man will break out in a cold sweat at the thought of sorting a mountain of paperwork.

This week in the podcast, I am walking you through how I think about paper and where it all goes.

I don’t even think it is the sorting as much as the KEEP pile that will drive you bananas.

I keep paper in 3 places:

1. The Sunday Basket
2. Binders
3. Files/Or scanned

You can see pictures of the process and download a printable over on the blog post, but if you want to understand how I decide if a paper is a basket, binder, or file paper, you’ll want to listen to the podcast.

The days I can get both kids to school ALL day and actually be ABLE to work are a mini miracle.

After spending years and years wishing .... there were no snow days.... children didn't get sick.... my home didn't need maintenance... unexpected tasks wouldn't pop up... I gave in and realized that the only thing I can control is ME.

So I set out to streamline, systematize, and proactively take care of anything I needed to do for the week... in advance.

Did you know that for every hour you spend planning, 3-4 hours are saved from redundancy, waiting for information, and not being prepared. I don’t know about you, but I’ll take that trade any day!

In the podcast, I share a few more productivity stats and tricks.

I have set aside my Sundays as the day that I get done everything I possibly can.

Obviously that entails doing the Sunday Basket, but here are 10 more tasks I do each Sunday that save me HOURS and HOURS each week.

Today is all about YOU. Why do we save what we save, and how can we make the decision to get rid of it? 

This week’s podcast and post is week 2 of a 3 week series dealing with different types of MEMORIES.

For years I just "organized" my piles in cuter containers, better systems and a larger house. But organization is not about containers or beautiful systems. It is about keeping what you want and love so you can enjoy those items now and in the future.

So today I want to talk about the items you are saving for your kids. Specifically - kids artwork, clothing, school papers, old toys, pictures, cards, books, old sporting equipment, etc.

1. What do THEY want?

The first question you need to ask is what does your child want to keep? So often I and other mothers save everything "for our kids". But what I realized is I was having trouble letting go.

Letting go of memories, stages of life and opportunities to do more in their short years at home.

At first we save ALL their clothes in case we have another child. But when no more children come, we just say we are saving the clothes for grandchildren. REALLY?!

I DID like it when I had some of my baby clothes to reminisce with my mom about when I had my children. But none of them fit. The stains you can't see now - we glaring when I looked at those clothes 30 years later.

My kids are pretty good at getting rid of things when they are done with them. WE put them in the basement! :)

So really ask your kids - starting at the age of 4 - what THEY want to keep.

2. What do YOU want?

Honestly your kids do NOT want every. single. spelling test they ever did. But I know a mom who keeps them all. Her child's handwriting is so precious to her.

That is TOTALLY FINE. Just know you are saving the for YOU not them.

Think about it this way. What if your mom showed up today with 18 boxes of every single school paper you ever did?

Nostalgic? Would you like to see them? Sure of course! For a few hours.

Would you want those 18 boxes in your basement?

How about your baby clothes? 5 large tubs full?

Every single toy you played with?

3. WHEN do you each want it?