ORGANIZING YOUR STUFF AND YOUR LIFEORGANIZATION AND TIME MANAGEMENT

SESSION 3

TODAY WE WILL BE....• Talking about how to keep your life organized

• Talking about how to keep your stuff organized

ORGANIZING YOU LIFETHE MOST IMPORTANT STRATEGY:

Use a day planner or an agenda

• Put EVERYTHING in it

• Carry it around with you

• USE it to help you remember what you need to do everyday

• ADD to it when new things come up

• CROSS OUT things you have completed

ACTIVITY

Create a day plan for everything you did yesterday and everything you are going to do tomorrow.

MAIL• Set up a mail station in the entryway of your home .

• Organize your mail every day.

• Separate your mail into piles- throw out any "Junk" mail right away!

• Organize the rest of your mail using a system that works for you.

• If you have open wall space, mount wood or metal wall files like those used for magazines, or hang a decorative fabric pouch.

• If you have a table in your entryway, use trays or bins to keep mail tidy.

• Whatever storage solution you use, keep it out in the open so that you'll see when you have a backlog of mail and be more likely to deal with it.

MAKE A SCHEDULE• Set aside time every week to create a schedule for the whole week to keep

yourself organized.

• Put all of the major activities and appointments you have for the week on the schedule.

• Pick a time of the week that makes sense and do it EVERY week (many people like to do this on Sunday before the "start" of the week.

• This is also a great time to update your finances and organize any bill payments you need to make for the upcoming month.

USE A CORKBOARD • Pin up all your important information,

notices and bills

• Keep it somewhere visible

• Keep only current information on the board

• File away information once you have dealt with it

ACTIVITY

Brainstorm a list of all the things you would post on a cork board or notice board.

FILE YOUR PAPER

Once you have dealt with bills and notices, put them in a file so you know where to find them if you need them later.

FILING SYSTEMS

Most people organize their information alphabetically using topics such as:

• Rent

• Telephone

• Utilities

You don't need an expensive filing cabinet-

a simple cardboard file box work as well!

The important thing is that you have a system in place and use it.

CHALKBOARD OR WHITEBOARD• Hang it in the entrance of your home or just outside the bathroom

• Make sure it is somewhere that everyone in your house can see it!

• Use it to communicate with the other people you live with

• Write down important appointments for the week

ACTIVITY

What would you write on your chalkboard/whiteboard this week?

• Find a place for EVERYTHING

• Things will pile up on counters and floors when they don't have a home

• Always put things back where they belong

ORGANIZING YOUR HOME THE MOST IMPORTANT STRATEGY

PUT YOUR STUFF INTO CATEGORIES• in the kitchen

• in your closet

• in your garage

Where else could you organize your "stuff" into categories?

ACTIVITY

What categories would you use to organize each area?

MAKE LABELS• label where things go in your cupboards, closet and garage so things always

get put in the right place

• this will also help you keep track of when you need to replace things

DON'T BUY THINGS YOU DON'T NEED

If you are buying something new:

• decide whether you really need it

• think about where it will "live" once you take it home

Use a 24 hour rule for buying new things.

Rule: If you see something you need or want don't buy it right away. Wait 24 hours to see if it is still something you really need or just something that you really want!

KITCHEN - GROCERY LIST

• Always use a grocery list when shopping.

• Keep a magnetic memo pad on your fridge.

• When you run out of something, add it to the list.

• Always take your list with you when you go grocery shopping so you don't buy things you don't need!

• Grocery stores organize food into different categories such as bread and bakery, dairy, meat, frozen foods- if you organize your grocery list in groups it makes it much easier to shop!

ACTIVITY

Use a variety of flyers to create a grocery list.

TAKE PICTURES• Instead of keeping everything just because it is a keepsake- take a picture-

keep a few really special items and a take picture of the rest.

• Keep your pictures in labelled photo albums.

Can you think of any examples where doing this might be useful?

FILE YOUR CLOTHES

Fold your clothing into squares and file them like books on a bookshelf.

Check out Linda Koopersmith videos on how to fold things:

https://www.youtube.com/user/bevhillorg

You can regain 1/3 to 1/2 of your drawer space by doing this!

It works great if you need to pack a bag or go away. You will be able to fit more stuff in a suitcase.

HANG YOUR CLOTHES BY "CATEGORY"• Hang all "like" items together

• Within the category, hang all items that are the same colour together

This makes items easier to find!

DIRTY CLOTHES• Sort them into the right washing colours when you take them off

• That way your laundry is ready go into the machine

• You will know when you have a load because the basket will be full

MITTENS AND GLOVES• Mittens and gloves need to be kept with their mates, and should be kept in

storage that allows for air to circulate around them.

• A shallow woven or mesh tray or basket is ideal.

• If many people are using the entryway in your home, put clothespins out so that mates can be pinned together.

• Add a string to children's mittens and put them through the coat sleeves so they are never lost!

USE WASTED SPACE FOR STORAGE

Store off season clothes under your bed

Can you think of any other ideas for using wasted space?

USE ICE CUBE TRAYS...TO ORGANIZE• jewellry

• hardware

• hair accessories

• paperclips, elastics and pushpins

CUPBOARDS• Keep "like" things together- for example keep cans of soup together on one

shelf

• When you fold up your sheets put all the sheets in one of the pillow cases

• Label the edges of the cupboard so things go back in the right spot

Can you think of any other strategies you can use to keep cupboards organized?

PEG BOARDS

• Decades ago, home handymen developed an amazingly simple and efficient system for keeping hand tools in order.

• Put up a sheet of "Peg Board" over the garage workbench, and hang tools off Peg Board hooks.

• To make things even easier, trace around the tools, so you can quickly see if any tool is missing, what the tool is, and where it should be put back.

• You can use this system anywhere- you don't have to have a garage!

KITCHEN REFRIGERATOR• Use transparent covered bins for bags of

food, such as shredded cheese, open packages of coffee, and other loose foods.

• Keep bottled condiments together in the door slot.

• Beverages such as milk or juice, should be kept together on trays, which contain spills.

• Put items back where they belong instead of into the easiest available space

• Set aside a time to check the fresh dates on items in your fridge at least once a week!

"BEST BEFORE" OR "DURABLE LIFE" DATES ON FOODS• In Canada, a best-before sticker must appear on almost all prepackaged foods that will keep fresh for 90 days or less.

• Best-before dates are the manufacturer's promise to the consumer that the packaging and the food within them will be of the highest quality standard and will contain the nutrients as outlined on the label.

• After that date, the promise no longer stands.…Definitely when a consumer purchases their food, they should be aware of the best-before date and if it has already passed, they should leave it on the shelf and look for something fresher.

• Best before dates tell you about the freshness and shelf life of "unopened food," so once a product is opened, there's no guarantee it will have the same flavour, texture or nutritional value. For example, once you open a carton of yogurt the date is no longer in effect.

• "Best before" dates do not guarantee product safety. However, they do give you information about the freshness and potential shelf-life of the unopened foods you are buying.

• Health Canada says, when a best before date has passed, use your judgement- when in doubt throw it out.

Sources: http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/5-things-you-should-know-about-food-expiry-dates-1.1181951 and http://www.inspection.gc.ca/food/information-for-consumers/fact-sheets/date/eng/1332357469487/1332357545633

"EXPIRY" DATES ON FOODS• The expiration date is the date up to which the food maintains its microbiological and physical stability, and the

nutrient content declared on the label.

• Expiration dates must be used on the following products:

• formulated liquid diets (a nutritionally complete diet for persons using oral or tube feeding methods)

• foods represented for use in a very low-energy diet (foods sold only by a pharmacist and only with a written order from a physician)

• meal replacements (a formulated food that, by itself, can replace one or more daily meals)• nutritional supplements (a food sold or represented as a supplement to a diet that may be

inadequate in energy and essential nutrients)• human milk substitutes (infant formula)

• When an expiration date has passed, there is no doubt, throw it out.

Sources: http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/5-things-you-should-know-about-food-expiry-dates-1.1181951 and http://www.inspection.gc.ca/food/information-for-consumers/fact-sheets/date/eng/1332357469487/1332357545633

ACTIVITY -BEST BEFORE AND EXPIRY DATE CHECK-UPThis is a take-home activity. Before you come back next week, go through your fridge and check all the products for best before dates and expiry dates. Clean out your fridge. Come back next week and report on how it went.

QUESTIONS

CREDITS

This Power Point was created by Laubach Literacy Ontario.

The resources can be downloaded free of charge at www.laubach-on.ca.

This Employment Ontario project was funded by the Ontario Government. 2015

All website links were accurate at the time of original distribution-March 2015.

All of the images and clip art used in this Power Point are from Clipart.com and Microsoft Office.com.