Backpack Safety for Children

The first is a warning about kids backpacks, Backpack Safety America is a fabulous site that will educate you and your children about the risks involved in letting children carry too much weight on their back.

Back to School Routines

We found this great video at About.com that has some excellent Back to School tips if you have very young children that need to transition into getting back to school.  Some of the tips include starting the school bedtime routine a week or two before they head back,  my favorite was the tip to start bathroom breaks at certain times of the day so that your wee ones get used to going to the potty when they have breaks at school…I think this is a great tip for the very young as I know from experience this can be a issue.  Clich Here to see the video

Never Oversleep Again

We loved the tip on using 2 alarm clocks if you have to in order to get up in time from Canadian Family’s article ’10 back to school tips’.  Although we did not agree with everything in this article…we are entitled to our opinions….we agreed on most points. We both think travelling is an education in itself and do not agree that it teaches the kids bad habits. Overall it is a great article with some good tips.

Back to School Essentials for High Schoolers

For those of you with High Schoolers heading back to school an article from Joseph Cohen titled ’10 Essential back to School Items for High schoolers’ had some great ideas of the needs of Highschoolers in this digital age. Above the normal fares of mechanical pencils, papers and pens he includes the need for Digital Cameras, memory cards or flash drives and of course a computer.  I totally agree we have to embrace the new digital age and allow our kids all the benefits it offers, it is how their world functions and they need to be part of it!

For those of you who have a hard time staying organized throughout the year we have written some articles to help you out:

Staying Sane During the School Year
Back to School Tips to save you Time, Money and Peace of Mind

Staying on Top of the PAPER

Last but not least. How do you deal with all the notices that come home from school? and How do you manage your kids schedules? Do you have a hard time finding the papers when they are due back or keeping track of all the activites and places the kids need to be?

If the answer is yes, we have the solutions for you, check out this video:

Last month we surveyed our readers and the results were awesome, thank you to all who shared their thoughts with us we appreciate it very much. The survey has given us direction in how we move forward with the Watercooler.  It is now a monthly post instead of a weekly one and we have had requests for more organizing tips and yes…contests.

Enjoy this May Issue of the Watercooler and what is happening to help you on your journey to get more organized.

Happy Birthday OrgJunkie

First off  we want to start by wishing our good Friend Laura the OrgJunkie a very Happy Blog  Birthday, she is celebrating the 4th year of her blog and I can tell you she has been an amazing supporter to us personally and a go to gal for ideas in the organizing industry- I am sure all her readers can attest to the amazing information she provides on her blog and we wish her many more Birthdays to come. Happy 4th Birthday Laura!

Garage Organizing

You want more tips…and we want to deliver. Check out this recent post…Garage Sale 101, Clear out the clutter and make some cash.

Inspiration

I know organizing is a tough subject and often the major task in trying to get organized in  just getting started.  For that I have some inspiration for you to show you that it is NEVER to late to START anything you put your mind to…watch this video of an 80 year auditioning for Britain’s Got Talent…she will Blow you away and teach you to live with NO REGRETS, I absolutely LOVE her laugh as well:

Overcome Procrastination

For those of you who have a really hard time getting started I have discovered in the past year this awesome gal who can help you overcome your procrastination issues through Hypnosis, sounds kind of funky but I can tell you from personal experience…it works! I had the pleasure of meeting Wendi last Summer in Vegas at a conference and have been getting help on many issues ever since. Check her out at  WendiTV to see live broadcasts and also check out her Do It NOW! End Procrastination program:

Awesome Organizing Book

‘Organizing Your Home…In No Time’  is one of my all time favorite organizing books, it is easy to follow and has fabulous tips and tricks to getting any home in tip top shape. Check it out and get your copy today:

We love sharing information so if  you have any organizing tips, tricks, news, product launches or links you would like to share please leave us your comments or email us to be included in an edition of Around the Watercooler.

Oh and before we forget…a little shameless self promotion…last month we were interviewed for the Financial Post magazine about our entrepreneurial journey and on May 4th our interview was published…read the article here.

Happy Organizing,

Sincerely

Kim and Elaine

When you run your errands, you should leave home and do things in a circular manner. Meaning make as many right turns as you can, its a time saver opposed to standing in line making a left hand turn, and doing a complete circle.

Are you reaching a stage in life where you forget things too often? It could be the birth of a new baby or age that is causing that brain fog…if you are one of the afflicted you will love these APPS, they can help you to Organize your family, thoughts or time. I would consider this a winner in my books….head over and meet our friends at Men with Pens and check out their post on “20 Powerful Apps to Organize your Thoughts.”

Looking for a new strategy to help you really dig in…let go and get your closet organized finally. How about the  Goddess or Not method…check out this awesome closet organizing strategy in Elaine’s latest KV Style Article…check it out now!

Perhaps all  this excitement about healthy eating has you wanting  to Organize your Kitchen…here are some useful tips to help you let go of those pesky Kitchen Gadgets that are no longer useful.

Kim found this list on Alltop  of 30 habits to improve your life – although Kim did not agree with all of them, most of them are good! Check them out

The long weekend has made for a very quiet week at the watercooler.

Kim and I hope that you enjoy these tips and we wish you all the best on this blessed weekend.

Elaine and Kim

The watercooler was buzzing with excitement on Monday with International Women’s Day events. I had the opportunity to attend 2 events in the Kennebecasis Valley. The guest speaker Mary Schryer is the minister responsible for the status of women in New Brunswick. Her talk was inspiring, shedding light on the sensitive issue of abuse of women in our province and the steps that are being taken to address this.

I hope that you had the opportunity to attend an event in your area.  Make sure you mark your calendar for March 8 2011, honouring 100 years of International Women’s Day.

I love a good Blog Carnival and this week I was able to participate in Janet Barclay’s professional organizers Blog Carnival. The hot topic this month is Financial Organizing . With tax season fast approaching the timing on this Carnival is perfect. Please drop by and check out my article on How To Organize your Finances and the 10 other articles written by Professional organizers who are sharing their best tips.

I can feel spring in the air…this weekend is the Atlantic National Home Show and that marks the beginning of the spring renovation season. I always love to go and chat with the vendors to see what is new and hot in the industry. From a business perspective I love to collect biz cards from the small business owners who may need my professional organizing services in the future.

I hope that you will be digging in this weekend and getting ready for the most beautiful energetic season.

For some help getting those closets organized and ready for your spring wardrobe visit our site today and check out our Bedroom Organizing How to Video that will show you;

In our “From Cluttered Nightmares to Sweet Dreams” video you’ll learn…

1. How the #1 Secret to organizing your closet can help with the whole room.

2. How you can break this mountain of a job into bite sized pieces.

3. How to do the CLOSET HOKEY POKEY….a fun way to remember how to maintain the closet organization.

4. Some end of the day strategies that will save valuable time in the morning.

5. The emotional side of organizing……..how to let go….using hangers?

Check it out now…

Now on to Organizing news, if any of you have a SECRET clutter issue then Peter Walsh is looking for you.  Check out his facebook page, he has put a call out looking for anyone who hides their clutter issues.  If you hide purchases in your truck car or have a ‘secret’ credit card no one knows then he is looking to help you.  check it out here: http://www.facebook.com/PeterWalsh

Organizing expert Stephanie Calahan shares some awesome resources with the world this week, check out her Resource Center featuring 36 Organizing Blogs for your time, office, home and Life.

And last but not least,

For any Organizers out there, it is time to submit your organizing Blog Post for the March Professional Organizers Blog Carnival put on by Janet Barclay.  The Topic this month is Financial Organization, submit online here .

Have a Great week all,

Kim

I believe in fate and in amongst all the crazy things going on I stumbled upon this great Blog post by Donna-Marie Coggins about ‘What to do when your workload overwhelms you’.  It has some great advice and reminds us to take a breath and do some planning and delegate as much as possible.  I sometimes forget that there are other people who can do the stuff I do; I just forget to ask them to help.

I discovered a great organizing tool this week, I have been using Google Reader to get my online reading organized to maximize my use of time, if you are into Social Media this is a tool you may want to check out.  I LOVE IT.  It is so easy to use it is amazing.  Check out this Blog for some great tips on how to use Google Reader to get organized: 6 Ways to Get Organized and Centralized with Social Media.

There is a lot going on this weekend if you are looking for some fun stuff:

If you like to party Join Janet Barclay’s Blog party that starts today, there will be loads of fun organizers in attendance so don’t miss out. Will you come to her party? I will be there!

The Coupon Princess is having a Rubbermaid Giveaway, hurry over and enter before March 3rd.

Locally here in Moncton Today February 26th Is Mission Possible: Haiti Day.  If you happen to be in the area pick up your Mission Possible T-shirt and Join us at the Celebration Center Tonight for a fabulous Benefit concert featuring ECMA winners The Divorcees, Stephanie Mainville and Chris Copelaugh.

On an International Level it is time to think about registering for NAPO Conference 2010. If you are an organizer you do not want to miss this opportunity to learn from experts and see all the new organizing gadgets that are coming out. Here is a message from NAPO President Laura Leist:

March Break officially starts here in NB this weekend, Elaine is off on a much deserved Family Vacation and I will hanging out to hold down the fort.  If you have any fun Organizing news or tips to share let me know and I will be sure to bring them up at the next session of the Watercooler.

Have a great week everyone and Happy Organizing!

Kim