Speaker 1: 0:08

Welcome to the Bubble Lounge. I'm Martha Jackson and most of our kids have started back to school as of this week, and that means it is time for a lot of papers and a lot of chaos coming into our homes. So I invited Jenny Deesh, owner and CEO, chief executive organizer at Getting it Done Organizing. She's a Park City's mom based in University Park, and Jenny has been on the show before sharing organizational tips. Well, recently I reached out to her because my office has just gotten out of control with clutter and I'm having a hard time keeping it organized, and I knew nobody was better to help me with it than Ginny Deitch. So I invited Ginny to join us to share her tips of back-to-school organization. In return, she is going to help me organize my office. So if you're like me and you get overwhelmed with all the back-to-school papers and things coming into your home and you need some extra help getting organized, you are going to love this episode.

Speaker 1: 1:07

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Speaker 1: 1:53

Stuart and Arango are conveniently located at Northwest Highway in Hillcrest. To learn more about them or book your appointment, visit sasurgeonscom. That's sasurgeonscom, jenny. Welcome back to the show. Oh my gosh, hi, I'm so glad to be back. Well, just like me, you have ADHD, but you have been able to master the art of being organized so much so that you were able to start a business helping other people organize their home, and I want to hear more about that, because I am struggling every day with my organization want to hear more about that, because I am struggling every day with my organization.

Speaker 1: 2:30

I know it's crazy.

Speaker 2: 2:30

It seems counterintuitive that someone with ADHD can be a professional organizer. I know when I was a girl I was a mess. I was late, I was missing my assignments. I would get to the volleyball game and I wouldn't have my jersey or I'd be missing one shoe. I mean, I was that kid. Finally, when I was in college, I decided to listen to some of the tips and advice people had given me over the years, and I started using an agenda. I started scheduling out my days, planning things in advance, putting out my assignments and books for the next day, and I was so surprised. But things started to get better. I started, my grades started to go up, I started to enjoy school in a different way than I had ever before, and I just started to find success. And so I realized that that structure and that organization was the key for me to get it together. I've become so good at those things that now I get to help other people set up those systems.

Speaker 2: 3:25

When I was growing up, no one talked about ADHD. It was almost shameful, and I as an adult knew that I had it. It was just obvious. But I was a functioning adult so I didn't do anything about it. But when my kids were diagnosed with ADD. I went and saw the doctor so I can kind of go on the journey with them and understand what they were going through. And the doctor looked at me and said what took you so long to get here?

Speaker 1: 3:49

Well, I think I'm older than you and I don't think that they had discovered what ADHD was yet when I was younger. So we just had to kind of figure out a way to get through it. And you're right, it is frustrating, especially when you're the only one on the team that forgets their shoe. I've been there and done that many times. Well, you know, school has started back for most of us, which means a lot more emails, a lot more things to keep up with, so many calendar items, but, most of all, a lot more papers to deal with, and I just wanted to hear your thoughts on how we can organize our papers better.

Speaker 2: 4:20

Absolutely. Paper organizing at back to school is so important and how we organize paper sets up habits and we want to set up habits and routines and if we start those when our kids are young, they're going to learn study habits, study skills and that's such a buzzword we hear about and really the bottom line, the foundation of study habits is organization. So when your kids are little like preschool, elementary when they come home from school, set up a routine. They walk in the door, they open their backpack, the lunchbox goes to the kitchen counter so you don't find that moldy sandwich on.

Speaker 2: 4:57

Monday morning after a weekend of stinking up the backpack and go through all the papers, and you should have one designated spot where the kids know this is where all papers go my artwork, my schedules, things that need to be signed and returned to the teacher. Everything goes into that one box and it's one of the first things they do when they come home, and we need to teach them to do that. We need to hold them accountable and teach them to be organized. We can't expect children to be organized. We have to teach them to do that. We need to hold them accountable and teach them to be organized.

Speaker 2: 5:32

We can't expect children to be organized. We have to teach them, show them and model it. So if we do these things when we start, when they're young, they start building these habits to actually follow through as well. We need to go and look at those papers, sign the papers, return them to the kids and do the things that we need to do and to show them that we're also organized. We're modeling the same behaviors. And let's talk about all the artwork that comes home the piles and piles of artwork, right?

Speaker 1: 5:57

Yes, I mean, I still have so much from elementary school and I have a college daughter and high school son. So, yes, let's talk about art.

Speaker 2: 6:04

Well, and you know what I'm going to tell you now, you can actually process their art from all those years now, and you're going to love this idea. So we at Getting it Done Organizing have created a system called the holding tank system, and we recommend this to all of our clients, especially the ones with young kids. But we tell them to go or we do it for them. We get a large plastic stackable bin, a drawer, and we label it with each child's name on it and then when the kids come home from school with the art, we say ooh, ah, we love it, it's beautiful. We put it up on the refrigerator and you know that tells our kids how much we love them. And then the next week they bring home another set of art and we say, ooh, ah, we love it. We take the old stuff down, put the new stuff on the refrigerator and put the old stuff in the drawer.

Speaker 2: 6:52

Don't throw anything away. They hate it when we throw it away. So put it in this drawer and let that pile up for the year. At the end of the year you have everything in order. Reverse chronological order, with the oldest at the bottom, the newest at the top. So everything's organized. It's in the bin. You don't have piles all over the house and then when the kids go off to camp or grandma's house when they're not looking, go through those drawers and pick out the best, toss the rest and you send them to a company that we partner with called Artkive. They send you a box, you put the rest and you send them to a company that we partner with called Artkive. They send you a box, you put the art in there, send it off, they digitize everything and they send you back a hardbound book and it's beautiful and the kids love it, and then they will throw away the art and now you have an empty drawer ready for the next year.

Speaker 1: 7:40

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Speaker 1: 7:50

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Speaker 2: 8:52

This is my favorite and this is something you should start when the kids are in middle school, when they're starting to have midterms and that seems so big to a sixth grader to have midterms or a seventh grader buy them a file cap like a small plastic, open-lidded file box and put file folders in there and label each file folder with a generic subject like math and not algebra, history, not government. That way they can use these folders year after year and you don't have to create a new box. You create it once and it will take them for years. At the end of each chapter of study they need to put their tests, quizzes, study guides, notes, flashcards into that folder and then that gets those papers out of the binder. And we've all seen those kids with the binders, with the papers falling out everywhere like you know, linus from Charlie Brown you know,

Speaker 2: 9:46

or Pigpen or whatever his name is, yeah, and it makes the backpack so heavy. Well, and then when you get the papers out, it makes the backpack lighter. So you're organized, you're ready for midterms and finals and your backpack is lighter. So it's like a triple win. You're lightening your load. Yes, yeah, definitely.

Speaker 2: 10:03

And that is study habits, that is teaching study skills, it's organization, which I said is the foundation of study skills. So when those midterms come around, they have chapter one, all their notes, everything they need. Chapter two, chapter three, it's all in order. And then at the end of the year, you know, you can toss it and start fresh for the next year. So that's my favorite.

Speaker 2: 10:22

And I have to tell you, I know that this system works because my son, who also has ADD, when he was a freshman in high school I created a box for him and I think it's okay to create the box for the kid to help them. You can't, like I said, we have to teach them, we have to help them learn how to be organized. If I told my son to make the box, that would never happen. So I made him a box, I made him the labels and the files and I went up to his room and I said OK, here is this box, this is what you do with it, and you put your notes in here and you do this. And he rolled his eyes at me and said Mom, you're so annoying, get out of my room.

Speaker 1: 10:59

You're bothering me.

Speaker 2: 11:01

That sounds familiar. Yeah, so I just quietly left it in his room and I didn't mention it again. And probably six months to a year later I can't exactly remember I was going to speak to a parents group on how to help your kids, your high schoolers, be organized. Feeling a little bit like a fraud, because you know my son wasn't using the system, I went up to his room to get that box so I could use it as a prop for my speaking engagement and it was full of papers. No way I was blown away and my son is a sophomore in college, studying engineering, and he still uses the system today. So I can tell you firsthand it works Okay.

Speaker 1: 11:40

I am so going to try that with my son, but I'm pretty certain I'm going to get the same reaction that you did initially. But if I walk into his room one day and it's actually being used, I just I'm going to be beside myself Like do you have any tips? Was there anything special that you think motivated him to use it? Well, I think.

Speaker 2: 11:56

I gave him the concept, I left the box and then I didn't nag. I think you know kids don't like it when we nag. Yeah, the nagging is not working, yeah, and people they get it when they get it, and so it's our job to teach them. We can't tell them when you know they're going to accept that advice. When it's right for them, sure. So I left it there and he just sort of quietly picked it up when I wasn't looking, and I think that was probably the key, because I didn't say another word.

Speaker 1: 12:24

Yeah, I mean it's like anything in life is, you can't force somebody to get help. If they don't want help, they have to want it on their own. So you, you left it in there and he just came up with it on his own. That that? May pick up one out of five, but that's okay.

Speaker 2: 12:49

They're going to get, maybe in another year they're going to pick up the next one and it's going to take time. They're kids, we have to remember. But we just introduce these ideas and you know, at some point they're going to stick.

Speaker 1: 13:00

Right, you just have to be patient, and I have found with my teenagers that sometimes just a little bit of maturity and, like you said, even just one year difference, can make the world of change for them and they will eventually come around.

Speaker 2: 13:12

Yeah. So I do think the file box system really works for kids and it started in middle school and they'll take it through high school and college. But you know what that same system works for adults who aren't in school? You can get one of these portable file boxes and if you're a volunteer and you have a lot of volunteer activities, you can create one and label it with volunteer folders or medical or financial documents, and then you can just put that file box into a cabinet or closet and then, when you're ready, pull it out, use it and then just kind of tuck it back away.

Speaker 1: 13:45

Yeah, well, I think I'm using the same system and I want to see a picture of what you're talking about. But I think this is similar is I created a box for each kid per grade and so literally you know those packages of photos that we buy every year from the school. It has a couple of those in there Anything relevant that happened during that school year. There's one for Camp Ozark, there's one for dance, football, all the different activities, and they're definitely the plastic boxes which I think is so key, because if you should have a freezing pipe burst or whatever so many of us had, they'll get ruined if they're just regular boxes. Oh right, are you looking to hire a nanny? Then you need to contact hellonannycom.

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Speaker 1: 15:15

Well, janice, something you and I both have in common is we both have sophomores in high school, and I don't know how your freshman year went with your child, but we got off to a little bit of a slow start and, as we know as they get on into high school, that it's so crucial for them to do well in school, because we're looking at colleges and the grades are counting and all that. And do you have any tips that are a little bit more specific for the high schoolers?

Speaker 2: 15:37

Absolutely so. In the space where they're going to do their work, it's important that they kind of tidy it up, or we keep it tidy at their desk, or if they're sitting on their bed, or. However, if it's tidied, a lot of those distractions in their room can be eliminated. And one thing I talk to kids about all the time and they hear this all the time and it's the same Charlie Brown, womp, womp womp, womp, teacher Sure.

Speaker 2: 16:04

But they need to manage themselves on social media. But they need to manage themselves on social media. And I tell my kids just because someone sends you a text does not mean you need to answer it right now or ever. You answer it when it's convenient for you. So every time you get distracted from your work, it takes about 20 minutes to refocus.

Speaker 2: 16:22

That's interesting, yeah, so if you're responding to every text or Snapchat or every ping on your phone, you're never going to get your homework done. So if you can put your phone on the focus mode and just really grind it out, you can get your homework done and your assignments done so much faster. And that's another thing about study skills and study habits and managing your time. If you can manage your time well and get your work done, you're going to have a lot more time for the fun stuff. But if you are disorganized, you're not managing your time, you can't find your papers and your homework, it's going to take you a lot longer to get it done and it's so much more stressful. So I mean, you always hear about how organization is good for your mental health, and it really is, yeah.

Speaker 1: 17:06

Well, speaking of, I know that you and I are about to take on a big project together, which is my office, which serves as the Bubba Lounge headquarters, and it's a wreck right now. It's highly distracting, as you're talking about, and I can't wait to see the change that you're going to make in it.

Speaker 2: 17:22

We're excited to come and do that for you and work with you on that. I think it's going to be life-changing for you and I think just setting up these systems it's going to be life-changing for you, and I think just setting up these systems is such a game changer. And you know it's like you know when you have a dog and you have to get the dog trained, I can't train the dog, I cannot do that, but I have a dog trainer and then the dog trainer trains me. So we're going to come in and help you set up systems in your house and we're going to show you how to use those systems and you're going to be fine. I mean, one thing I believe about organizing is, if we have to come back all the time, then we didn't set up a system that works for you. We want to set up systems that are maintainable, that work for you. So that's one of the reasons we ask so many questions when we're on a job, trying to understand you, your brain, how things work for you.

Speaker 1: 18:06

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Speaker 1: 19:09

Well, I can definitely vouch, jenny, that you all do ask a lot of questions. You came over to my office and took a look around and you were very thorough. You were questioning so many things in the office and I just I was so anxious to have you guys come over because I don't have a system in place and there is a lot of unfiled items that need a home or to find their way into the trash can and, as you know, I have been procrastinating for a good year. Probably we're going on at this point because I've been embarrassed to have you guys back in there to take a hold of it, but I finally just decided. You know it's kind of like going to the doctor. I'm sure you've seen it all. I'm sure my situation isn't near as bad as I'm thinking it is.

Speaker 2: 19:50

No, not even. And you know, like you said, I have ADD too, so my life is not perfect. People ask me all the time you have three kids and a husband. Is your house perfect? Absolutely not, it is not. I want my kids to go into the kitchen and make cookies or to play with the games and the toys. I want them to use the things, and I don't stress about it because I know that we have systems and so it's easy to get things put back in just a few minutes because there's a system in place and we've seen it all and we don't judge. And, trust me, yours is not even close to the worst and it's not a big deal, and everyone on my team is a mom, so we've been there and we know how this works. Life happens, life gets out of control and sometimes everyone just needs to hit the reset button once in a while, and that's where we come in and we can help with the reset button.

Speaker 1: 20:41

Well, I just think, you know, in my situation procrastinating has been really, really bad for me and it's just piled up and you know there's just too much stuff everywhere.

Speaker 2: 20:51

Well, I mean, that's part of the ADHD and I get the same way too. But I really believe in, like the Nike motto just do it. And in the morning sometimes, if I'm looking around my closet and I don't know what to wear, if I stay in my pajamas and look around, I'm never going to get dressed, so I just do it, I just take my clothes off. Now I'm standing there and I have to pick something and put it on, so you just take that next step and then the next step happens, and the next step happens and the project just doesn't feel so big after all yeah Well, you just kind of break it down into smaller steps and before you know it I'm going to have the most beautiful organized office and I bet my productivity increases tenfold.

Speaker 2: 21:29

Absolutely.

Speaker 1: 21:30

I'm excited to get in there and do it with you.

Speaker 2: 21:32

Oh, I know.

Speaker 1: 21:33

I highly recommend everyone that's having some organizational issues at their home give Ginny a call. But if you're not quite ready, ginny, what kind of tips do you have to share with people?

Speaker 2: 21:42

Okay, well, I'm going to talk about a quote that is one of my favorites, and it says don't agonize, organize so find a space and just start small, whether it's your junk drawer, whether it's your closet, whether it's your garage. Pick one space and tackle it, and that's going to feel so good and then the next space won't feel so hard. And when you get organized first, you don't have to stress about worrying about what you haven't done or can't find the papers or not remembering things, because you organize first. You don't have to stress about worrying about what you haven't done or can't find the papers or not remembering things, because you organize first. You don't have to agonize.

Speaker 1: 22:15

I really like that quote. It really resonates with me. Well, how can people find you?

Speaker 2: 22:21

We're on the web, at gettingitdoneorganizingcom, and on Instagram at gettingitdoneorganizing.

Speaker 1: 22:27

And they're always posting lots of tips on their Instagram. I love following you their Instagram. I love following you on Instagram. Well, Jenny, thank you so much for being here again today. Thanks so much for having me. It's fun. That's been another episode of the Bubble Lounge. I'm Martha Jackson. We'll see you next time.