Parents, don’t be scared to give kid’s teacher a call

By Deena Yellin, Friday, October 3, 2008

Your daughter comes home with her backpack laden with books and homework. Again. On the verge of tears, she laments, “I have three hours of homework to do, so I’m going to miss soccer practice again.”

Your son, who is normally a whiz kid in math and studied hours for his algebra test, was distraught when his grade was lower than expected.

You reach for the phone to call the teacher, but then you hesitate and wonder, Are you being a supportive parent or meddling in your child’s life? Read more

Kids learn everything has its place

By Deena Yellin, Sunday, February 10, 2008

Three worn notebooks. A half-eaten sandwich from yesterday’s lunch. Some crumpled papers. Oops — that was last week’s homework assignment. And those are only some of the things hidden in the black hole that is the knapsack of the disorganized student.

Fortunately, there are plenty of experts willing to help the frazzled keep their papers, pencils and schedules in order. Assuming, of course, you are willing to dole out $100 or more per session.

These über-organized mavens have made an industry out of helping the muddled become as prepared as Boy Scouts. They arm their clients with color-coded filing boxes, binders and folders so papers can be divided into categories and produced when needed. Read more

A Coach’s To Do List: Declutter Your Life

A coach’s to-do list:  De-Clutter Your Life

Organizing expert, Carrie Greene, has advice on de-cluttering your life
by Leslie Kwoh, June 12, 2009

Carrie Greene is in the business of giving back time.

The de-cluttering expert estimates the average American spends an hour a day sifting through piles — at home, at the office and in the car. That wasted time adds up to 15 days a year that could be spent doing something more productive, she said.

“If you weren’t spending that time searching, you could work more efficiently, you could make a whole heck of a lot more money or you could take a vacation with your family,” said Greene, 45, of South Orange.

In a down economy, many are trying to accomplish more in less time, she said. Learning how to identify and organize what’s important — and parting with the rest — can make life much more enjoyable.

“As you start to de-clutter your life and space, you really get to live the life you want,” she said.

Greene, an organizing coach who offers workshops through her company, CarrieThru.com, said she can relate to the hectic lives of her clients. An economics major, she worked at the New York Stock Exchange for 10 years before eventually launching her own company to spend more time with her three young kids. She now serves on an advisory panel for the National Association of Home-based Business Moms.

She recently spoke to Your Business about how to control the clutter.

Q: Where do you start in organizing the clutter? Read more

This group unites families dealing with ADHD

By Jeanne Jackson DeVoe, Tuesday, October 03, 2006

One mother at the CHADD meeting raised her hand anxiously and asked how she could keep her middle-school child organized when he has at least five different classes with five different teachers.
The rest of the crowd chuckled appreciatively. After all, most at the first meeting of the Children and Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder, Princeton-Mercer County, are parents of children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and they face similar challenges. They seemed eager for answers.

The answer, from guest speaker Carrie Greene, a professional organizer and ADHD coach, was that children with ADHD are poorly organized. In fact, their sense of time and organizational skills — all part of their “executive function” — are about three years behind that of their peers. So, expect to help your children with organization and life skills well into high school or even college, Greene advised.

The CHADD group devotes an hour to a guest speaker with another hour set aside for small group discussions. At the next meeting, psychiatrist Charles Martinson will discuss diagnosing and treating ADHD and co-existing conditions such as anxiety and depression. Read more