advertisement

Expert to teach parents tricks to being organized

Deniece Schofield tours the country giving seminars on how to get organized, and no matter where she goes, the same problem rears its ugly head: how to deal with all the paper that comes into the house.

"That's the biggest reason why people come," says Schofield, the author of five books on the subject who typically presents 150 seminars a year.

Schofield will present a pair of seminars on Wednesday called "Get Organized: New Ideas for Saving Time and Space."

Her seminars last two hours, and during that time she fires off a list of ways to reduce clutter, organize key rooms, firm up time management, and all while gently enlisting other family members to climb on board with the system.

"It's really about making the most of your time," Schofield said in a phone interview last week, "about finding more space - without having to get rid of everything."

Schofield came into her role as a leading home management expert by necessity. After the birth of her third child - she ultimately would have five, including four boys - she looked around her house and she knew she needed to make changes.

"I felt so overwhelmed and out of control," Schofield says. "At the time, there weren't any TV show or magazine articles on the subject. There were some books on organizing, but they all were geared toward businesses."

She started to tackle her house, in a slow, methodical way. She made lists of her ideas, and after trial and error, learned what worked.

"My whole end vision was to get my family organized," Schofield says.

Her husband watched the transformation, and her meticulous listing of ideas, and he urged her to document them in a book. At first, Schofield says she scoffed at the idea, but when she finally sat down to write, she realized she had enough to fill a book.

The self-published book sold 5,000 copies in six weeks and drew the interest of Writer's Digest Books in Cincinnati, which published it as "Confessions of an Organized Homemaker" in 1982. Her speaking engagements started soon after that, and the book has been reprinted and translated into several languages.

"It's a book of timeworn ideas," Schofield says. "They're organizing principles that work, no matter where you live - and you don't have to spend a lot of money."

Many of the same principles turn up in her seminars. She opens with slides of solving organizing problems in the kitchen, bathroom, closets and kids' area. Her methods extend to everything from toys, puzzles and school papers, to craft items and even wrapping paper.

Dealing with paper scraps comes next, as well as ways to invest other family members into the system.

Through it all, Schofield preaches the tried and true adage, "A place for everything and everything in its place."

"It's true," she says. "That's why we have clutter, because we don't have a place to put everything. So often, we put something down and figure we'll find a place for it later. That's how clutter starts."

How to organize clothing drawers will be one of the topics discussed the during "Get Organized" seminar next week in Arlington Heights. Courtesy of Deniece Schofield

<p class="factboxheadblack">"Get Organized" </p>

<p class="News"><b>What:</b> A seminar by author and national speaker Deniece Schofield </p>

<p class="News"><b>When:</b> 10 a.m. to noon, and 7 to 9 p.m. Wed., Sept. 1</p>

<p class="News"><b>Where:</b> LaQuinta Inn, 1415 Dundee Road, Arlington Heights</p>

<p class="News"><b>Cost:</b> $25 per person</p>

<p class="News"><b>Info:</b> (800) 835-TIME</p>