For those with school-age kids, mid-August means it's definitely time to start thinking about the return to school next month. But even if there aren't any students in your household, now's a good time to think about going back to school--organizing school, that is.

Don't worry: this isn't the kind of school that involves notebooks, chalkboards, uncomfortable desks, and quizzes. And, of course, you don't even have to leave your house. So what is organizing school? It's a way to learn the essential ideas and techniques behind getting and staying organized. Bringing calm and order to your living and working spaces involves more than containers and labels; in organizing school, you can develop the simple but key habits you need to get control of your home or office for good.

Here are four articles that can help you move to the head of the organizing class.
What Causes Clutter?
Clearing clutter helps bring calm, order, and control to your home and your life. But before you can effectively tackle your clutter, it's important to know what causes it. Here are four of the most common reasons clutter builds up; you might be surprised by what they are!
Click here to read the article now, or cut and paste this link: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art8814.asp

Develop a Decluttering Mindset
Getting organized for good involves more than just sorting, weeding, and finding places to store stuff. It also requires changing the way you think about the things you allow into your home and your life.
Click here to read the article now, or cut and paste this link: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art1986.asp

What Makes an Effective Organizing System?
There's much more to any organizing system than containers and labels. Here are the parts that need to be in place for an organizing system to work effectively, and why they're important.
Click here to read the article now, or cut and paste this link: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art2449.asp

Developing Organizing Habits
Once you've gotten yourself organized, maintaining your success depends on developing some simple but important organizing habits. Here's why good habits matter, and how to make them part of your life.
Click here to read the article now, or cut and paste this link: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art8805.asp

Want to learn more? Visit the BellaOnline Organization site, www.bellaonline.com/site/organization. While you're on the site, be sure to stop by the Forum to share your organizing challenges and successes with your fellow readers and to hear what others have to say.

Happy back-to-school, for you and the students in your life.

My best to you,
Emily Wilska
Organization Editor
www.bellaonline.com/site/organization