The Frenzied SLPs: Spring Cleaning

10 minutes of organizing now will save you one hour later.

So says an organizational expert out district brought in several years ago. This has shaped my own spring cleaning when packing up my office.  It's easy to throw everything into boxes. I've done that. But now, I use the expert's advice when boxing up my materials so it makes more sense in the fall. All three projects are ones I did in the spring that helped me set up in August, and I hope they help your own frenzied SLP life!

Tip #1: Make Your Books Easy to Reach

I'm a lucky girl. I have a LOT of books. My sister Amy is a librarian, and not only has she contributed to my collection, I'm borrowing the books she gave to my own children until they need them again. Plus, our PTA lets me buy $50 worth of books at both the spring and fall fairs! I tried sorting them by author's last name, but I couldn't remember them all. Amy came to the rescue. Now, my books are sorted by author's last name on the first two rows and by season/holiday on the third row. Works like a charm!

Tip #2: Keep Your Materials Within Easy Reach, Too

Another great organizational tip - keep what you use the most within 1 reach - just grab it. Lesser used items are 2-reach - inside a cabinet - the 2 reaches are opening the door and reaching inside. Rarely used items should be 3+ reaches - open the cabinet, look way in the back, and move stuff to get to it.

My card decks are 1-reach. When I saw that Super Duper Inc. kept their cards on display with binder rings, I knew that would work well for keeping the cards in order. A bonus? Now I just reach in the slot and pull out what I need - a 1-step approach vs. 2-step in opening the container, shaking out the cards, sorting them back... I used 2-inch binder rings but I think 1-inch would work better. I also used the automated hole puncher to save time. It went through about 4-5 cards at a time. The first three rows are artic cards and the last two rows have language cards. I did have more, but I really cleaned them out. A simple display and clear protectors with labels make for fast retrieval when every minute of therapy counts!

Tip #3: Keep Your Test Ducks In a Row

I have a confession. I was embarrassed by a CF who mentioned that her college supervisor would have been all over her for not knowing where the yellow duck from the PLS-5 was during test administration. I agreed with her while silently wondering where my own duck was! I got a few clear containers - easy to see what's inside - and gathered all the items I would need for the PLS-5. Everything went into a snazzy 31 Bag. The manipulatives are never separated. I loan out the whole bag, not parts. The PLS-5 manuals even fit inside, and the zipper zips! 

All three projects took time to set up, but they have definitely saved more time in the long run!