Gearing up with Organization 101

Here’s a list of back-to-school products that professional organizer Jackie Kelley would recommend to parents of teens. They are designed to help students stay organized. She selected some during visits to Staples and the Container Store; others she has used successfully in her business.

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Professional organizer Jackie Kelley, whose business is called Clearing House, says there are rewards for investing the hours and a bit of money into strategizing with your teen.

Ilana Knab /

BACKPACK: The backpack is a student’s traveling office and storage place for daily essentials. Consider choosing a model that zips down the front — in addition to across the top — for easier access to supplies and to aid with organization. TheCase-It BK-PK-100 backpack has a front vertical zipper, plus compartments for cellphones and accessories and headphone ports, $39.99. (http://www.caseit.com).

Case-it

VISUAL AIDS: Students with time management issues might benefit from the use of a timer as a visual aid to help in budgeting their minutes. The three-inch-square Time Timer is an analog timer that literally shows the passage of time. It helps students use precious hours more wisely, focus longer and be more productive, $30 (http://www.timetimer.com).

Time Timer

SPECIALTY FILE MANAGEMENT: Set up a separate filing system for college application information. College Caboodle provides a prepackaged box of organizational tools to deal with dates, deadlines and documents. Tabs are pre-labeled. It’s sold with an instructional DVD. There are sections on testing, college applications, scholarships and tours. $72. (http://www.collegecaboodle.com)

College Caboodle

HOME STUDY SPACE: Once a student has a cleared area for studying, the challenge is keeping paper managed as the school year unfolds. It’s important to have a portable receptacle that is open on top so your teen can slip in active files easily. This clear Acrylic Desktop File accommodates plenty of hanging folders, labeled by subject. Side handles make it portable, $24.99 (http://www.containerstore.com).

The Container Store

LOCKER SHELVES: To maximize the small, narrow space of a standard-issue locker, consider buying your teen adjustable locker shelves. The Janus Locker Shelf model is sold with two adjustable steel and plastic shelves that hold up to 15 pounds each, $24.99 (http://www.containerstore.com).

The Container Store

ARCHIVES: Document storage boxes or flat plastic containers are good for corralling memorabilia, important school reports and artwork your teen is proud of and wants to save. Create a place for permanent storage at the start of the school year. The Bigso Stockholm Document Box is made of heavyweight fiberboard and is available in orange and other colors, $9.99 for the standard size box and 7.99 for the smaller box (http://www.containerstore.com).

Ka Yeung / The Container Store

PLANNER: Although many schools provide standard homework assignment planners, some students could benefit from having a separate weekly planner of their own. This would help manage time and commitments outside of school, recording dates of sports activities, music lessons and tutors. This basic At-a-Glance model displays one week spread over two pages, $16.99 (http://www.staples.com).

Staples

STUDY SUPPLIES: Invest in a few bright-colored accessories for your teen to add some fun to cracking the books and improve study skills at the same time. E.Z.C. Highlighter Tape makes a nice alternative to highlighter pens for use in textbooks that must be turned back in. Set of six in an assortment of hot colors, $17.35 (http://www.reallygoodstuff.com).

steveadamsphoto.com / Reallygoodstuff.com

BINDER: It’s best to have a three-ring binder that holds many different study essentials in one place. This model has a five-tabbed expanding file for class papers, sports schedules and other vital information. This accordion file permits easy transfer of papers for home filing and reduces the risk of lost assignments, $19.99 (Staples retail stores and http://www.caseit.com).

Case-it

TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT: Setting up a charging station is a good idea. Also minimize desk clutter by using cable organizers such as the Mini Cable Box. It hides cords, has a four-plug power strip and comes in fun colors, $34.99 (http://www.containerstore.com).

The Container Store

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

A protestor in a Guy Fawkes mask walks past razor wire outside a security perimeter of the G-8 summit in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland on Monday, June 17, 2013. The summit is taking place under heavy security, with some 7,000 police lining roads and checking vehicles. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Photos of the day

G-8 summit, massive protests rock Brazil, Britain’s Royal Ascot and more.

Two-year old male rat named Dyatlik wears a costume during a rodent exhibition in Minsk, Belarus, Saturday, June 15, 2013. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)

Animal views

Rodent exhibition, swimming with elephants, Mexico’s feline mayoral candidate and more.

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 14: Johnathon Carrington, valedictorian at Dunbar High School, laughs with family and friends after his school's graduation ceremony at Howard University on Friday, June 14, 2013, in Washington, DC. Carrington, who grew up in Tyler House public-housing apartments and is graduating from one of DC's low-performing high schoolsy, where academic expectations are high. (Photo by Jahi Chikwendiu/The Washington Post)

Johnathon’s journey

Johnathon Carrington graduated Friday as the valedictorian of his neighborhood school, Dunbar High, and is headed to Georgetown University. But Carrington, 17, is nervous, and so are...

U.S. actress Sandra Bullock poses for the media during a photocall to promote her latest move 'The Heat' in Berlin June 18, 2013. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch (GERMANY - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT)

Eye on entertainment

Sandra Bullock, Jessica Sanchez, Snooki, Billy Porter, Billy Crystal, Sean Hayes, Gwen Stefani and other celebrities.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 16: Reenactors dressed as knights stage a medieval jousting competition at Eltham Palace on June 16, 2013 in Eltham, England. The 'Grand Medieval Joust' event at Eltham Palace, an English Heritage property which was the childhood home of King Henry VIII, aims to give a great insight into life at the palace during the medieval period. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

The Grand Medieval Joust

The Grand Medieval Joust at Eltham Palace, an English Heritage property that was the childhood home of King Henry VIII, aims to lend insight through reenactment into life at the palace...

In this June 8, 2013 photo, youth compete in the Sao Carlos slum local soccer tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The pitch is just dirt and the incandescent lights aren't so bright. But when the boys' feet strike the football in the Sao Carlos slum as night falls every Saturday, big league dreams glow, inflated by the hope of escaping the shantytown with sporting skills. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana)

Brazil’s other soccer fields

With the Confederations Cup opening this week and the World Cup one year away, all eyes are on Brazil, where soccer is arguably played with more passion and art than anywhere else....

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 16: John F. Tatum Sr. hugs his grandson John F. Tatum III during his annual Father's Day block party on Sunday, June 16, 2013 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Amanda Voisard/For the Washington Post)

Father’s Day picnic in Northeast D.C.

A decades-old backyard barbecue in Northeast Washington draws hundreds in honor of dads everywhere. “It’s off-the-chain fun,” says Butch McNair, who has worked one...

LAS VEGAS, NV - JUNE 16: Miss Connecticut USA Erin Brady reacts after being crowned Miss USA during the 2013 Miss USA pageant at PH Live at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on June 16, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Miss USA 2013

Miss Connecticut USA Erin Brady is crowned Miss USA 2013 in Las Vegas.

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