Calenders!!

Do you ever feel like you have so many things to do in a week, you just don’t know where to start? Well many times I do.

Calendering is a great way to organize your week and will help to get everything done!!

WRITE IT ALL DOWN

So you have already made a written schedule of your week! (RIGHT!) Now you just have to put in your calendar the things your family needs to know. (Not you’re cleaning schedule.)

At the beginning of the month put in extra curricular activities like dance, sports, church activities etc.

Then on Sundays it is a good day to sit down with your household and plan your week. For example, this week my sister from Utah is coming in, so I will let the family know the days she will be here and how the normal weekly schedule will change because of it. Or if my Highschooler has a meeting for school then at that time she will let the family know so we can write it on the

calendar.

Find a Calendar that works for you. For years I had one of those paper calendars that I would write in, and then last year I wrote everything in my calendar phone. This year I decided to use my white board that has a calendar on it. I LOVE IT! It’s big enough for the whole family to see.

Oh!! There are some households that the parents work schedule is different everyday, so you will want to write that I too!!!

The goal is to find a calendar that works for you!

Backpack organizing!!

A couple of weeks ago I had a parent teacher conference with my son Hayden’s 5th grade teacher. She told me he was a great boy but VERY UNORGANIZED!!
I said, “Did you know that is the worst thing you could tell me?” (I know she thought I was a little nuts…BUT OH WELL!!

So I marched right home and looked at my sweet green eyed boy and said…WE ARE GETTING YOU ORGANIZED!!! I must say for his punishment for not being organized and missing homework assignments because of it…I made him clean out all his drawers. It took him 2 hours but he did it, and I must say he did a GREAT job…after all he is my boy!!!

Kid’s backpacks can easily become a dumping ground. One of the most common issues with kids and backpacks is that they use their backpacks as storage! The best use of a backpack is to TRANSPORT items, not to use them as storage!!!

Here are 7 great steps on getting your kids organized for school, or if you don’t have kids yet, you will have information so you will never have to have the parent teacher conference I had.

1. Don’t use the backpack as storage...
2. Plan ahead for each day.
3. Provide a home filing system or Garbage can to unload old papers.
4. Give everything a HOME in the backpack
5. Label everything!
6. Re-organize as needs change.
7. Use organizing ides and encourage him to use them.

Homework***Make a “sheet washing schedule.” Have a great an organized weekend!!

How often do you wash your sheets???

Okay…fess up how often do you wash your sheets?? Well my Mom and Sisters think I am disgusting because I only wash my families sheets once a month…I know you all are shocked, you thought I would say once a week!!! SORRY TO DISAPOINT YOU ALL!!!!

I actually have such a great system/schedule going. I don’t want to mess it up.

What I do is…

Every Monday I rotate each bedroom’s sheets

1st Monday I do my sheets
2nd Monday I do Bailey’s sheets
3rd Monday I do the little girls sheets
4th Monday I do Hayden’s sheets

Microbiologist Zehava Eichenbaum, associate professor at Georgia State University, said a normal family should change sheets once a week.

So in other words, it is best to do it once a week…BUT I AM NOT READY FOR SUCH A CHANGE IN MY LIFE!! So what if I have BED BUGS!!!

What is under YOUR bed???

Is that a scary thought?? Have you ever gone into your Childs room and looked under the bed, and was totally in SHOCK? Well I have and it was not a pretty sight. Here are some steps to help you clean under your bed.

****Remember under your bed could make a good HOME for things, if done RIGHT!!!
First, no matter how horrible this may sound, you must take everything out from under your bed, and make 4 piles.

1. Things that already have homes.
2. Donate
3. Trash
4. Things that fit nicely in an under the bed storage box. “NEW HOME.”

Things that you are not sure about, you can put into the "Keep Someplace Else" box, and at the end you can put it under your bed if there is enough room under your bed.

***If possible vacuum and clean under your bed.***

Then, put the things that already have homes in there proper place. Put the under the bed box, under your bed, the trash bag in your dumpster, the donate box in your car, and the remaining box is up to you and your room as to where you put it. Just avoid clutter.

SIDE NOTE…I keep my gift wrap under my bed, and some free weights, that I couldn’t find a good home for.

I know people who keep food storage under there beds. GREAT IDEA, just keep in mind you need to be able to rotate your food storage.

GOOD LUCK WITH LOOKING UNDER YOUR BEDS!!!

3 Steps to organizing Halloween decorations

It is that time of year, when we get out our scary ghosts and goblins, and those extra scary costumes for the kids…but where do you store them, you ask????

Here are 3 great steps to help you not feel so overwhelmed with all of those crazy decorations!!

Step One: Use a large orange and black container to store the decorations. This makes it easier to find the decorations, when that time comes around to get them out. Divide decorations according to inside decor or outside decor.

Step Two: write down what is in each container on an index card. Tape the index cards to the front of each container. Stack them with the label facing out so you don't have to open each container. This will save you time when it comes to decorating for Halloween.

Step Three: When you decorate, only use one container at a time. Put the empty containers back in there HOMES, until you are ready to put the decorations away for the season.

I hope you have a fun and save Halloween night!

***HOMEWORK FOR MONDAY MORNING***

Put away and organize all Halloween decorations!!

HAPPY ORGANIZING!!!

Staying Organized While Traveling

Okay so ask my mom and sisters, they will tell you I am a horrible packer…I am an organized packer, but by the time I get to my destination I feel like I have to iron everything!!!

Traveling can be crazy enough without adding to it the stress of losing things and being unorganized. Since you are not at home and are staying in places you usually do not stay, and trying to keep your belongings in a confined space, it can be difficult to keep everything together. Here are some tips from agent america to help you to stay organized while traveling.

Sandwich Bags: These tricks for organizing, and you can use them while traveling too. If you're going to be going through the airport, you'll need to have your liquids in a quart-sized baggie or smaller (you'll need to take them out of your carry-on when you go through security). But you can also use a bag to put your pocket items: loose change, mp3 player, magazine, book, snacks. You can use sandwich bags to store liquid items- hair gels, toothpaste, perfumes, etc- so they don't leak inside your suitcase. Bring a few extra bags along for wet and dirty clothes.

Car Storage: Keep a bucket in the trunk of your car (the square, flat divided buckets work great). Use the bucket to hold car essentials: extra oil, tire gauge, baby wipes for grease cleanup, ice scraper, fix-a-flat, oil, coolant, a flashlight (don't forget spare batteries!) and a map. In the front of the car, keep some spare change alongside your insurance card- you never know when it will come in handy.

Suitcase and Bags: Keep your computer, mp3 player, and phone power cords organized by looping them individually and using garbage or twist ties to keep them together and prevent them from getting tangled. If you'll be carrying breakables in your suitcase, it can be handy to cushion the breakables with clothes. (This isn't fail-safe but it can help.) Carry only the amount of medication you need plus a small amount of backup, and leave the bulky pill bottles behind. You can also get a seven-or even thirty-day divided vitamin container to put your pills and vitamins in. Fill up an extra day or two, just in case.

With a little effort and creativity, you can stay a lot more organized while traveling- and have an even more fun, stress-free trip.

ARE YOU A PROCRASTINATOR??

I remember when I was in the 5th grade, my teacher, Mrs. Granger, said we were going to have 2 vocabulary words a week, and the 1st word for the year was PROCRASTINATE. Mrs. Granger gave us the definition…procrastinate: to put off for another day. When she explained the definition, my 10 year old mind decided that I was never going to be a procrastinator!!!

Many people often like to hold things off to the last minute and wait until later to do it. Many times when this happens you forget about the things that you need to do, and then they just don’t get done.

For a lot of people procrastination is a big problem. Many people ask me how I am able to get everything done and even have spare time left over. I tell them if you put things where they belong (IN THERE HOMES) you have more time to do other things. If you don’t have things in a certain spot you have to stop what you are doing and go around looking for them, and by the time you get back to what you were doing, you forgot what it was you were doing, and then IT DOESN'T GET DONE!!

Procrastination is bad, but it can also make managing your time and life easier. Just sit back for a minute and think about what your life would be like if everything had a HOME...how much stuff you would not have to look for anymore.