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home organization

What’s the Plan? Calendar Tips

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This week marks Week 3 in Mom of 6’s Organize Your Life Boot Camp. This week, it is all about the calendar.

 

 

Call me old fashioned, but I have an old school calendar hanging on the side of the fridge. I used to teach technology, I am married to a tech director (who cannot wait for me to get back to iCal), and I am a blogger who uses a laptop and smart phone like it’s my job. So why the paper calendar?

Years ago, B.C. (before children), I used iCal. Just like Sharon at Mom of 6, I loved the functionality, the color coding, the ease of sharing with my husband. Then after my second child was born, and we made the decision for me to become a stay at home mom, I realized how little I was on the computer and was using my cell phone during the day. So, I started using a paper calendar and kept it in the kitchen.

When I was in high school, I remember a teacher saying “I don’t care where you write it down, as long as you write it down.” I myself was a notebook user, but I can remember kids using laptops, scrap paper, or their hands to take notes. This is kind of my mentality when it comes to planning or using a calendar. As long as you have a system that you will consistently use, that is all that matters.

 

I use the Sandra Boynton family calendar because it has spaces for each member of our family, it is large, and it comes with stickers which my kids like helping put on important dates. Below is a list of tips that help us stay organized when it comes to our calendar:
  • Ever since Brian and I have gotten married, Sunday has become a “plan out the week” day. We usually sit on the couch (while watching sitcoms), and plan out the week. Appointments, babysitters, school events, exercise schedules, work commitments, and activities are all planned out. Sometimes we even discuss cleaning responsibilities and house projects that need to get completed and try to plan time to do that. I mark the calendar, he makes notes in his iPhone, and then we are ready for the week.
  • While Brian and I are sorting out the week, we make our To Do lists and prioritize the To Do’s and try to decide when these chores can be done.
  • To cut down on excess paper, any time we receive an invitation, a note from school about an event, or any other piece of paper requesting our presence somewhere the date is marked on the calendar along with any other details surrounding the event and the paper is thrown away. This is also the time that I RSVP to the event.
  • I keep a magnetic clip next to the calendar with anything that we might need to bring to an event. For example, if Brian and I have tickets to a concert, the tickets are kept right by the calendar.
  • I also make a note on the calendar who is babysitting the kids for particular events.
  • Lastly, if you touch the pen I keep next to my calendar, you will feel my wrath.
There you have it! Now go check out all the other links at Mom of 6 for tips on calendaring and to do lists.

Staying on Track: Entry Organization

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The school year is in full swing, and along with that comes schedules, sports, park district classes, and family events. Because of all the insanity fun, I have made it my mission to try and stay as organized as possible so that we can spend more time together, and less time looking through papers and tripping over shoes.

Sharon over at Mom of 6 has started a 4 week Organize Your Life Boot Camp, which I have decided to join in order to stay motivated, share some tips, and learn some new organizing techniques. The first week’s assignment is setting up stations around the house to keep things organized. I must say this Boot Camp has been way more fun than the kind at my gym.

 

Our front hall closet makeover has come in so handy with this process. We all have a place to drop things when we walk in the door. No more tripping over backpacks, coats, shoes, and shin guards. These pictures show how well it has been working out so far.

 

 

 

The dresser that I painted has become a place to drop mail, school papers, and keys. The white Martha Stewart magazine holder is filled with files marked: Bills, Short Term Business, Long Term Business, School, To File, and To Scrapbook. The tray from JoAnn fabrics is the perfect place to drop school papers and mail as soon as we walk in the door. We can sort into the files, when we have time.

 

The drawers of the dresser also serve to store all things we need daily. The top drawer has pens, pencils, note pads, coupons, and some things that I grab as I walk out the door like hand sanitizer, a tape measure, Tide stain remover pen, and travel tissue.

Finally, the side of the fridge, which is only a few feet from our front entry, has been a perfect place to put our family calendar, weekly food menu, and invitations to upcoming events.

 

Stay tuned next week for the next stage of Get your Life Organized Boot Camp, Establishing Routines. Again, way more fun than real boot camp.