Transitioning into Fall! 

It’s been a busy week for many of us!  The transition from a Holiday weekend to the craziness of back to school!  I look forward to the weekend to catch up!

For many of us, transitions and change are not always easy.  My number one tip during this transition is to plan as much as you can the night before!  Whether that is getting clothes ready, lunches pre-made, or packing the backpack….The more you can do the night before … the easier your morning will be!  

For the Friday Review, here are the articles that caught my interest this week!  Enjoy! 

Zen Family Habits – How To Make A Confident Return to the Workforce - If you are returning to the workforce, this will no doubt cause some change and possible chaos to the household.  This is a great time to hire a Professional Organizer to help you establish solid organizing systems to help run your household smoothly and less stress… notice I am not saying the stress goes away, but it can certainly help!

Digitwirl – Recipe Storage and Grocery Shopping Made Easy - This looks like a very helpful app for easy meal planning!

She Knows (Home & Garden) – Stylish Back To School Essentials - Some great ideas on your making your study area organized and stylish!

Have a Great Weekend!

Happy Organizing! 

Increase Your Focus!

Knowing you have hours of homework to do is not a good feeling for anyone!  You may want to procrastinate and find something better to do.  It doesn’t matter if it’s more important or not, you want to avoid what is ahead of you.

When you finally sit down to do the homework, you feel overwhelmed and anxiety and stress takes over.  It’s hard to focus and all you can think about is everything you have to do and you find yourself easily distracted by email, the phone, and the other conversations going in the house. It really doesn’t matter what it is, it could just be the fly in the room… It captures your attention but the homework still sits in front of you!

How can we increase our focus while doing important tasks like homework or working on a project for work?  

This is a very important question if you have ADD/ADHD, because the distractions can actually be so overwhelming, you don’t get the project done and it starts to effect not only you but others around you too!

Here is a strategy I recommend with my clients:  15/5  

15/5 means you work for 15 minutes and then you give yourself a break for 5!  It’s a simple strategy breaking your homework or project down into 15 minute intervals.  15 minutes is not a long time but it’s long enough to get started and once you start adding up your 15 minutes they do turn into an hour and progress will be made.  The 5 minutes in between allows you to look at your distractions, check your email, let your brain wander, until it’s time to get back into it.

Tips to make this work:  

1) While you are in your 15 minutes of work time, cut your distractions- turn the email alert off, close your door, work in a quiet area, be in an environment where you focus best.  Set yourself up for success!

2)  Use a timer – Especially for the 5 minute breaks, 5 minutes can easily turn into 30 minutes if you are not careful.  If after the 15 minutes of work you are still motivated and doing well, my recommendation is to keep going until you start to wander, then it’s time to take that 5 minute break, or maybe a little longer depending on how long you have been working and what your particular circumstance is.

As in any strategy, you have to make it work for you….

Please note: This strategy can work on all ages of children, from elementary to college! 

Happy Organizing! 

Happy Friday! 

We are getting close to the end of August….

Ready or not, it is Back to School!!

This Friday Review is dedicated to making the back to school transition a smooth one!  The first recommendation is from TCO ourselves… If you haven’t gotten a chance to listen to the latest podcast, it’s all about transitioning back to school!  I give my top 3 tips in making the transition as smooth as possible!  We know you don’t have a lot of time, we produce our podcasts to be short, sweet, and to the point!

Here are other articles around the web giving us great tips and tricks to start this school year with an A+! 

Confident Mom – Successful Homework Strategies

Simply Stated – A Clever Way to Display Kids Artwork 

About.com – Back to School Tips for Children with ADHD

E-mealz - A Meal Planning Resource for Busy Families

FamilyFun.com – Back to School Lunches & Snacks

Have a great weekend!

Happy Organizing!

I had the privilege of watching her speak at the last NAPO Conference and let me say she is very inspiring!  With back to school right around the corner, I wanted to recommend her book, Organizing From The Inside Out For Teens!

It covers everything from organizing your room, study areas, backpack organization, you name it and she covers it!  One aspect of the book that I really enjoyed is her concept of “The essential 7″.  This concept can help anyone whether you are a teen or not, it doesn’t matter, the point of knowing your essential 7 is a crucial part of the organizing process.

So what are the essential 7?

Organizing is not about getting rid of your belongings… it’s about finding out what is most important to you. Your essential 7 are those items that are most valuable!  These are the objects you use on a daily basis, the items you love and never want to lose track of!  Identifying these essential 7 items will allow to start your organizing process, now that you know what’s most important, you will find it easier to sort out the items that are not so important.

Knowing your essential 7 will also help in the placement process of where to put your belongings… Nothing is more frustrating if you can’t find your ipod or the homework assignment that is due the next day!   By assigning a home for these essential items-eliminates the stress!

How can identifying your essential 7 help you in your organizing process?

Are you constantly looking for the same items over and over again?  What do you use on a daily basis?  These are the questions to start asking yourself on how to identify your essential 7!

Now is the time to do something about it!

Happy Organizing! 

We have been in school now for almost 2 months, some of you maybe even longer.  At the end of October, our Back to School Organizing Central is coming down!

There is no better time than now to re-evaluate the systems you have put in place to keep your home organized and in order!

You have done the work to set up the systems, now you need to ask yourself are they working?

Are your kids turning their homework in on time?

Are you getting permission slips and other forms back when you are suppose to?

What about your mornings and nightly routines? Hopefully they are calm and not chaotic!

Whenever you set up a new organizing system within the home, it’s important to “live” the system for a couple of months to decide if it’s really working.  If you are happy with your answers for the above questions, then you are doing well!  If not, take the time to start looking at where your processes are breaking down.

Are you being consistent enough?

Does everyone know what is expected?

Are you planning in advance?

Look at the areas that need help and start making changes today!

Your organization changes with your schedule.  It’s important to have structure but be flexible enough to change when you need too… There are a lot of activities that come up during the holidays, now is the time to fix whatever is broken so you can enter this new season with peace and not stress!

Happy Organizing!

Tip#1 – Have a bin ready to go for all your lunch ingredients! I have one bin that includes; bread, peanut butter, and snacks just designated for the school lunch. This bin is so handy, instead of grabbing all the ingredients and wasting time, you just have to grab the bin with everything in it, make the lunch and place back into the pantry until next time!

Tip#2 - Go green with your lunch box! There are wonderful products out there to use in the lunch box, get rid of the plastic sandwich bags and go green… Have a few containers on hand, so you are not having to do the dishes everyday.   Pete Wright from Taking Control, The Home Organizing Podcast highly suggests Goodbyn.com.  This product looks great!  Instead of having a lot of different pieces, you have one box, one lid!  Check it out!

Tip#3 - Have a drop off for the lunch box! Just like the backpack, make sure your kids know where to drop off the lunch box!  It saves time in the morning looking for it and then finding old food! Yuck!  It’s happened to us and it’s not fun!  Make sure they drop off the box after school, so you have plenty of time to clean it and get it ready for the next morning!

Tip#4 - Explore different recipes and get out of the rut of PB & J! I have found some great websites with different recipe ideas and tips for healthy lunches.  It breaks the monotony of the same old, same old stuff!  Here are my favorites!

• Kaboose.com
• DisneyFamilyFun.com
• Allrecipes.com

If you have any additional tips that makes your life easier, please share!  The more the better!

Happy Organizing!

Here we are just a couple of weeks away from the kids going back to school!  I went to the mall last Saturday and saw several kids with their parents shopping for school clothes.  This brought back a lot of memories of when I was kid!  This is a big deal!  I remember how exciting it was to pick out what to wear on the first day!

I never did understand why my mother would only buy a few items prior to school starting, then we would get the rest as we needed it.  She would say it would give me a chance to see what I really wanted and needed! Now as I parent, I get it!  It was really about saving money!  Things go on sale as the season goes on and you will most likely always get better deals after school as started!  So the tradition now has been passed on… I only buy what they really need right now, and then wait until the sales start coming!

On this weeks podcast, Organizing Closets!, we talked about several tips and ideas to get your closets organized!  As with our own closets, the change of season is a great time to go through your children’s closet as well!  It’s time to see what fits, what doesn’t, what can be handed down to a sibling or taken to a charity.  It’s also time to take inventory on your winter gear, like coats, mittens, gloves, hats, etc.  Don’t forget the shoes!  Our children grow fast and so do their feet!

**Remember to have a landing spot for all of the outerwear, I have found a hanging sweater organizer works great for hallway closets.  Each person as their own cubby for the gloves, hats, etc.

** During the Closet Podcast, we talked about Huggable Hangers!  They have these for kids too… You can get them at a variety of different stores.  Heres a few links to check out:  Target, The Container Store, HSN.

Last summer I wrote a blog post about how to organize your children’s closet.  Click here, to read the entire post.  It gives great ideas on product and how to most efficiently use your space!

Enjoy these last days of summer!  They go by fast!

Happy Organizing!

Depending on the grade of our child, there is a good possibly they will have homework from day one!  The best thing you can do is to be prepared and make sure you child has everything they need, when they need it. It will save time and keep them focused on the homework and not trying to find their pencils and erasers!

You can set up a homework station in a variety of ways.  The student could have their own desk in their room or in a common area in the home.  If they like to do their homework in different rooms around the house, a portable desk may be a good option.  The study space should be a place where the student can think, focus, brainstorm, and if set up correctly, should make doing homework a little less painful!

These are the essentials you need no matter how the work station is set up:

• Kids will not work in a station if it’s not user friendly.  You must get their opinions and thoughts about how to best set up a workspace.
• You want the station to have storage space and surface space, they need to have enough space to store all of their supplies, printer, computer, paper etc.  You need to have the surface area to write, cut, paste etc.
• Good lighting- It’s hard to do your best work if you can’t see what you are doing!
• Make sure the student is comfortable- if they don’t like their desk chair, they will never sit it in.
• Let me them put personal touches around their workspace – just like if you were working in a cubicle, you want around you the things that make you happy.
• Include a bulletin board and calendar to the workspace – they need to see deadlines and bulletin boards are a great way to post reminders and other information your student may need. (Teach the child to go through the bulletin board on a weekly basis, so it doesn’t fill up with paper clutter)
• Make sure the station is stocked with everything they need!  Nothing is worse than finding out you used the last staple.  Keep up on the inventory of supplies!

Happy Organizing!

Your children are going to need a place for their coats, hats, mittens, backpacks, lunch pails, shoes, and anything else that may come home with them!  If you designate the same place every time, it will eliminate the running around in the mornings trying to find the missing shoe!

This is an easy organizing system to put into place in your home as long as you teach your children what is expected from them.  You want the kids to put their jackets on hooks, make sure the hooks are at their height, make placing shoes in a bin or a rack easy and painless.  Have a basket or bin accessible for the mittens and hats.

Make the drop off place as convenient and easy as possible to ensure success!

Practice!  Before school actually starts, do a run through with your kids, and if there is anything that needs to change, now is the time to do it!

Happy Organizing!

Back to School!

Ready or not, school is just around the corner!  For some of you around the country, it may have already begun!  If you have any lessons learned this season, please share your wealth of information! We are always looking for tips to make our lives easier!

I will be the first to admit I am not ready to let go of summer.  However, I do know it’s better to be prepared and plan for this upcoming season change.  If you are not organized during this time, it can easily turn into chaos with a lot of frustration and stress!

So what can we do to make this time less stressful?  Organized.com is one way for sure!  The Back to Campus webpage is a great resource for great products and information all of us can learn from…

Here are just a few of my favorite articles and products:

How to Prepare for the First Day of Preschool

How to Pack the Perfect Lunch

Locker Organization

The Dorm Store

The Dorm Checklist

More Back to School Posts our on the way.. Visit our Back to School Central Link… This will take you to all the blog posts related to Back to School plus more products I recommend to get your season off right!

Happy Organizing!

As part of our summer, we make a point to go the library every week to two weeks. We love to check out new books, and most libraries have different activities going on throughout the summer… It’s fun to choose a topic and learn as much as we can about it.  It’s a great and fun way to incorporate reading and learning into your summer months.

Recently I came across a program through Barnes & Noble and I thought it was a great way to encourage our young readers and wanted to pass it on..

Kids can read any 8 books and track them in a Passport to Summer Reading form, you can dowload this form on their website!

Kids then get to choose a FREE book from the list given, when they turn in the Passport to a Barnes & Noble.

Not a bad deal….

For more information check out www.barnesandnoble.com!

Here are some simple solutions in getting this paper under control!

1.  Have a plan for paper- decide up front where  the paper is going.  For every piece of paper needs to have a home. You can use a banker box, clear or colored storage containers for each child.  As paper and artwork come in, this is where it lands.  Of course for the special projects and assignments those are posted for everyone to see.  But even these items need to be rotated as new ones come in. When they have had their turn on the refrigerator, place in your box.

2.  Set guidelines on what is going to be saved and what is not. In order to eliminate paper clutter you can not save everything. Save the items that mean the most to you and your children.  You can purge the paper as it comes in, in 2 weeks, 6 months, or at the end of the year.  Whatever works best for you, just make sure you do it!  For items you don’t necessarily want to keep but do not want to forget, take a picture of the item with your child.

3.  Make sure to have a spot designated in your home for important school papers- for example permission slips, upcoming events, calendar, etc.  This paper can be tacked on a bulletin board, ( Just make sure to not clutter the bulletin board!  Recycle paper as it as expired) I keep a manilla folder on my desk labeled – School Info.  Another idea is to have a binder in your kitchen or main area that is just for school papers, you could use tabs to separate the papers by month.  It doesn’t matter exactly what it looks like – just make sure to have spot!

4.  Have a Memorabilia Box for each child. These are the things you want to keep forever, or at least for awhile!  Separate the papers & artwork by grade level and school year.  If you scrapbook- use some of the pieces as part of your pages- showcasing your child’s best work.

5.  Establish a daily routine to clean out the backpack! Make sure any excess papers are filed and put away.

Happy Organizing!

It’s the morning chaotic rush, school bus is waiting, kids are trying to find their coats, put their backpacks on and run as fast as they can, screaming-”Wait for Me”!

Morning chaos brings us to stressed out kids and stressed out parents!  With a little planning and some organization with routines, your mornings and evenings can go much smoother!

Here are some suggestions in achieving the happy child getting on the school bus rather than the stressed out running with paper and clothes flying all around!

1.  Write down all the tasks that need to be done in the evening and in the morning.  Have the list lamented so as your child finishes the task, they can actually check it off with a dry eraser marker!  Great way to instill that to do lists are very helpful in organizing our day!  You’re teaching them the value of organization!  An example of an evening list may include:  Finish homework, pack backpack, choose clothes for next day, shower, brush teeth, read book.  An example of a morning list may include:  Make bed, Get dressed, eat breakfast, take vitamin, brush teeth, put shoes on.

2.  Speak to child’s teacher and get an estimate of how much homework he/she will have, this will give you a better idea of how to manage your evening routine and taking into account homework time, play time, sports and/or other activities they may be involved in.  I am a big believer in not scheduling our children to do everything.  They need down time too, and it’s important to realize this when planning activities.

3.  To eliminate power struggles in the morning, get your children involved in picking their clothes and what they want to eat for lunch the next day.  Hold them responsible with your supervision of course!

4.  Use your family calendar (Review Recent Blog Post Here) to track your activities and go over it with your children periodically.  This is also a good time for a family meeting (Review Recent Blog Post Here).  Review the rules in the house, the chores each child is responsible for, changes the family needs to prepare for.  The more communication, the more prepared your children will feel and be!

5.  Practice your routines before school starts!  A week before, start your bedtime and wake up calls and practice!  Get used to checking off their duties and getting things done in the time allotted.  This also gives you time to tweak the schedule if you need!

Next Blog Post – What to do with all the paper that comes home from school!!

I came across an article from the Wall Street Journal on Sunday that I wanted to share on my blog.  This is a brief summary of 5 ways to stretch your Back To School Dollars….

1.  Go online- Many stores stock less inventory and there’s a good chance you may not find what you are looking for.  Go online to places like OfficeDepot.com and Walmart.com.  This can save you time and hassle, and when buying several items-many will qualify for free shipping.

2.  Shop on Weekdays-  According to FrugalDad.com, many sales run from Thursday – Sunday.  If you go on a Thursday evening, you will find the best selection, if you wait until Sunday, many times you going through left -overs.

3.  Buy more-  Another tip from FrugalDad.com, buy school supplies in three’s, so you won’t have to buy replacements midyear, when they aren’t on sale.

4.  Get creative-  Try making some supplies on your own, for ideas see MarthaStewart.com and ReadyMade.com.

5.  Wait a week or two-  As for clothes shopping, if you can hold off until after school begins, advises BargainBabe.com, you will have a better idea of what other kids are wearing, so there’s no chance that you’ll clothes your child is refusing to wear.

(This article is a summary from an article I read in the Wall Street Journal Sunday – edited by Nikki Waller.)

There is no doubt the backpack can become a “dumping ground” for everything and anything… It’s easy for a student to grab and throw whatever is in their way into this thing! Finding your homework can become a disorganized mess!

Here are some great tips in helping students organize their backpacks, so next time when the teacher says bring out your homework.. Your child will be able to do so and on time!

1.  Make sure you have the “Right” backpack for your child’s needs.  Make a list of everything they will need to carry with them.  What has to stay in the backpack and what can go into a locker or cubby at school.  This will determine the size of backpack you need.

2. Teach your child how to use the backpack.  You and the child should designate each pocket to have a purpose.  Separate your things by type.  For example all books and binders go in the big section, calculators, pens, etc. go into one section, water bottle on the side. etc. etc.  Make sure important information like emergency phone numbers is located in an easy spot for the child to always find.  I suggest not having your home address in the backpack, in case it is lost and you have house keys in it.  Better to be safe than sorry.  Teach your child for everything there is a place.  If each item has a home within the backpack then each item will be easy to find and easy to return!

3.  Do you need more than one bag? It may be useful to have a smaller bag inside the backpack for gym clothes or after school activities things.  Keeping these items separated from the other things pertaining to school.

4.  Have a designated spot in your home where the backpack is always suppose to go. Every night, go through the backpack and do a quick unload, sort, and toss.  File any loose papers that need to go into the binder.  If you do this daily, the backpack will stay maintained and will not look like a paper bomb went off in it!

5.  Be prepared- pack your backpack the night before.  Make sure all homework is completed and anything that needs to go to school the next day is already in the backpack.  The more you can prepare the night before, the easier your morning will be!

Happy Organizing!

Being a part of a family and a household is somewhat like being an employee in a company!  I believe in structure and I believe in holding family meetings.  I have found this to be extremely important to my children and to my own sanity. If everyone knows the rules and the boundaries, then they know what to expect!

The first thing you need to do is to prepare for your meeting.  If you are not a single parent than all caregivers should be involved, so everyone is on the same wave length, again, this way there are no surprises and everyone knows what to expect.  Decide what to cover in the meeting. Write it all down, and give each member of the family a meeting agenda, you could also use a bulletin board to display key topics.

Because of the upcoming transition of going back to school, here are some ideas on what to cover:

1.  The new schedule for school- Discuss who is going where, when they are going, and how they are getting there.  Talk about what the morning and nightly routines will be in your home (I will discuss more on routines on an upcoming blog post – check back later).

2. Look at the calendar – Discuss how sports practices and other activities are going to effect the schedule, make sure everyone is aware of the changes.  In an earlier post, I talked about the family calendar, bring this out as a visual and show your family how it works.

3.  Make the expectations clear- Every house has different rules depending on your values and beliefs, this is a great time to review those rules with clear expectations, and clear consequences.  Some families change up the rules for TV and video games due to school, make sure you talk about these issues.

4.  Chore Responsibilities- This is a great time to review chores with your children or to establish new ones if necessary.  Use charts as a visual for kids, especially younger ones, they love being able to put a sticker on their chart after completion.

The Family Meeting is a great way for the family to come together and be a part of how the household is ran.  If everyone is clear on what is coming up, everyone will feel more in control of their time, and there are no surprises.  Make the meeting a habit, it’s not meant to do only once, like with any organizing system you put in place, you need to review and tweak as things change.  Make it fun and light, and make it short. Kids do not have a long attention span, I learned the hard way, to make the meeting short and sweet! Allow for questions and discussion, this is a great way to see your kids point of view and be able to problem solve as a family unit.

Discussing these issues leads to living a more organized lifestyle, which is something your children will carry with them for the rest of their lives!

Happy Organizing!  (Next blog post – How to Organize your BackPack!)

Just as we start to get used to summer, we are reminded when we walk into a store that back to school is just around the corner.  I have been doing research on how best to be organized during this transition, I hope to teach you what I have learned myself… the next few blog posts will be dedicated to just this… Back to School Organizing Tips!

The book I am currently reading is the The Organized Student by Donna Goldberg.  Here are some points that I thought were worth sharing.. As well as some of my own input and ideas!

1.  A cluttered room is not always a sign of a disorganized student.  Being messy and being disorganized are two different things.  Being organized is about finding the things you need when you need them. If your child is able to find his clothes, turn his homework in on time, be prepared for tests, gets good grades, then disorganization is probably not the issue.  He or she has their own system that works for them.  If the child has a chaotic bedroom and exhibits signs of academic distress, then learning organization skills could be of value to this child.  Like any other skill, organization has to be taught. This is not to say you should be satisfied with a messy room, you have to go by what rules and values you set in your home about these issues, however it is something for you to think about.  Not too jump to the conclusion that disorganization is the problem.

2.  To teach your children about organization, it is important to know how they learn.  It is also important to involve them in the process of setting up a system.  They need to create their own solutions, that fit their needs not what you think they need.  You want your children to be invested in the process or the system stays in place.  Think of this as a family project, first talk about the current problems, what items get lost, what do your kids struggle with most, what is their day like at school, ask questions and get their input.  This will be the beginning of setting some defined goals, then help your children figure out what tools they need etc.  This is the beginning of setting up a plan.

3.  How does your child learn? If your child is a visual learner, color and sequence will play  a large role in his organizing system, they will learn by watching what you do.  If your child learns through listening, make sure to explain what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and how they should use the tool.  If they learn by doing, make sure the organizing process is hands on, let them assemble and manipulate the tools and show you how they plan to use them.  In any case, remember they need to be involved!

For the next month or so, my blog posts will be dedicated to Back to School Organizing.  If you have specific questions please feel free to email me @ info@takecontrolorganizing.com, and I would be happy to get back to you and consider your question as a topic for a blog post.

If you have a child or children at home and you would like to set up a new organizing system for the upcoming school year and need a little help?  Take a look at my Virtual Organizing services, I may be able to help you no matter if you are local or 5 states away from me!  Contact me @ 541-514-85873 for more information!

Until next time… Happy Organizing!

We all have busy schedules, and when we throw our kids schedules in the mix, things can become chaotic!  How can you stay organized and still feel in control of your schedule. You want to be the one running your day not the other way around!  Here are some simple steps to get you going with some recommendations of books to read for your reference!

First of all you need to choose what kind of planner you would like to use. The one to the left is a basic dry erase board which I have seen work very well for families.  You can also choose a written daily planner, your computer, or your phone / palm pilot. There are also different kinds of calendars that gear specifically to the Mom and to Families that may be worth a try.  The important thing is that it works for your family!

Once you have chosen your calendar, you need to make sure all of your appointments are in one place.  If you are a visual person, this is going to be very important to you.  You want to be able to see everything in one place rather than having 2 or 3 different calendars.  You are taking the steps to ensure there is no overlapping in schedules.

Color code for each member of the family.  This is making it clear who needs to be where at what time.

Prepare! Look at your schedule every Sunday with your family and discuss who is going where and how they are getting there.  This is a visual snapshot of what is ahead.

Prepare! Look at your schedule every night before the next day!  Do as much as you can the night before to make the mornings less chaotic.  Get clothes picked out and ready to go, lunches packed, bags packed.  Anything you can do the night before will HELP you in the morning!

Remember to block out enough time for travel if  it takes you more than 10 minutes to get somewhere.  Sometimes we are in a rush because we don’t take this into account.

Books I recommend on Time Management include:  Getting Things Done, by David Allen and Time Management from the Inside Out, by Julie Morgenstern.

1. Go through closets and drawers. Take an inventory of clothing. Sort in 3 ways; 1) Throw away (too stained or ripped to donate), 2) donate to a local charity (resources above) 3) Store and keep for other children in your family or for friends. (Immediately store clothing in a large container and label, for example; Boys- 5T)
2. Keep a Family Calendar- one calendar where you put everyone’s information from soccer practice, doctor’s appointments, field trips etc.
3. Prepare for the paperwork. Find containers like a dishpan, file boxes, expandable folders, whatever you prefer and have one for each child. So everyday, all papers go to this area. Sort through each day. Keep what you need and throw away the rest. Put on your family calendar any dates that you need to know. Do it that day!
4. Artwork can be tricky- display what you want to display and have an area where you put other artwork during the year. You can buy large art folders or have a container that goes under the child’s bed. I suggest not waiting until the end of the year to purge. Go through it every couple of months, keep what you want and throw out the rest. Some pieces you could photograph so you will always remember but not have to actually keep it.
5. Prepare as much as you can the night before – Have lunches packed, backpacks ready with all homework and any papers that need to be signed or returned to school. Have clothes laid out on dresser, and go over the next days schedule with children at bedtime, this way they know what’s coming the next day. Get your kids involved and have them do what is appropriate for their age.
6. Wake up 15 minutes earlier, it can really make a difference!