Get Your Family Organized!

Source: Dayna Brandoff

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The start of the school year is a great time to adopt new, organized habits. Here are some ideas to help you keep tabs on your family's whereabouts, allow you to see what arrangements need to be made, eliminate some of that morning pressure and to stay on top of school-generated paperwork.

Create a master calendar for your family.

So much of being organized is knowing what preparations you need to make in order to get organized. That's why it's so important to have a color-coded master calendar for your family. This calendar should include everything - family plans, after-school activities, field trips, vacation days, school assignments and Mom & Dad time. If you're technologically savvy, you can create this in a calendar program like Outlook or iCal. If you prefer paper, choose a wall calendar large enough to accommodate all of your family's activities - then assign each family member a different color. Display the calendar in a central location and hang colored markers from strings on the same hook. This way, family members can add new items (in their color) as they come up.

On a particularly hectic day, you should be able to look at the calendar and immediately know where everyone is and what they're up to. Most important, you'll be able to see what arrangements need to be made - booking a babysitter, arranging for a carpool or baking cupcakes for the PTA bake sale. Knowing these things ahead of time will allow you to take care of them when your schedule allows - rather than feeling the pressure at the last minute.

Establish an evening routine that prepares for the next day.

Mornings can be hectic and things can easily get lost in the shuffle. To eliminate some of that morning pressure, teach your children to plan ahead. Before going to bed, have them gather their homework assignments and anything special they might need for school the next day -- team uniforms, band instruments, permission slips -- into their backpacks. Backpacks can then be stored in a zone you create (as close to the door as possible).
When you have a quiet moment, spend a few minutes preparing lunch for the next day so that in the morning your child simply needs to take it from the fridge.

Create a zone that encourages your family to get out the door with everything they need.

I love a space that encourages efficiency. What we want to do here is create an area that has everything your kids need to take with them for the day. You don't need to embark on an elaborate construction project, simply place a decorative bin near the door for each child (what a great place to put those packed bookbags the night before!), hang coat hooks at a height they can reach and you've got yourself an area.

Another idea for this zone is to hang a permanent list of often-forgotten items (Do you have your.... lunch? trumpet? signed quiz? permission slip?) This final reminder will teach your children to go through a mental checklist, and will also save you from having to run over to the school with their instrument before band practice.

Create an area for items that need action.

Schools generate a ton of paperwork! Use an in/out box or a bulletin board to set up an area dedicated solely to school-related paper. Tell your children that you expect them to empty their bags of any parental paperwork (notices, permission slips, tests that need signing) and leave it in this area after school every day. Each evening, take a few moments and go through what came in that day. If it's something that needs a signature or check, take care of it, then stick the signed paper in their backpack that's waiting by the door. If it's a notice for an upcoming event, add it to the family calendar in the appropriate color. Taking a few minutes each day will save you from feeling overwhelmed by the mountain of paperwork that can pile up after a week, and will ensure that you don't miss any important deadlines or time-sensitive tasks.

Dayna Brandoff is the founder of Chaos Theory Inc., a professional organizing company located in New York City. For further organizing tips or hands-on help, visit www.ChaosTheoryNYC.com.