*I will be adding organization projects to this post as the week progresses so look out of more tips!
Kids School work
One day this past year I got caught by my then 3-year-old throwing out some of his preschool work. We had an awkward moment by the trash can as I fumbled for an excuse and he just looked at me like, BUSTED! The mother guilt came over me and I quickly grabbed the coloring sheet from the trash. I decided in that moment that we needed a system for keeping and tossing school work. I love my son dearly and I enjoy seeing what comes home in his folder but I don't need 4,ooo coloring sheets for my scrapbook! I decided on this system and it is working great so far:
1. When papers come home I go through and pull out all the work done by my son. Those papers go in a bag that I have on a shelf in the back of my closet. I recycled a shopping bag from Anthropologie. It is a small size bag but is just wide enough for a standard size piece of paper. If the project is bigger than that it either gets folded or if its something I want to keep in good shape it is displayed somewhere in the house (framed, or taped to the fridge, etc).
2. At the end of the school year I will go through the bag and choose which pieces are keepsakes and which are trash. Keepsakes will go in a scrapbook. After a whole year it is easier to decide because I can see the whole year's work and only pick the ones that will be memorable. When my children are older than 4 I will enlist their help in this process. Eventually the job with be entirely their own. I will give them one scrapbook per year and they can keep as many things as there are pages. I have a friend that does this method and her daughters love personalizing their scrapbook each year.
One bag in my closet does not take up much space and it cuts down on the stress of trying to decide each day what stays and what gets hidden, waaay in the bottom of the trash!
Your Daily Planner
I am a list kind of girl. I have lists for everything and I get a little giddy each time I can check off something from my list. I have used all kinds of planners and all kinds of systems over the years and I finally have one that is simple and effective. You need:
1. Large, flat desk calendar. I prefer a monthly calendar that has large blocks for each day. They have some right now in the dollar bins at Target.
2. A notepad with pen (Caroline Simas for Wellspring!!) or a notepad/coupon keeper. I have this one and I love it for organizing coupons. Use this for jotting down grocery list items as they come up throughout the week and for stashing coupons. When I run to the grocery store I just grab this and go.
3. Sticky notes. Keep one handy so you can write down kid milestones. For example, a quick note about the funny thing your kid said or the date the baby took his first steps. Keep short notes with dates and important memories here and then transfer them to your baby book once a week or once a month. This helps you keep track of special stuff without having to carve out time to write in the baby book every day.
I keep my set up like this: (sorry for the poor quality)
Kids Closets
If you are home today due to snow, this will be a perfect time to get started on some organizing. Since the kids will be home and most likely in need of something to do, lets start with a project that involves them: their closets. January is the perfect time to regroup and transition out any clothes that do not fit or are out of season. Go through and pull out what is in any drawers or their closet. If your child is old enough have them separate out short-sleeved from long-sleeved, shorts from long pants. The long, under-the-bed tupperware containers work great for storing clothes. If you are storing in an attic Space Bags are great. Label the containers by size and season. If you are not passing the clothes to a younger sibling make a pile for consignment. Anything else goes to Goodwill. Make sure to also go through sock and underwear drawers and clean out matchless socks and outgrown undies. Put a basket for shoes by your door. Put your child's most-frequently worn pairs in there for fast access as you are on your way on to the car each day!
To help with school mornings set up a system in your child's closet for weekly outfits. Using a hanging accessories shelf (like this one), put a complete outfit for each day of the week in each compartment. Or just the days that your child attends school. Use different colored pieces of construction paper labelled with the day of the week and attach to a compartment. If you have a picky dresser allow them to help choose their outfits. The week's outfits should be chosen Sunday and once the outfits are chosen no more discussion about it. Each morning they can dress themselves with the clothes from the appropriate day or at least bring the clothes to you without any time wasted on missing socks or fashion meltdowns.
If your child's closet is too small for these suggestions you can always just place some bins on their bedroom floor against a wall. Line up the appropriate number of baskets/bins for each day they attend school, label by day and place an outfit in for each. This week there are tons of storage and organization items on sale on Target's website.
Another rule of thumb I always use for any closet or drawer is to color code the clothes. It is much easier to find what you are looking for when clothes are all folded/hung the same direction and arranged by color (also use one type of hanger). This system works especially well for children as it helps them know exactly where to put clothes away or find what they need. I do this in my own closet and it makes dressing so much easier. I don't waste anytime searching for that black shirt and I am always motivated to hang things neatly back in my closet! As far as shoes, definitely purchase a hanging shoe organizer like this or this and color code shoes as well. Store out-of-season shoes in containers in the top of the closet or attic. Don't forget to label containers by item, season, and size if necessary!
UPDATE:
Need a little inspiration to get your own closet organized? Check out this post from another blogger complete with before-and-after pictures. Make sure to go back to parts 1 and 2 on her blog to see how she decided what to keep and what to give away.
ps...I LOVE the idea of an inspiration board in your closet!
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| kendieveryday |
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