School Supplies and Backpacks

Be sure to clean and sort out all left over school supplies from the previous year so that you know what you already have on hand and what you need to purchase.  Maybe you caught a sale last season and you have 3 extra boxes of crayons that you completely forgot about over the course of the year.  If you are using last years backpacks you’ll want to completely empty the contents, check for rips or holes and launder if possible.

Entryway Solutions

Entryway stations are a great way to catch and contain a great amount of potential clutter immediately as the family walks through the door each day.  A good family entryway station should have a few simple, but important features if possible.

•  Hooks – at least 2 (separate) sturdy hooks for each family member.  Each member will need a place to hang their coats, scarves and a backpack or purse.  Be sure to place the hooks at the appropriate height for each child or adult to easily reach.
• Cubbies and/or baskets – each person should have a cubby or basket available for hats and scarves or other miscellaneous items that may be needed on the way out the door.  Use lower cubbies for smaller children and higher cubbies for older kids and adults.
• Shoe storage – shoes seem to multiple like bunnies near the entryway in the fall and winter.  Shoe storage can be as simple at a mat under a bench, a shoe rack or a shoe cabinet.  The main thing to bear in mind is that the system is only as good as the maintenance, so feel free to choose the number of shoes that each family member can keep at the entryway.  Maybe 4 pairs per family member will work for your household; whatever the magic number it’s important to stay with that number and put away any extra shoes that gather on a weekly basis.
• Drawers – another great feature for an entryway are drawers.  Preferably 1 per family member if possible; this allows each family member a place to put keys, wallets and loose change.  You can easily add dividers or small containers so that small items stay organized within the drawers.
• Bench or seat – it’s just nice to have a place to sit and put on or remove your shoes as you come and go each day

Family Communication Center

Calendar

A good family communication center can save you many hours of frustration and stress over the course of the school year.   The heart of a family communication center is the calendar.  Choose an area in the home that is conveniently located for all members to easily assess the center.  Pick a calendar that has plenty of room to add each person’s activities for the day, week and month.  Consider color coding by using a different color marker for each family members activities.  A dry erase calendar is a good choice because schedules do change and it’s nice to be able to quickly and easily make changes to your calendar as they occur.  The key to using a family calendar is to add any and all activities, appointments, events and practices for each person as soon as the dates are available. Take the time in the beginning of the school year to sit down with the family and enter every existing date.

Bulletin Board

Another useful organizing solution for a communication center is a bulletin board.  This can be used to post chores for each family member, to pin up notices, permission slips or announcements.  To avoid cluttering your board, decide in advance exactly what items you really want posted on your board and stick to just those items.  Remember to remove old items at least once a month.

Vertical File Holder

A vertical file holder is a great way to store papers that need some kind of action when they come into the home.  Your child may need homework signed and returned the next day or a permission slip signed for a field trip.  Each family member can have a slot designed with their name that can be checked daily.

Artwork and Schoolwork Storage

Artwork and schoolwork storage is a significant organizational dilemma for many people each semester.   There are many great ideas for displaying and saving artwork throughout each school year and that in itself can pose a problem.  Too many ideas and not enough time in the day to implement them all!  The point I’m trying to make is to NOT implement them all.  Pick one system and stick to it for a designated amount of time – say one month.  If you love it then continue to use it, if you hate it or it’s not working then move on to the next solution.  Give yourself permission to change your mind, however; don’t change your mind so frequently that you can’t fully take advantage of a system that might work.  Here are some ideas to try.

Displaying Artwork

• Try frames that allow you to easily change and store your children’s art work in seconds.  Each frame has a hinged door that swings open to allow you to easily change or better yet, store up to 50 pictures per frame.
• Another great way to display artwork is using the IKEA Clip and Cable System .  Simply select an area for display and clip up the art work of your choosing in an instant.
• For those who are more creative you can scan in your children’s art and resize it down to business card size photos.  Then create one piece of art using as many of the scanned images as you choose to create a virtual collage of your child’s art.

Storing Artwork

• If you’re looking for a way to simply store your children’s art until the end of the year then consider using a simple portfolio for each child. They are large enough to accommodate bulletin board pieces of art and easy to store.  You can purchase a simple art portfolio at your nearest art or craft store or order a bulletin board storage case at Deluxe Bulletin Board Storage.
• Children’s art can also be stored in clean pizza boxes or file folders.  Be sure to have one box or folder per child to avoid confusion.

Darla Pompilio

Your Tasks – Our Time, Inc