Getting Organized - w/the Kids

Simplify Your Life
Get Organized & Stay That Way
Marcia Ramsland

I had a friend forward this article to me a month ago, so it was a very applicable to the "Going Back to School" frenzy we all were in. The article is written by Marcia Ramsland and you can read it here, "6 Keys to Organize Children and Yourself". Click the title to go to her website.

I spent a few minutes on her site and it is loaded - to the point of being overwhelming for those who are....ummmm...not so organized. Just hoping an idea or two will spark your interest. My goal is not to hear that the whole site sent you into a downward spiral of negative self-talk ;-)

I'm organized to the point of possibily needing to seek professional counseling! Or my kids are going to need counseling! Well, I hope I'm not that bad. Organization and efficiency seem to be ideals we all want to achieve. And it's quite easy for some and really hard for others. I've started adding a disclaimer to any comments I make regarding my organizational skills.

I think most traits are not inherently good or bad, especially when kept in balance, but when left to extremes, they can become toxic. In my life, organization comes with the tendancy to put tasks before my family, to be too rigid and not flexible and to not allow for creative messes to take over parts of my home for any extended period of time...(that would be more than a day or two in my life and sometimes simply hours.)

In what ways do you try to organize corners of your life? Would love to have some ideas shared! Here are a couple of my own...

• Snacks are kept in the cabinet low to the floor so my kids can get their own when they come home after school.
• We have a bench with two large baskets near the front door. The kids each have a basket for their shoes to be put into and a place to leave their backpacks for the next day.
• School lunch calendar gets printed at the first of the month. Each get to choose two lunches each week to eat at school & they circle them on the menu. Then the night before, they check the menu and get their lunchbox out if needed for the next day.
• And here's "The List" I pulled together for the kids to check on their own after the first week of school. It was either this or a tape recorder with a repeat button!