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7.22.2011

KEEPING IT ALL STRAIGHT

I pride myself on being pretty darn organized.  It's a little something I picked up from my grandfather.  
That man was an organizing machine.  Even as a child, I loved having things orderly.  Now, don't get me wrong, with three kids and lots of balls up in the air, every so often, I drop a ball.  

For example, I once forgot to pick up one of my  kids from pre-school.  We've all done that, right?  Please say yes!  A couple of months ago, I was brushing my teeth at about 10:00 a.m. and I suddenly remembered I was supposed to be at the orthodontist that morning at 9:15 a.m.  Ooops!  So while I have the best intentions of keeping it all straight, I'm human, and, obviously, I screw up sometimes. 

The most important organization tool we have in our family is the "Family Calendar".  My old calendar was ready to expire, so I made a trip to Target.  Fortunately for me, a brand new Target opened recently about 3 minutes from my house.  My husband would say that it is very unfortunate.  Anyway, I had planned on buying the same calendar I had last year.  

This one....

It worked well since there was a space for everyone in the family and there was plenty of space to write.
However, I didn't like the fact that I could only see one week at a time. 

While searching for the Post It calendar, I came upon this lovely thing and knew it was perfect.  
It was only $8.99 (compared to $18.99 for the Post-it calendar). 
It has a space for everyone, plenty of room to write, and it even has a spot to fill in the meal for the day.  The best part is I can see the entire month at one glance.  
It's like they designed it just for me!  
Don't you love the name (Organizher)?


It fits perfectly on one of our bulletin boards. 


The bulletin boards hang here, on the side of the refrigerator.
The top bulletin board is used for invitations, schedules, grocery list, birthday list, etc. 


Just on the other side of the wall in the mudroom, is another great organizational tool.  I bought this wooden sorter at Homegoods several years ago and it works great since there are three slots and we have three kids.  When the kids bring their folders home from school each day, we look through them, empty them out and sign what needs to be signed.  The folders go in their slots and they grab them on the way out the door in the morning.  

This summer, their "summer workbooks" are being housed there.  Yes, they have summer homework.  Does everyone have this nowadays?  Even though it is a pain in the you know what, I do think it helps them to not forget everything they learned the previous year.  


Speaking of school papers, once we empty their folders, the papers we want to keep go into this three drawer rubbermaid container.  They each have their own drawer and we keep only the important papers we want to save in here.  Everything else gets recycled.  At the end of the school year, I go through the drawers one more time and the "keepers" get put in an extra large ziploc bag marked with their name, their grade and their teacher's name. The bags are stacked and stored in a rubbermaid container in storage.  So far, each child has only one rubbermaid container.  We are saving less and less each year.  There were so many art projects in pre-school and now we just save a few tests, creative writing and a small number of art projects.  



One last thing that helps keep me organized is this great little book I picked up at Homegoods a few months ago.  I take it everywhere with me and I write down my daily "to do" lists in it.  
It's been a life saver lately. It was only $3.99.  



I know everyone has their own system for keeping it all straight.  This one works for us.  
Care to share any of your organization tips?  

12 comments:

  1. I love a good post on organization!

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  2. Um, can you come to my house and share some more of your tips? Great ideas, and I'm loving that calendar. In our new house I'm having a hard time figuring out where to put "command central", as there isn't a space that fits the part. I'm half-tempted to fill in one of my niche walls and make that my organizing area...

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  3. I love that unit that you house the summer homework (!) folders in. It's perfect - I need one! Is it built in or did you buy it like that?
    Your command central wall with the calendar is pretty & functional too.
    I love to organize also - am always trying to keep ahead of the kitchen clutter - mail and schoolwork!
    Have a great weekend Andrea....Lisa

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  4. I try to keep our house and family very organized also. I too use a large calander, and have files for each of the girls (and now we have a 3rd on the way, which makes things even more exciting around here!). All the paperwork from school can be overwhelming. I also don't keep it all...only the really cute/special stuff, and they also have one bin each. Great tips!

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  5. Thanks for sharing your tips! I love the processes you've put in place for school papers. Great tips. We don't have that issue much, so we drop receipts, keys, coupons and cell phones in a wooden thing a mabob that is made for that. Then, I record any business receipts in QB and file them. I keep any receipts for things that could need to be returned in that area for about a month, then file them. We also have a calendar in the laundry room where we can record anything that we both need to take note of, but for most things we use our Outlook calendars.

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  6. Great ideas! Love the calendar. I hope my Target has them! Thanks!

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  7. I suddenly feel incredibly unorganized...

    And, I have to set an alarm clock so I don't lose track of time and forget to pick up Izzy from Kid's Day out :D

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  8. I love that calendar! And I love that you have the bulletin board above it for invites, etc... Definitely going to have to take a trip to Target this weekend!

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  9. AHHH! I have been searching for the exact same sorter (wooden or metal) for my 3 kids' papers, etc. We use a dry erase calendar along with a bulletin board much like you. Thanks for the tip about the rubbermaid drawers for school paper/art 'keepers.'

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  10. As a Virgo- I love a post on organization...and my heart fluttered over that calendar! (Running to Target today!!)I also have a lined journal book in my purse ($7.99 at TJMaxx) that I scribble anything in the crosses my mind, that I might forget, etc. Otherwise it all ends up on scrap papers in my purse while I am out. And I, too, have forgotten to pick my child up from pre-school....I blamed the clock...haha

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  11. Oooh, you are ORGANIZED girl! Makes me want to go grab my stack of papers and start organizing! :) Love that calendar.

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  12. Oh, I love that calendar on the side of your kitchen. I have a space exactly like that and I've been debating to do that or not. How did you hang your frames?

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I love reading each and every one of your comments!