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When it comes to washing clothes, it can be a daunting task. I’m a wife, mother, daughter, sister. You name, it, I’m it.

Let me just air my dirty laundry. It takes a lot of work to manage a home. I have a family of three and we have four to five loads of clothes to wash weekly. My son is involved in sports and camp, hubby referees basketball and works out, and I go to the gym on a regular basis.

I used to resent leaving the weekends for washing clothes and cleaning the house. I wanted my weekends for spending time with my family and doing fun stuff! As a professional organizer, I’ve learned to put some systems in place to make life a little easier for my family and me. I hope these tidbits will encourage you to do the same.

Tidbit 1:  Decide what day and time of the week you will do laundry put it on your calendar. This is crucial to avoid washing a load every day. An early bird, I prefer washing clothes early Friday mornings.

Tidbit 2:  Make sure your laundry room is organized and has all essential items to wash clothes. Decorate the room so it looks inviting. A nice coat of paint will do.

Tidbit 3:  Create a chore calendar using a dry erase board.

Tidbit 4:  Have each family member have their own laundry basket in their closet.

Tidbit 5:  Our laundry rule is: If I find tissues, erasers, pens, money, food, etc. in pockets while I sort clothes, it will cost the wearer 25 cents for each item. I have a digital coin jar that I keep in laundry room, which helps pay for detergent. It’s amazing how well this pay-up system works!

Tidbit 6:  Keep the laundry room clean at all times. Nothing is more discouraging than going to a messy laundry room. Designate a place for all items. Take a photo of the laundry room to remind the family that this is the way room stays.

I hope these tidbits were helpful!

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Is the morning of the first day of school a frenetic, crazy time at your house? How about the next few days? Whether your child is elementary- or high-school bound, it’s hard to get her up and moving in the morning and to bed at a reasonable time. Once she’s awake, then comes figuring out what to wear, a frantic search for the missing shoe because another pair isn’t acceptable, followed by general chaos that causes wasted time, drama and stress!

It doesn’t have to be this way. With some simple planning and organization, things can run smoothly. Whether your child is starting school for the first time or a returning student, these tips will ease the transition from summer to school.

1. Create a schedule to complete any unfinished summer assignments.
2. Review your child’s clothes and shoes, fill in as needed and donate what no longer fits.
3. Do the same for school supplies.
4. Schedule medical and dental appointments.
5. Schedule a haircut.
6. Start your child’s school routine one to two weeks ahead. Establish regular meal times and school bedtime. Set the alarm to wake up, dressed and fed on time.
7. Start limiting TV watching and time on devices.
8. Except for the very young ones, have your child lay out clothes the night before.
9. Make lunch the evening before.
10. Create a laminated ID card with your child’s name, address and phone number, parents’ names and contact info, and important medical and other information, and secure it in the backpack.
11. Have a system for papers coming from and going to school. It can be as simple as two labeled folders: To Home and To School.
12. Set up a dedicated spot for homework, ideally a desk with supplies within reach.
13. For the first few days before school starts, add a half-hour to whatever time you think you’ll need for the morning routine. It’ll make the back-to-school transition much easier, especially for you!

Being organized makes life so much easier. As one of my favorite clients said upon completing his project, “Peace through organization.”

So, everyone wants to go on a vacation, even the band, the Go-Go’s, as heard in their song, simply titled…”Vacation”!

However, with gas prices and flight costs rising, taking a simple summer vacation has gotten to be a lot more expensive. Add in paying for meals and entertainment and say goodbye to even more of your hard earned money.

Oy vey…what a headache! Why not forgo all that stress, save some money, and instead have a Staycation in your very own home!

Merriam – Webster defines a Staycation as “a vacation spent at home or nearby”. Turn your home and backyard into an outdoor oasis that everyone in the family will enjoy. Think about how a hotel is set up and organize your home as such, for the whole summer or even for just a week!

Start in the kitchen:
Set up an island or part of a countertop for a breakfast buffet/snack bar like you would find in a hotel chain. Set out those single serve cereal boxes, some fruit and granola bars; maybe even whip up a large amount of pancake batter. Buy an inexpensive waffle maker and you can have fresh waffles every morning! Since you are saving money by staying at home, splurge a little here. Find melamine dishes and bowls and acrylic cups, and stash your everyday dishes and cups up on a higher shelf. Tie them together with a bright tablecloth and you have a fresh new look. When you decide to eat al fresco, just take those items outside!

Head into the great outdoors:
After a nice breakfast head outside for the next phase of the day. If you are in the mood to relax then set yourself up on your patio or lawn. Put on some music, bring out your favorite books and/or magazines, and even work on a hobby that you’ve been neglecting. Keep a cooler filled with your favorite beverages and you’ll be set! If you are in the mood to get out of the house, then use those at home days to figure out where to go. If you don’t have a pool at your home or community, consider a membership to a local pool. Or maybe you’d rather go shopping; an outlet center is a great way to spend a day and most offer coupons for additional savings. Another idea is to become a tourist in your own city. So often, our lives get so busy that we can’t appreciate the historical areas and landmarks that our own city has to offer.

End in the bedroom:
Use as a sanctuary to rest and recharge after a busy day outdoors. Put crisp linens and a light comforter on the bed in soothing beach colored neutrals. Try to keep it as a technology free area, which shouldn’t be too hard, because most TV shows are on reruns! Keep a book on your night table and read that instead.

However you decide to spend your Staycation, take the time to savor every minute of the day. Push aside obligations and expectations and put the focus on you. You deserve it!

Garages tend to become the dumping ground during the winter. But the best thing about organizing the garage is that if we do a really good job, it usually stays that way for at least a year. In reality, families use garages as storage facilities rather than a place for the car. That stuff can include obsolete electronics, delayed decisions about where to put something, overflow from the house, and unneeded building supplies. Since the whole family probably uses the garage, bring everyone together and make it a family affair. Let’s break it down:

START WITH A CLEAN SLATE AND UNCLUTTER

• Pull everything out onto the driveway if you can. Sweep it out and eliminate the cobwebs.
• As you pull items out, sort them by categories:
  • lawn and gardening, work bench, sports equipment, dry goods overflow, car accessories, tools and power equipment, paints/solvents, lawn furniture, beach items, camping, etc.
• Talk to your children about their items and help them eliminate clutter. Consider having a garage sale to sell their unneeded toys.
• Finish or get rid of the unfinished projects (two years old or more).
• Find a new home for stuff that shouldn’t be stored in an uninsulated garage (e.g. photographs, items that could melt).
• Eliminate duplicates and donate unneeded tools, doors, windows, appliances, or anything to build a house to Habitat for Humanity in your area.
• Take hazardous waste items (e.g. oil-based paint) to local semi-annual cleanups.

STAY IN THE ZONE

• Divide the garage into zones according to the categories you’ve established.
• Think “grab and go” and store things where they are convenient.
• Hang tools where they are most accessible.
• Keep car accessories close to the cars.
• Store overflow from the kitchen close to the door near the house.
• Reposition some zones as the seasons fluctuate: move bikes, beach items, and lawn furniture down in spring and move the skis and sleds up high.

TYPE OF STORAGE/SYSTEM

• Put big items back first and the rest goes around those items.
• Think ‘up’: store infrequently used items on high floating shelves or beams.
• Metal on cement will rust the metal. Rest metal on wood or up on the wall.
• Studs with no dry wall are great for peg boards. Cut different sizes according to the types of stuff you have.
• Use open wire epoxy-coated steel shelving: wet things can dry, mesh prevents dust.
• Consider a garage storage system. Search the Web or go to Lowe’s or Home Depot.
• Use different colored plastic bins for different zones so it’s easier to put them away.
• Hang long things vertically so they take up less space. If garden tools don’t have a hole to hang, drill one.
• Remix things you may already have: Use old drawers/cabinets, shoe bag on the wall to hold small garden tools, old table for a work bench, etc.

Finally, if you enter your home through the garage make sure it’s clutter-free and welcoming. Hang a welcome home sign, clean the door, and put a nice door mat in place. You deserve a nice welcome home!

And remember: “Every time you put something back where it belongs, it’s a gift to yourself.”

The day has finally come. You arrive home from the therapist’s office to whom you and your child were referred to by the school. The diagnosis explains the challenges he has in class and with keeping up. You now have a label. Doctor’s names, medications, treatments, and therapies are spinning in your mind. In a way, this label makes sense; it gives you something with which to work with. In another way you want to shrug it off as over-examining a creative, energetic child. You have a foreboding sense of no return.

Solutions to either overcome the issue or control the symptoms so that they do not impact major life functions become your top priority.

Gather information about the diagnosis. Knowledge is power. The more you understand the situation the better prepared you will be. You’ll ask better questions and identify the best services for your loved one.

Seek support services for your loved one. Make a list of agencies that provide support to individuals and families impacted by the particular diagnosis. Does the support include family members as well as the child?  Are there tutors, therapists, and organizers who specialize in this area? Does Supplemental Security Income play a part? Is the child eligible for Medicaid? Primary and/or secondary insurance may be important if there’s a medical component to the issue.

Create an organized structure to maintain information. For instance, I love using the phone app any.do to track tasks, calls, errands, and projects.  All lists can be easily shared with anyone you choose, and reminders can be linked with your calendar. Evernote is extremely useful for organizing notes and records. For example, I’ve created a “notebook” for a loved one whom I’m helping to navigate the healthcare system. Within his Evernote  “notebook,” individual “notes” have been set up for each doctor to track visits and medications prescribed. Another “note” can be added each time we visit a particular doctor. A parallel filing structure has been created for any paper records that need to be kept for the purposes of benefits and possible questions or disputes. 

Self care is as important as advocating for your loved one. This is hard for all caregivers, especially moms. However, the common anecdotes are true. You are no good to anyone if you’re depleted. Even brief periods of relaxation can be restorative. A few minutes of meditation, exercise, coffee, a phone conversation with a friend, or a lunch date can do a world of good. Healthful meals and good sleeping habits must be prioritized when under stress. I’ve heard some say that time away feels like time or money that should go to their child (or loved one). Please consider this, if you’re frazzled and on edge your children will pick up on it and may not understand your stress. Consider hiring a babysitter, taking turns with your spouse or a sibling for a little time off, ask a grandparent, or a trusted friend for help.

Most importantly, remember differences don’t need to be viewed from a glass in half-full position. In fact, the more we know about different disabilities, the more we know about their hidden blessings. Many people with differences have hidden talents (depending on the disability) surpassing the typical personal: creativity, an ability to recognize detail, sheer honesty, an indisputable sense of right and wrong, a great ability to focus for long periods of time, very high IQs, exceptional memory, unconditional love, dedication … I could go on and on. Back when I was in school, there was a focus on improving student deficits. Now, finally, thinking has come around to concentrating on and developing student talents. I hope it’s a bright age for those with differences and that we can learn from each other.

Meanwhile, gather information, seek support services, stay organized, and don’t forget to take care of yourself. I’m cheering for you!

5 5 Steps To Organizing Your Family’s Summer Calendar

1. Print a three month calendar for June, July & August. Click this link to see if this one might work for you: http://www.crayonfreckles.com/2017/05/25-summer-activities-and-free-printable.html

2. Add holidays, birthdays, party invitations and vacation days. You can attach any information about these events to the back of the calendar.

3. Add any camps your children are signed up for.

4. Cherish the downtime. The lazy days of summer are important so be sure to cherish the downtime! Leave them blank for spontaneous fun.

5. However, if you feel incline you can create a loose timeline for the downtime. For instance:

▪ 9:00am wake- eat breakfast, wash-up, make your bed
▪ Noon- have lunch, swim, play
▪ 3:00pm- snack, read, rest
▪ 5:00pm- help with dinner prep
▪ 7:00pm- family time