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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

Does your stomach clench just a little bit when you see holiday decorations popping up in stores before Halloween? Is it my imagination or do retailers rush the season just a little bit more each year?

We all react differently to the first signs of the holiday season. Some look forward to gatherings with family and friends, baking cookies and relaxing at home. Others hear a starting gun for a race full of tasks they can only hope to complete in time.

Many things can add to this sense of overwhelm. Seasonal tasks like decorating, writing cards, shopping, baking and hosting – added to a busy work schedule, school activities and volunteer obligations – can cause the need to breathe into a paper bag!

Fear not, my friends. Here are a few things to simplify your holidays.

1. Create a budget and a list

Shopping without a plan often leads to overspending. Starting early is great, but avoid last-minute sales that entice some to spend even more. Having a list reduces the odds of forgetting co-workers, hostess gifts and, if necessary, a last-minute dash for a new holiday outfit. (In my experience, the less time available to shop, the more I am willing to spend. Desperation = $.) Simply start by creating a plan: total budget = $___, number of people and gifts for each, are you having a party, do you need a new dress?

2. Consider giving experiences instead of stuff

Take a moment to review the things you treasure most in life. Are they things at all? Toys and sweaters come and go, but experiences become memories. My parents and grandparents were people of modest means but they were creative enough to fool us: house parties with cousins, ice skates with a few homespun lessons, tickets to a show at Radio City and, once, the whole family went to see the Nutcracker! As an adult, it’s still the time spent with the important people in our lives that far outweighs anything bought in a store.

3. Control

As a recovering perfectionist, realizing the words need to and should only existed in my mind was an epiphany. Therefore, I feel obligated to share this with others. Think of sending cards, baking, hosting parties and so on as a menu. Pick some or all. You don’t need to do everything. (OK, the kids usually appreciate a tree, but the others are optional.) Annual cards can be sent on St. Patrick’s Day if your family celebrates this holiday or on the 4th of July if you celebrate patriotism. If you show your friends and family love throughout the year, there’s no need to make it up at Christmas time, unless it’s your choice.

4. Parkinson’s Law

If you are not familiar with Parkinson’s law, this is a good time of year to learn its original meaning. It’s a simple one: work expands to fill the time available for its completion. Therefore, you can plan a party a la Martha Stewart with place cards, silver service, homemade favors and signature cocktails or, if pressed for time, you can host a potluck dinner. You make the rules.

The most important thing is the reason for the season and the people in your life!

God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7)

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Some of us love change. With each new month we tend to change our clothing, eat different foods and decorate our homes. That’s a lot of work for some of us. How do you remember everything that needs to be done? I use my calendar. Each month reminds me of what needs to be done. Below is a monthly glance at my calendar.

• January
  First on the list is the holiday decor, accessories, and gifts. If you do it right, you will be very happy unpacking next year. Clean, sort, contain, label, and store all your holiday items. I give the house a good cleaning hoping to pick up every pine needle from the tree, plus all the spills and dribbles from my youngest guest. Next, I purge my files of last year’s documents and put them in my tax file. Even if your financial documents are online, you can do this. This updates the file for the new year. Then, I hibernate, and I don’t feel guilty!
• February
  This month I commit to organizing my photos. I place last year’s photos on the dining room table and create one book for each of my three children. I organize my videos in the cloud which although it takes a few weeks, I get it done. In the meantime, I cook soup, lots of hearty soups. My house is warm and the aroma is wonderful.
• March
  Now is the time to find my “green” clothes or at least put my wools away in hopes of an early spring. I visit my friends more and schedule game nights. Usually, I am freezing in the spring, so I increase my cardio exercises. I enjoy the soups I put in the freezer. I also change the clocks, check our batteries and discuss a fire evacuation plan with our family.
• April
  Now is the time to clean all the windows and blinds and take the covers off the outdoor furniture. I clear out the dead plants/shrubs in the yard, decorate for the spring holidays and clear out the garage. I also schedule to get our air conditioning system serviced.
• May
  Gardening begins now. Flags go out on Memorial Day weekend. Clean and repair deck/patio as needed. I air out our suitcases, Jersey shore here we come!
• June
  Purge the children’s rooms, store school memories and wash out the backpacks. I scrub the freezer and prepare for my 4th of July Ice Cream & Fire Works party. Also, I wash our grill accessories and summer platters.
• July
  Start to relax into summer and enjoy.
• August
  Swim in the ocean as much as possible. Read on the beach. I deserve it!
• September
  Concentrate on back to school paperwork and schedules. It’s school shopping time! Put vacation accessories away and repack pool bags for next year. Clear dead plants and shrubs. Harvest the veggies. Bring flags in. Put summer accessories towards the back of the garage.
• October
  Bring my fall clothes down from the top of my closet then shop for what’s missing. Halloween décor and costumes come out just for fun. Make sure the garage is clean so I can retrieve the holiday supplies.
• November
  Heavy kitchen cleaning is done at this time, food shopping and of course, eating. Check fire alarm batteries, smoke detectors and have that fire safety discussion again. Cover deck furniture.
• December
  Holiday madness, parties people & food!

How do you remember?

An easy way to keep up with the changing seasons is to set an event in your calendar for each month and have it notify you. Or, maybe break up things into weekends, starting each Saturday morning with a “things to do list.” I pretty much have it memorized and enjoy the changes that the seasons bring.

Happy autumn to you!

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I love to travel, but I don’t like lugging a heavy suitcase. As a result, I’ve learned to streamline my clothing selections. Here are some tips on how to do more with less so you don’t exceed the 50-pound limit or tire yourself out unnecessarily:

Pick a color scheme
To minimize the amount of clothing, shoes and accessories, pick a color scheme of one or two colors. One of my favorites is black & tan.

Select neutral clothes and interesting accessories
Many neutral clothing items can be dressed up or down — depending on what is partnered with them. For example, a simple black sun dress can be worn with flip-flops during the day, then dressed up with a summer scarf, kitten heels and sparkly earrings for a night on the town.

Do the math
Calculate how many outfits you’ll need for the number of days of travel. How many items can you wear more than once, such as jeans or dress clothes? For extended trips, are you willing to do hand washing or utilize the hotel’s laundry service?

What about shoes? Try to limit them to three pairs.

Make a list, or better yet, a checklist
Once you’ve done the math, make a list of what you are considering. Create a checklist in Word, Excel or on paper. List the basics, then add selections for summer, winter, business or an extended trip. It will save you time and reduce angst!

Confirm the weather
What will the range of temperatures be at your destination? Closer to the date of travel, check the ten-day forecast. What if it rains unexpectedly; is cold or hot? Add raincoats, umbrellas, sweaters, shorts, etc. and remember that LAYERING is in order for chillier weather.

Limit your selection to your calculations
Many people bring a number of options for each day so they can wear what they’re in the mood for. Not! If you want to streamline your packing, don’t let your mood come into play.

Select an outfit for each day, less what you’ll repeat, plus what’s needed for unexpected weather. Add an extra set of undies, socks and top in case of an unexpected delay.

When in doubt …. leave it out!

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Let me be the first to wish you Happy National Get Organized Month! I saw a sign hanging in Lowe’s that said “Resolve to Declutter” and it was surrounded by a colorful array of storage containers. It’s that time of year when many of us look around our homes and ask “Where did all this stuff come from?” Taking the first step and staying organized can be daunting, but if you think you are alone, you are not. Here are ten barriers that keep my clients from starting and staying organized. Let’s break it down:

1. Don’t have the time. Time won’t magically appear when you want to achieve something. Use a day planner or your smart phone to schedule the time to organize, have fun, or accomplish something great. When you do, there is suddenly time to be spontaneous!
2. Allowing others to dictate your schedule. I’m not talking about going out and having fun, but I am talking about setting boundaries so others don’t infringe upon your personal time to get your own life in order.
3. You aren’t good at organizing. Some people need more practice than others and developing a habit takes at least 30 days to make it stick. Use books and websites to help.
4. Staying focused. Our brains aren’t wired to stay on task so use cues, rewards, or a stop watch. Use whatever you deem necessary to stay focused on the project at hand.
5. Perfectionism. If it can’t be perfect why start at all? If that sounds familiar, start small and celebrate small accomplishments. Practice saying the words “good enough.”
6. Too much clutter or CRAP: Clutter that Robs Anyone of Pleasure. If your things do not bring you joy, pleasure, usefulness, or life to your home, it should leave your home.
7. Once and done should do it. All homes need maintenance to remain organized week after week, but if you have a home for everything, cleanup will be a breeze.
8. The voices around you. Don’t allow others to make you feel bad about not being able to get organized yourself. Ignore the naysayers and enlist a friend or call a professional.
9. House isn’t big enough. The size or layout of a home isn’t always the issue. Organization methods, storage tools, and less clutter will usually do the trick.
10. Health issues. Even if you have the desire, you may not have the ability or the energy to do what is needed to get organized. Enlist help.

If you or someone you love needs help moving forward in the New Year, don’t hesitate to get in touch with a professional: a cleaning service, a senior care agency, financial planner, insurance broker, senior move management company, or a professional organizer. Professionals are trained to listen and narrow in on your specific needs. They can give you a jump start or much needed tools to help you or someone you love live their best life.

Clutter Quote: “As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.” Henry David Thoreau

As we wind down the year, ’tis the season for celebrations. Unfortunately, feeling overwhelmed may be an unwelcome tradition for many of us. Last minute shopping, traffic back-ups, and the rush to decorate can make this time anything but joyous.

There’s a lot to do and think about. But help (SOS) is on its way! By incorporating organizing and productivity solutions, you can focus on what really matters – the joy and merriment of the holidays.

Streamlining and Sourcing-Out are two ways to increase productivity and manage responsibilities, including holiday traditions. Write down the tasks you need and/or want to accomplish and think about ways in which you can make things more efficient and still effective. Consider these potential tasks:

DECORATING

• Streamline: Snap a picture of how you have arranged your holiday decor so you can recreate the decorating next year. Keep the picture stored digitally (Evernote is ideal for organizing notes and pictures into folders) or tape it on the box in which you store the decorations.
• Source-Out: Invite friends over for a decorating party. Including those who may not celebrate the same holiday you do is a wonderful way to share customs and traditions. Turn a chore into a fun party by enticing Santa’s helpers with some hot cocoa, libations, and cookies.

HOSTING

• Streamline: Was your Grandma’s famous latkes recipe or the chocolate dessert you baked last year a hit? Make them again and, while you’re at it, keep a folder labeled “holiday recipes” for those tried-and-true dishes. Of course, not everything has to be made from scratch.
• Source-Out: Consider a pot-luck or delegate some of the hosting responsibilities by asking guests to bring a favorite side dish or dessert. Perhaps it’s worth it to you to hire someone to help with the clean up.

GIFT SHOPPING

• Streamline: Give variations of the same gift– a blue-checkered shirt to your brother, and the same red-checkered shirt to your husband. Consider a gift exchange for groups or large families – each person picks a name and only has to buy one gift.
• Source-Out: Online shopping is just a click away! Look for coupon codes or try ebates to save money while you save time.

Less to think about and do means more time staying in the present. And staying in the present is the best gift you can give yourself.