January 14, 2014

Hello Families!

A great goal for all of us to consider:  Be More Organized!  Everything in our lives needs a place.  Our dishes, our clothes, our food, our mail, our backpacks and purses and keys.  It frees up so much time for us...instead of hunting for that bill, piece of paper, shoe, backpack or ingredient for dinner...we can trust that it will be in its designated spot.  It really only takes an extra second to put something back where it belongs.  We all get so busy multi-tasking that it is easy to get distracted, put something down, and tell ourselves WE WILL REMEMBER!  But we don't!  Maybe some of the time we will remember where we placed it, but most of the time we go searching for it.

So, consider taking a look at your daily routines with your kids and ask yourselves how you can reduce your frantic searching time.  What are the things that you use most often? You need to have quick access to these things.   What do your kids need to be successful at school?  Where do you keep lunch boxes, backpacks, school supplies?  Do your kids spend time searching for jackets, socks, and shoes?  Are you hoping you can find your car keys quickly in the morning?  Whatever it is that seems to be stealing your time, I would encourage you to take a look at how you can improve your efficiency at home.

When my children were younger I had a cabinet that I designated for school supplies for homework/projects.  We still use the system even though my youngest are in high school and junior high.  They became self-sufficient at a young age at getting what they needed to complete their homework out of the cabinet.  It took a few minutes to sort out the craft paper, lined paper, markers, crayons, colored pencils, graph paper, scissors, tape, glue, extra folders/binders, etc.  It also saved me those late, last minute runs to the store to get supplies for the project that was due the following day! "Surprise I have a project due tomorrow" is never fun to hear at 10:00 pm!

Try finding a place where you can always put your keys, wallet, purse, etc.  When you need it you will always know where to find it.  Don't slack...just take an extra second and put it in the same spot.  Have your kids always put their backpacks and school stuff in the same spot, so as you leave in the morning you know exactly where it is.  When my kids were younger they always put their backpacks by the  front door once homework was finished.  It worked like a charm...but I had seven in school at one time, and I needed a quick and easy solution.

While I'm on the subject of having seven in school at one time (now I have only 4 in school), I will tell you my kids would always forget socks and shoes upstairs.  And hair stuff upstairs.  So, I moved all the socks downstairs into a boys and girls bucket.  I also had two sets of everything you needed to "fix" hair in the morning...hairspray, gel, ponytails, bows, combs, brushes, etc both upstairs and downstairs.  On those days when we needed a little extra time it saved us time by not having to run up and down the stairs.

 Maybe these really aren't organizational strategies...but they helped our mornings run a little smoother.  My kids could get ready quickly on their own, and I could still keep an eye on their progress.  I'm embarrassed to tell you that we still have the boys and girls sock bucket downstairs.  Now that my kids are older they have special socks that they don't want to share, so I tell them to put them in their room.  But they don't.  They have become experts at sorting and matching socks.

Wishing you the best in getting organized.  If you are already organized...CONGRATULATIONS!  Now, if I could just find my car keys I'll head home to my family.  Oh look, they are right where I left them this morning.

Enjoy your families.

Yours in science,
Mrs. Biggs