Driving past our awesome local schools such as Beth Tfiloh, Krieger Schecter Day School and Ohr Chadash at this time of the year, when summer is winding down, always gets me to thinking about preparing my clients for “back to school” time.
Back to school is always a big transition. While children are filled with excitement and first-day jitters, parents are filled with thoughts of “Am I prepared enough?”
Creating “power zones” in your home will ensure that the school year runs smoothly for you and your children. These 3 “power zones” are just a few of the many ways you can keep your family organized all year long!
1. Homework Zone
Select a central location to house your homework zone. A place like the kitchen works well: that way, you can multitask by working on dinner and help the kids while you are prepping food. Make sure that the surface your child is working on is free of clutter and has good lighting.
Get a caddy for the homework zone and it with writing utensils, various coloring supplies, highlighters, glue, white-out, tape, a ruler, a pencil sharpener and anything else your kids might need. Then you or your child are not wasting precious time running around the house looking for a pencil!
If you have multiple children doing homework at the same time, a carousel-type caddy might be a better option for you. Then all children at the table can reach for the item they need more easily.
2. Command Center Zone
When everyone in your family is headed in different directions, keeping paperwork, lessons, activities, mail, coats and keys organized can seem daunting. A family command center will help to keep you organized!
The command center’s location and configurations can vary according to your family needs. Wire baskets or paper organizers can be installed on the command center to help you corral supplies and paper.
You may want to create a spot for envelopes stamps, pens and stationary in your command center as well, and a set of hooks can hold coats and backpacks if the command center has been installed near an exit door.
A nice big clock can keep your family running on time, all the time!
3. Clothing Zone
When I say “clothing zone,” I am talking about a three-pronged approach to your laundry room, drawers and closets. When these all work in tandem, the result is a houseful of “clothing harmony.” Your nights and morning won’t be punctured by cries of “Has anyone seen my uniform shirt?”
Here is how to attain this “clothing harmony,” as I like to call it:
- Have a basket in your laundry room clearly labeled with each person in the family’s name. From the dryer, fold the clothing immediately into the corresponding person’s basket and place all dry hanging garments on top of the basket once all folding items have been added to it.
- A great way to fold your laundry into the basket is by utilizing this folding method. »
- This method makes it easy to transfer directly into your child’s drawers, keeps clothing from wrinkling and makes all clothing clearly visible at a glance.
- Go into the child’s room and transfer the folded clothing directly into the drawers.
- Once you are in your child’s room, take a look at their closet and consider a “day of the week” option for their hanging clothing. This is a wonderful way to prevent tantrums during the week!
Have your child help you pick clothing for every day of the week and put them on a hanger. Let them add any accessories and socks they would like to wear with that outfit and add them to the hanger by putting the items into a Ziploc bag and poking the hanger through the bag.
Voila! No more crying on a Monday morning!- If your child changes their mind in the morning about which outfit they want to wear, just have them pick out a different day of the week’s outfit. They will feel a sense of control, and you will have averted wasted time on arguments. It’s a win-win for both of you!
I hope that the new school year is filled with blessings for you and your whole family!
For more organization tips, visit Tanya’s website or follow her on Facebook and Instagram.
Tanya Klein is a professional home and home office organizer in Pikesville and the surrounding areas. She works with her clients to overhaul their spaces and discover systems that work for their particular needs. She is also available for PowerPoint training seminars and has presented at many institutions in the Pikesville area. She can be reached at 443-956-2522. Learn more at Precisionorganizing.net.
