Schools

Get Organized Before School Starts: 5 Quick Tips

Parent-teacher meetings, after-school sports, exam schedules. Staying organized smoothes the back-to-school transition for the entire family.

Open houses, parent-teacher meetings, school fundraisers, after-school activities. The list of back-to-school responsibilities seems endless.

A successful back-to-school transition for children often depends on planning and organizing by families at home. 

After all, how can you teach your youngsters highly valued "executive functions," if you aren't organized at home?

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It does not need to be a daunting task either. Here are five simple steps from organizing expert Laurie Shader Smith, vice president of Personal Mini Storage,

  •  Set up a basic home filing system to conquer paper pile-up. Track school paperwork, volunteer activities and household planning all in one, easy-to-manage place.
  • Use online calendars to track schedules. This is especially important for families with more than one school-age child. Sites like Cozi.com make it easy to see at-a-glance what each family member has planned for the week, and some even send text message and email reminders.
  • Give everything a “home.” The moment something doesn’t have a home is the moment it is out of place. You can easily combat this by making sure every item has a place it belongs.
  • Clean out the garage and other areas where you stashed old class projects and outgrown clothes that you could not bear to throw away! Of course, self-storage is a budget-friendly option if there are items you don't want to part with but are cluttering your garage space.

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