Back to School Organization

It is time for back to school! Are you ready? Are you Organized?

Have you looked at what processes you have in place to assist you and your kids in their busy lives? With the school year starting or just started it is not too late to get yourself in gear and get organized.

Summer holidays are drawing to a close and we are now facing the "reality" of routine and digging in and getting to work.

Here are a few tips to get you up and running just a little smoother.

• Stick to routine
• Get to bed at a decent hour- Get Plenty of Rest
• Meal Plan
• Prepare ready to go snacks for the week
• At night get organized for the next day

Always plan the night before for the next day. Get ready before you turn in for the evening. Try not to leave it to the last minute. If its too late at night you may just be too tired or too unmotivated to get it done! Make this a priority right after the dinner hour. 

Plan Meals Ahead of Time

This doesn't necessarily have to look like an entire full blown week meal plan, but think about at least 4 main meals you can make. What you will need to take out of the freezer the night before, is there any thing you can make now for the next day?

While preparing one meal, can you start on the prep work for the next day at the same time? It really boils down to thinking ahead and having some ideas in mind.  Make a list with Ideas to get organized in your meal plan.

Children's lunches and snacks are always a challenge to get made in the morning before work. If you love to sleep just a little longer or hit the snooze button it is definitely time to change the routine.

Create a Snack Station in your Fridge

Healthy ready to go snacks are golden!  Prepackage your freshly cut veggies, raisins, crackers and cheese slices. Pre-make on Sunday night for the week small individual baggies of snacks ready to go. Place your ready made bags in one drawer or bin in your refrigerator.  Have ready lunch bags/ totes/ frozen juice box ready to use as your ice pack. Empower your children to choose what snack they will take with them to school from the snack drawer.  More time to enjoy your morning coffee.

Coordinate Calendars

Have a shared family Google calendar, or a paper calendar in view for all to see. Plan as  family activity and coordinate events, birthday parties,exams, soccer games and medical appointments. All planned activities should be on the family calendar.

Back to school is all about establishing routine and getting organized.  Taking a few moments to plan each week in advance will save you house of aggravation and hopefully help you create some more "Me Time"

Live well and thrive!

Clutter is What Stands Between You and Success

Clutter is what stands between YOU and SUCCESS!

Over the next little while I will be writing about clutter, the scale of measure and things we need to do to move us towards to success.

What does the clutter say – lack of focus, procrastination, lack of attention – You may experience some or all of these things.

Are you finding yourself asking -  Where do I start?

A good idea is to go room by room and do a survey. Ask yourself some questions such as:

• What does my clutter say about me?
• Is my room tidy and neat
• Is it paper clutter and minor clutter?
• Is it happily cluttered?
• Is it messy?
• Too embarrassing to invite any one in?

Biggest Clutter Problems

The biggest clutter problem in many people’s lives is paper.

If we stay on top of things we prevent feeling overwhelmed. Unfortunately life gets busy and paper piles up from time to time. It is then that we begin to feel overwhelmed. We can’t keep up and sometimes we feel like we are so deep in the clutter we cant get out.

Once you decide that you need to take some action it is a good time to begin asking yourself some challenging questions that will ultimately help you in the long run. Take a few minutes to ask why we are holding on to stuff and what is the use and how the stuff is contributing to our lives.

Are you holding stuff out of fear or just no time to get to it?