Moving? Start planning ahead of time!

There is a lot more involved with moving than putting your belongings in a box. Moving requires careful planning, preparation and organization well before you are ready to bring out the packing tape. Moving should not be a last minute or impulse decision. It is often best to start making preparations up to a year before you are planning your move.

When you start seriously thinking about moving, you need to consider the logistics of your move. How are you going to pack and get prepared? Will you be hiring services? Will you need to take time off? Before you can start organizing your belongings, you need to organize and coordinate your moving process.

The first step is to establish a timeline. This needs to be a realistic and achievable timeline – there is no need to stress you and your family out by rushing the moving process. You will need time to find a new home, prepare your old home, pack, move and unpack. As well, there may still be work, school, sports, and other everyday obligations that will still need to be taken care of. By establishing a broad idea of what needs to be achieved and when, you can start focusing on the finer details of the moving process.

Once you have a timeframe in mind, you can start thinking about how you are going to prepare for your move. Will you be hiring a moving or organization service, or undertaking the entire process on your own? Will your family and friends be involved in the process? After you determine who will be involved in the process, you can start delegating different tasks to each person, with clear timeframes. For example, your partner can set up appointments to meet with realtors while you book tours of the schools in the area. You can also get other family members to start decluttering their belongings and purging the items they do not want or need any longer.

Before you begin coordinating your move, make sure that you have the resources and materials you need. Determine how you’re going to pack your belongings – will you need to buy bins or labels, or are you borrowing them? What rooms will you pack first, and when will you do it? Will you need to rent a storage locker, or can you store some items with family? Book your family and friends or a professional service for moving days as far in advance as you can, or at least give them a heads up that moving day may be coming soon.

There are many elements that make up the moving process, many of which can be accomplished well in advance of the actual move. The more time you have, the better, as sometimes homeowners have a short amount of time to leave their home and move into their new one. Make sure that you and your family are prepared in advance by looking beyond packing. Don’t forget – you can always ask for help! At Calm Order, we can assist you with all aspects of the moving process. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, don’t hesitate to contact us or submit a question to our Ask the Organizer page.

Make time for the people you love

Life is always busy, but when long weekends come around, the last thing families want to be doing is catching up on all the smaller tasks and projects that have been neglected. Organization is a key strategy that can help make sure you and your family stay on track, and have time to spend with each other on weekends and holidays. Below, we’ve outlined a few ideas you can use to make time for your family and friends:

Have family meetings

Set a time and day once a week for your family to discuss what events are happening in the coming week, what projects need to get done, and what tasks need to be accomplished around the house. This is a great opportunity to get a complete picture of what is going on with every member of your family, so you can properly plan your week ahead. This could include coordinating rides, planning meals and shopping trips, or scheduling when to pay bills. Make sure someone in your family takes note of everything that is going on, so nothing gets forgotten. This meeting is also a great time for everyone to take a break from school or work to be with each other.

Use a calendar

Family calendars are a great way to keep track of tasks, events, and due dates that come up during your family meeting. This way, there is one central area where everyone can view what is coming up in the week ahead. The calendar can come in many forms. Depending on your family and routine, one calendar set up in a central area of your home may work best, or you could synchronize online calendars with each family member. This way, every individual will be able to integrate their personal tasks and events with family ones.

The family calendar only works if every member can have easy access to it, and regularly updates it if new events or tasks come up. Make the calendar a part of your family routine, and consider updating it or revisiting it at your weekly family meetings.

Delegate tasks

Make sure each member of your family is contributing to household tasks like laundry, grocery shopping, yard work and cleaning. No one person should be solely responsible for everything, so at family meetings make sure each family member is assigned a list of tasks to complete that week. In order to make this work, assign task that match up with each person’s interests, schedules and abilities. For example, if you have young children, they might not be able to help with supper, they can set the dinner table when they get home from school. If you or your partner have late meetings, whoever is free should be scheduled to give rides to sports or music lessons, or alternate arrangements should be made ahead of time.

Tasks can also be delegated to people outside your family as well. Carpooling can be set up with your children’s friends so you and your partner don’t have to drive as often, or extended family can step in to help with other tasks to free up your time for driving. Alternatively, you can hire out tasks like shoveling, mowing or pet walking to local neighbours or businesses.

Keep your home organized

Having an organized home makes for an organized life. Eliminating your clutter, sorting through your belongings, and arranging items to suit your family’s lifestyle can have a major impact on how organized the rest of your life is. Consider making home organization a part of the smaller tasks that each member of the family needs to accomplish each week. Organization should become a part of your family’s regular routine. For example, toys should be put away once children are finished playing with them, and mail should be opened and dealt with each day instead of letting it pile up all week. By accomplishing these tasks on a regular basis, you and your family will have less to do around your home each week, leaving more time for you to relax on the evenings and weekends.

Simple changes to your family routine, like setting up weekly meetings and following a family calendar can help make sure everyone stays on track of household tasks and events. Don’t be afraid to ask for help and get the whole family involved in household tasks, and don’t underestimate the importance of having an organized home. Don’t let another long weekend like this one pass you by, and take the necessary steps to get your family organized!

Simple, easy and fun: lunches ideas your children will love!

If you’ve been struggling to get a lunch together, or have run out of ideas on what to make for your children, we’ve got some solutions for you! There are many different tips and tricks that will help you and your children have ready-to-go lunches they can grab before leaving in the morning. However, lunches aren’t easy unless you take the time to plan, prepare and organize lunches ahead of time. It’s as simple as pre-cutting vegetables or throwing items in the freezer. Take a look at the suggestions below to help you plan an easy-to-make lunch that your children will be excited to eat:

Freeze ahead of time

Never underestimate the power of your freezer. So many food items and beverages can be made up to a month ahead of time, and pulled out whenever you need it. To save even more time, make sure you freeze items in individual-sized portions, so you don’t have to worry about defrosting items in advance.

For example, juice boxes should be stored in your freezer, not your drawer or cupboard. This way, the juice will stay cold until lunch time, and it will double as an ice pack to keep the rest of the lunch from spoiling or getting warm. Dishes like pasta, rice, and even peanut butter and jam sandwiches can be made up weeks in advance and stored in single portions. Keep these in plastic bags or containers, and pull them out the night before to make sure they’re not frozen for lunch the next day.

Set up a lunch station

Instead of making all of the lunches on your own, get your children involved in the process by setting up a lunch station. At the start of each week, cut up a variety of vegetables, fruits, cheese, and meat. Place these items into reusable containers or bags in individual sized portions, and have your children pick out what they want for lunch the next day. You can even purchase individual dipping sauces like hummus or guacamole, or make your own.

To make sure your children get the food they need, make up a list or chart of what they are supposed to have in their lunch. For example, identify that they need two different fruits, one vegetable option, a starch and protein option, a beverage, and a snack or dessert. This way, you can ensure your children make a balanced lunch.

 

Use the right tools

Another way that you can make lunch easy and organized is to use pre-set containers to store food. This will make space for fruit, vegetables, sandwiches and snacks, and ensure that your children get all of the different food groups for a healthy lunch. They also make lunches look fun and visually interesting.

For hot food, use a thermos instead of plastic containers. This will save your children time at school by not having to wait in line to use a microwave. Reusable lunch bags also work well, as they are always ready to go. Utensils and non-perishable snacks can be put into the reusable lunch bag the night before so only the items in the fridge have to be put into the bag the morning of.

Timing is everything

Don’t leave making lunches to the last minute. Even those these suggestions will make lunch easy, it will still make the process less stressful if you make lunches the night before. Make this a part of your evening routine by putting lunches together either right after your children come home for school, or right after dinner.

You will also need to make sure that snacks, vegetables, fruit and other food items are cut and ready to go. Set aside time each week, like on Sunday night, and prepare all the items your children will need to make lunch. Food like hard-boiled eggs can also be made ahead of time and used throughout the week on their own, in a sandwich, or in a salad.