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Organizing Your Little People -
Family Organizer Board
by Suzanne Babb
Have you ever wondered how your child's backpack can hold so many
papers? Between the art projects, worksheets, Dad's Club flyers, and
permission slips, I am completely overwhelmed with paper and I haven't
even scratched the surface of their homework! It is no wonder that I win
"Mother of the Year" at my son's school every time I forget to send him
with his permission slip for the latest field trip, completed homework
from last week and has anyone seen his library book? For an organizer,
it was getting mighty embarrassing! We needed to find something quickly
in order to get our little lives back in order and to make the school
stop calling me.
So, we came up with our Family Organizer Board. I used one of the extra
foam core boards we had left over from my daughter's science project and
I used Velcro to attach two Poly File Folder Project Pockets to the
board; one for each of my little people. When they come in from school,
they immediately go through their backpacks and place their papers into
their respective pocket.
Next, we used Super Sticky Post It notes and stuck them to the top of
the board in groupings by color. Each member of our family had a
different color Post It and one color that denoted the entire family.
Underneath the Post Its, I printed labels for Sunday - Saturday.
Whenever anyone has a field trip, doctor appointment, extracurricular
activity, etc. we place it on the appropriate day of the week. Usually,
we go over the weekly schedule on Sunday after dinner. The kids love to
help participate in placing their Post It and my 8 year old still hasn't
caught on that I'm having him practice his handwriting by "allowing" him
to write on his own Post It. Ah, the joys of youth!
Realistically, all you need to create your own board is:
1 - Foam Core Board (your choice in size)
Poly Pockets for each child in your home
Labels for the days of the week
Super Sticky Post It Notes in a variety of colors
Each day have your child empty out his/her backpack. I found that
reviewing their folder after dinner works the best for our family, but
you can certainly adjust the time frame to meet your needs.
Determine a time to update the schedule for the week. We use Sunday as
our starting period so we always update our Family Organizer Board on
Sunday evening.
That is all there is to it, really. I have had some people add
additional items to their boards or even have individual boards for each
child. You can have a chore chart, include a monthly calendar, put
another Poly Pocket for bills or mail, or any other "tools" you need to
help with your family. The sky and your imagination is the limit on your
Family Organizer Board you may even want to consider decorating the foam
core board with wrapping paper, tissue paper, or some of the left over
scrapbooking pages you have laying around the house.
Happy Organizing!
About the author
Suzanne Babb Organizational Empowerment
www.OrganizationalEmpowerment.com For over 20 years, Suzanne
has been helping corporations and small businesses organize their time
so they can spend more time and energy doing the things that are most
important to them. With a philosophy of "life is too short", she thrives
on making the most of her time and trying to encourage those around her
to do the same.
As an organizational consultant, public speaker, and former radio talk
show host; Suzanne has been offering her Organizational Quick Tips to
anyone and everyone who will stand still and listen for "30-seconds".
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Suzanne_Babb
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