betterFAM
ILY
L e t t h e
C o u n
B e
U. . Г Т Г П І IM .I r
by S T E P H E N C.
Save y o u rse lf th e last-m in u te an x iety and confusion by tack lin g back-to-
school task s rig h t now . G et o ff on th e rig h t foot w ith an o rg an izin g sy stem
th a t w o rk s for you an d th e kids. I t’s easier th a n you th in k . H e re ’s y o u r
co u n td o w n checklist, co u rtesy o f fam ily tim e -m a n ag e m e n t a n d o rg an iza-
tio n g u ru M olly G old, fo u n d er o f G o M om ! Inc. (
Gornominc.com
).
4 WEEKS OUT: TAKE STOCK
GO THROUGH THE CLOSETS Set aside a morning
or afternoon for clothing review. If kids are old
enough to dress themselves, let them start sorting
what’s still wearable and what isn’t (you get final
veto over everything). Donate clothes you don’t
need, or get together with other moms and host a
clothing swap for the kids. Not a bad theme for a
late-summer party.
GET THE SCHOOL SUPPLY LISTS Call the office or
download them from the school Web site. Older
kids can help, too. Students as young as third grade
can scan ads and circulars for the best sales. Add
“Emergency Supplies” to the list: basically, two of
everything you had to run out and buy the night
before a project was due last year—poster board,
extra glue, glitter pens, basic craft supplies. You’ll be
glad you did.
MAKE YOUR OWN LIST Include a big wall calendar
(Gold calls this the Mom Map) for the school year;
colored markers (a different color for each family
member to write his/her important dates and times
on the calendar); and student planners for each
child (available at most office-supply centers). For
younger kids, a simple datebook or calendar page is
a good introduction to organizing their time.
DESIGNATE YOUR SHOPPING DAY, then pile
everyone—kids, lists, and all—into the car and hit
the stores. Get as much as you can in one day.
Celebrate with dinner out or pizza in.
3 WEEKS OUT: WORK
THE PLANNERS
MARK UP Put that Mom Map up on a wall in the
kitchen, the front hallway, wherever you will all see
it. With colored markers, let each child take turns
writing in whatever dates and times for events they
already know (check both school Web sites and
whatever mailings you got from school over the
summer).
MARK DOWN As soon as one kid is finished with
the calendar, have her write the same information
down in the schedule section of her brand-new
planner. Set aside a regular time every weekend for
everyone to update the big map and the planners.
SCHEDULE A REWARD Let each family member
pick a time between now and the start of school
for a special end-of-summer outing of his choice: a
picnic, a day hike, or a movie. Then add it to your
schedules, of course.
2 WEEKS OUT: CLEAR
THE DECKS
CLEANING DAY Assign a cleaning day and tackle
kids’ rooms plus any school-related staging areas—
entryways, garages, and homework zones.
SCHOOL ZONE Designate a “drop zone” for each
child, be it a special bin or a labeled section of the
front closet. This is where their school stuff—bags,
books, sports gear—goes the night before so they
aren’t hunting for it in the morning.
SORT IT OUT Clean off one flat surface—a desk or
counter area—and set up a stack of paper trays for
each student in the house. Sort all the school mail
and start filing forms and paperwork into those
trays. This keeps permission slips and other crucial
documents from getting lost.
1 WEEK OUT: DO A DRY RUN
NEW HOURS Start implementing school-year hours,
including bedtimes and morning wake-up. Expect
that everyone—including you—will grumble and
stumble through this transition, but you’ll be better
for it next week.
GROCERY-SHOP Make a list together, then go to
the grocery store for all lunch and snack fixings.
PRACTICE Practice your morning routine (especially
for younger kids) and get everyone in the habit of
putting things in their school zones at night.
DOUBLE-CHECK Have everyone check and update
schedules (including the Mom Map) and planners.
Recheck all school-supply lists and paper trays for
forms that need signing.
23 8
SEPTEMBER 2009 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS
PHOTO: VEER
