Bloggy Giveaway: $25 Target Card

we all keep organized by writing EVERYTHING DOWN, we all have to do list which is sooo very helpful especially when someone’s forgetful

lc_intocable at yahoo.com

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We keep each childs back to school supplies in their backpacks as we purchase them so that nothing gets lost or accidentally opened before school starts.

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I make sure everyone is prepared for the school year by getting everything done in the summer!

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I think that setting out breakfast dishes and non-refrigeratd items, as well as all packed school bags the night before really helps. Thanks for the giveaway!

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have the kids take the baths in the night time and make school lunches at night too this way when they get up every thing is done. all they have to do is get dressed and groomed. there never seems to be enough time in the morning for making lunches.

denice p
doozercries@yahoo.com

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I make them sleep in the car on the night before… Teasing of course. We just try to get everything ready the night before. Still working on this…

Thanks for including me in this Giveaway and for being so generous!

KJ
kjmt42 [at] sbcglobal [dot] net

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I think the best thing for back to school shopping for clothes and supplies is to buy early to avoid stress. EVen better, if your budget allows, purchase things all year when they are on sale and just stockpile them for the new school year.

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Meal organization is a priority for me. I plan out a week’s worth of meals noting whether I need to make a crock-pot meal because I will be away running kids to soccer, dance, etc. When I am home, I try to prepare early in the day so that everything is not rushed at dinner time.

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use the crock pot at least weekly!

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Check out cozi.com for a great online organizing tool. You can even call and get your grocery list from the computer if you happen to stop in the store. It’s great!

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Meal plan a week ahead!

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Thanks for all you do and all of your ideas. It helps to see how others are doing things.

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I work full-time, and it helps to plan menus and cook ahead on weekends. That way there’s not so much of a mad scramble for dinner when we get home, and not so much temptation to grab takeout “because there’s nothing to eat”. My son is starting first grade this year, so this will be his first time really having homework, but I’ve already told him that the rule will be that homework is done before there’s any playing on the Wii or before the TV is turned on. That way we get the work part taken care of, and can enjoy the rest of the evening.

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,I set up envelopes for each of my kids with any pertinant information in them and kept them on top of the fridge- that way they were easy to find and grab when needed,

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Yay Target! The kids get their clothes ready the night before. They wear uniforms so that is a little easier this year. They started school July 21.

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One thing that I did when raising my children was to cook and freeze some meals. Then on the first week of school, I had more time to spend with the children when they got home and see if there were going to be any adjustment issues or materials to go out and get, start them on a good homework plan, et.

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We find that sticking to a routine helps us stay organized and prepared. I make up a menu on Sunday as well as do all of our shopping for the week on this day. Dinner is made at the same time every night regardless if everyone is home and ready to eat or not. That gives me time to tackle other duties such as laundry or helping the boys with school projects or homework.

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my kids arent in school yet, but as far as dinners go…make extra and freeze. at cooks country they have AWESOME 30-minute meals. i have never not liked on of their recipes! and they also have lots of “make ahead” meals where you can freeze them./

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My organization tip is to keep a calendar outlining all the important activities, deadlines, chores, etc. Also, planning meals in advance and including them on the calendar is a great way to make life a little easier.

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For me the key is “routine” and “everything has a place.”

The kids know that the first they they should do after they walk in the door is unpack their backpacks. For my one terminally distracted child, we made a list with of everything he needs to do each night, a list of everything he needs to pack in his backpack for each day of the week, and a list of everything he needs to do each morning.

Each child has a home/school basket where they put homework and anything else that goes back and forth between home and school. Last year I discovered that I need to add a “parents need to look at” basket because those things tend to get left in the backpack or the home/school bin if they don’t have a specific place to go. We have a basket just for library books so that we always know where those books are and they don’t get mixed up with our own books.

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We always had an old coat rack by the backdoor. But we used it for a backpack rack. We also had a basket in the kitchen for Mom stuff…notes to sign, emergency cards to make out etc. As soon as I filled them out I could get them right into backpacks since I knew where they were hanging!
The only other thing is…school is time to start using those crockpots!!

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I pack as much of the girls lunches the night before as I can. This year we are switching to Bento (Japanese style lunch) boxes to reduce packaging.
We’re so excited about them that I’m giving one away as part of my back to school giveaway.
Keeping all their stuff in one spot so I know what to look through and they aren’t looking for things on the way out the door helps too- shoes, backpacks, and filled lunchboxes go in those big tubs under our plant table near the door, one for each kid.

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I plan my meals for the whole month, then I shop for all of my non-perishables at once. This prevents (my) melt-down at 5 p.m., allows me more time in my week (shopping only for perishables), and it saves tons of money! I also try to cook a few meals for the freezer, especially for breakfast–muffins,cinn rolls,french toast stix, etc. –Melissa

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My kids aren’t school-aged yet, but I still have some tips. Give each kid a file box to store their work from school and have an “in” basket for each child (and parents) of things that need to get done (you can get them at Target). With getting dinners done, I have a group of friends we recently started to get together once a month to do freezer dinners. There are 6 of us and we each plan a meal, chop up our ingredients, and bring enough so that everyone can measure out what they need. We have a $50 limit (so we only spend $50 for all ingredients, usually it’s less, then we go home with all those meals. It’s perfect when you know it will be a busy day, take one out in the morning to thaw, then the prep is faster. If you need details, email me.
thanks for the giveaway!
spondah[at]aol[dot]com

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We have one calendar…for EVERYTHING. From dad’s work schedule to soccer practice to daily menus.

Thank you for hosting this giveaway.
tiffanyannrosson at yahoo dot com

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I make good use of my children’s monthly school calendar! As soon as it arrives I hang it in our homework area. Then I write the information that applies to us on my regular calendar. Using the school calendar, I developed my “envelope system”. The envelope system is not a grand organizational tool, but it is one of my biggest time and sanity savers. My little ones look at the school calendar, which includes a hot lunch menu, and decide which days they will want hot lunch. Then I go to the bank and stock up on dollar bills and quarters (always getting a little extra just in case!), and make up envelopes for each child. I also make envelopes for any other money that will be due to the school that month. I keep the envelopes in our homework area, so when I check their homework, I can just grab the pre-filled and pre-labeled envelopes and stick them in their folders. It’s an easy little trick!

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When my daughter got home from school, I opened her backpack immediately, and took out her lunch box and cleaned it out for the next morning, and I went through her folder and took out the papaers that pertained to me (permission slips, etc.) Then I immediately signed, filled out, etc., and put back in her folder. This way, only I go through the folder and we didn’t lose alot of paperwork this way! Great giveaway! Thanks for offering it!
~Tanya
the4moyers(at)msn(dot)com

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How I manage to get dinner on our table during a hetic week is easy. I grill on the weekends rain or shine. I cook extra chicken breast,chicken legs, hamburgers and sausages or brats. Then I put them into labled freezer bags into the freezer. When times are tight I pull something out of the freezer hit the defrost timer on microwave, pick out some vegetables, noodles ,rice or potatoes and viola you have dinner in less than 20 minutes. Believe me the food taste just like it came right off the grill.

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Menu planning, budget planning I have a filing system for several different things

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Three nights a week all summer, I’ve been doubling what I make for dinner and freezing the extra dinner in my chest freezer. This way, when school starts again, I can put the dinner in the fridge to thaw when I go to work and then just heat up dinner in a flash when I get home. We’ll still have plenty of time to get to soccer/football/softball/basketball /band/chorus/ballet and I’ll know my kids will have had a healthy dinner.

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We homeschool and I find that if I have my meals planned out at least a week in advance that it helps thing to go pretty smoothly.

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I prepare a whole bunch of dinners the first weekend of the month and then freeze them for use when needed.

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I don’t have any kids yet but I can imagine all the organization one would have to do!

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I do almost everything the night before except making lunch.

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I make sure my kids stick to a schedule during the school year. That way they know what is expected of them and can make arrangements to have homework done before I get home from work so we can do something fun.

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Though my most challenging child is now a high school graduate and my youngest is a sophomore, I can certainly share a great deal of organization ideas, considering my eldest had learning disabilities and ADD and organization was ALWAYS a challenge. Every evening I had him bring his clothes, socks, shoes, school ID, homework, books, etc., and place them in a basket. I placed any needed lunch money, etc., in the pants pockets in the basket. Since mine were car riders, I had extra tablets of paper, and extra pencils and folders stashed away in the van. I also kept breakfast bars, energy bars, juice pouches,etc in the van- so if we had a “rushing” morning and they forgot to eat – they could grab something on the drive to school. When we had waiting time in the van, I had clip boards with built in storage and calculators so they could work on homework.

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planners are the best to keep organized.

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We use a calendar with big spaces to write in.

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I’ll have two girls starting school this year. Everything from clothes to what they’re having for breakfast is going to be figured out the night before. They each have their own tablet and folder for any paperwork they may have also.

kamlchap(at)gmail(dot)com

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My kids aren’t in school yet, but I plan on shopping throughout the year for school supplies (which means starting next year for the following year’s kindergarten). That way, I’m not stressing out right before school starts about making sure I’ve got everything and how much it costs.

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I’m a big list person, so what I do is make a list for each person in the family, what needs to be done. Behind each item I put when it needs to be done (the day, like Saturday, Sunday Evening, Monday Morning). I love checking things off the list!

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I have a calendar with 5 columns on it. One for each family member and the last one is for evening family activities. It helps to see who has to do what or be where each day.

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Well, we homeschool!

The biggest thing I do is leave all the homeschool resources in one room.
It’s organized in baskets on shelves. We always know where to find what we’re looking for because I made some pretty tags, laminated them and tied them to the baskets.

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I am still a student myself and the easiest way to keep organized is to create special places for everyone school stuff. Folder organize homework and bookshelves keep the binders together in the living room.

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One thing I do to stay on top of the masses of paper that come in during those first few weeks of school is to put a basket by the door (the door most commonly used) and then all the paper/important things that I need to look at later get put in there. So they stay away from the wet sinks and dirty hands.

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I make a family calender on the computer with fun pictures on events, birthdays etc. It motivates me to write it all down and since I always throw in creative surprises it has become a big deal at my husband’s work which means he puts it up where he will see it everyday. I put a copy on the fridge and it is easy to update through the month.

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This will be my oldest sons first year. I’m a stay at home mom so getting dinner on the table shouldn’t be a problem. As for getting his things organized, I find lists very helpful. I probably go a bit overboard with it because I have lists for everything. Thanks for the giveaway!!

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Its all about the “to do” lists for me:)

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Me and the husband tag team and spend a little time each night preparing for the next day.
We buy bulk for meats and freeze them in individual bags so that there is always a meal on hand for as many people as are present.

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there are a lot of art supplies and the regular supplies that we store in different bins that we label, so when we found out what we need for each class we just look for them in the separate bins, it makes it really easy!

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