I have children, and each child comes home with their daily papers telling me when I need to meet the teacher for PT conference, what they are having for lunch that month, activites, days off of school, when book orders are due, etc. I need a way to organize all these papers yet still remember what is going on without throwing most of them out.
I already put important dates into my iphone calendar and work blackberry calendar immediately - but that still doesn't help me where others things are concerned, such as lunches (ie I need to look daily to see what each kid is having and whether I need to send cold lunch), and other non-date items. I want to be able to, as soon as my son walks into the door and hands me 8 papers, to go through all 8, determine what is important, and copy that important info onto one area, such as a calendar, thereby allowing me to discard all papers instead of leaving the "important" ones laying around. And I would love a calendar with something like pockets or paper holders below. For example, my oldest has to create a valentine box. Due a certain date, I would write that date on the calendar, but then I would love to be able to stick the word doc list of his classmate names right under that calendar, so when we go to make the box, we can write out the valentines as well, all due same day. Does something like this exist?
I was thinking instead of trying to hang each child's items in the kitchen, I would put all items onto one calendar. I am just worried whether it would get done - I mean, that is a lot of copying onto one calendar. I need to get organized. I am a fan of fly lady - would one of her calendars work for what I am trying to accomplish? What do you moms do?
Ps - Cannot hang anything on the fridge - stainless steel, so won't stick, plus it drives my hubby nuts when there are multiple papers on there.
JB- Which flylady calendar do you have? Doesn't she have quite a few. I want the one you have - you sound very organized! =)
What Momma L. said sounds perfect. Same idea would be to actually have inboxes like in an office for each child. Keep a large pad of paper and write down what you need for each day the night before.
I always taped the monthly lunch menus and sports schedules on the inside of a kitchen cabinet, out of sight but I still saw it several times a day so it was easy to access and remember. Book orders and any other order forms, permission slips, etc. were turned in IMMEDIATELY because I didn't want to have to keep track of them, or chance them getting lost in the shuffle. Other key dates (conferences, field trips) went straight onto my calendar and all remaining paper went in the recycling!
Oh my gosh, this drives me insane!!! I have an IKEA wall organizer, but it mostly ends up looking cluttered.
The best thing for me, is I got a pretty rectangle shaped basket and put pretty file folders in it, one for each kid's school stuff.
I just handwrite dates I need to remember on our dry erase board in the kitchen. Much easier for me.
Yeah... and don't you just love when they put the signed permission slip on the same paper and expect you to sign it and turn it back in. Then half of the information you needed is GONE! Ugh.
I am so glad that most of that is behind me. It seems like once they hit middle school, the amount of papers they bring home that require adult attention goes WAY WAY down. :))
I use a work/business type binder - it's like a trapper keeper for adults??LOL! Portfolio? I'm not sure what it's called, but it works really well. You can either put a calendar in it or print off calendar pages from the internet, hole punch them and put them in the binder rings part. Then there are pockets for other papers - this varies from one to the other, mine has lots of pockets and some only have a few. Mine zips shut, some don't. Does this make any sense? LOL! If not let me know and I'll find a pic online. I use one for our family bills and stuff too!
Kind of like this
http://www.amazon.com/Baudville-Executive-Portfolio-Essen...
Check Momagenda.com - they have a lot of products designed for this very purpose. I only have one child, but have the same problem with the paper piles. I use their Kitchen Folio, which is really just a gussied-up version of a three-ring binder, but so much cuter. :-)
I keep lunch menus, monthly school calendars, weekly class newsletters, forms that need to be filled out, etc., in there. I also have a day planner made by the same company, and any important dates, deadlines or reminders get written down. They both live on my kitchen table so I can flip through them each morning while my son is eating breakfast.
The other thing that has helped us with paper clutter is to create a "drop zone" near the garage door where we come into the house. It's a small shelving unit where we can dump backpacks, purses and so forth, and store things that need to leave the house soon (like birthday presents). I also put baskets on there to collect mail and school papers that don't go in the Kitchen Folio but need to be dealt with somehow - like the parade of artwork that comes home every day.
Good luck!
Yes the flylady calendar will work well for this. I use it to track 4 kids, my husband and me. Anything that comes via e-mail or paper with a due date gets onto the calendar. I try to keep as little paper and e-mail as possible.
Next to or under the calendar I would stick three large clips or adhere three pocket folders to the wall. One clip/folder has items for the current week - permission slips due (which I normally fill out and put back in the child's folder immediately), spelling lists, homework packets due at the end of the week, etc. One clip/folder has items for the current month - field trip info, lunch menus, fundraiser forms, things due later in the month. The third clip/folder has things due next month. At the end of each week, I purge the "this week" clip and go through the "this month" clip to see what needs to be moved. Then at the end of the month I purge the "this month" clip and move the "future" items due the next month there. Anything that's a reference for the year (class contact lists, homework references, etc) goes in a 3-ring binder. My clips are on the fridge, but there are folders you can adhere to a wall too.
The Martha Stewart wall pockets at Staples might be a good way to organize your three piles (week, month, next month) onto the wall:
Our kitchen has a door leading to the basement. I use that to hang all the schedules and papers with poster putty. IF there door wasn't there, I'd use a wall. Maybe hang a giant corkboard. "Paper" is my decor. Heh.
I use both a paper calendar and Google calendar, but calendars alone won't cut it for organization. Not unless you're scanning and attaching every document.
I have a very large dry erase calendar, which I love, for writing down everything that's going on. Alternately, a large desk calendar would work...you can write everything that needs to be done...and I always remember to write myself a reminder if prep work needs to be done on a day before it's due. (For example, if I need something ready on Friday, I might write on Thursday, "Make X for Friday.")
I have a very large bulletin board that I hang things on...but it's an eyesore. Sort of. I love it, with all the kids drawings and all that hanging. ;)
The idea of having everything in one place is best...I don't know how people stay organized using electronic devices, programs, etc. I am a very visual person, and need to be able to see it all at once without clicking into different apps, etc.
If you go with some sort of large calendar, you can hang pockets beneath it to hold important papers. I have several of these, but they are magnetic and designed for lockers, most likely...I hang them on our kitchen door, which is steel and able to hold magnets. You could get something like that, and just tack it to the wall.
My ideas aren't pretty, but they work! :)
A huge earasable calendar on the wall to list doc appts & field trips.
Next to that a bulletin board so you can pin up flyers.
Under that, 3 cubby boxes. One for each child. Put impt pwk in there like
homework etc. Pin up Permission slips & lunch menu calendar.
Put important reminder dates in your iphone or blackberry to pop up &
remind you
Also, try to touch a piece of paper once. Meaning if it's a permission slip, sign it & immediately put it back in their back packs letting them know it's there. Put a sticky note on the calendar for the next day that says "Turn in your permission slip" that you will put on their back pack the day of to remind THEM to turn it in.
