Written by Sean Lintow Sr.
Ahhh, back to school time – maybe I can now get a little peace, some quite time, get some things caught up – truly, it is one of the most wonderful times of the year…
Honey, have you seen my keys; Mom where’s my homework; I forgot you need to sign this; Hurry up your going to be late – I know I just can’t find my backpack; Oh yah, don’t forget I need to be picked up after practice & …
Here are a few handy tips that may make this & every other day a little less stressful on everyone involved.
Put a shelf and / or cubby with a hanging rack by the front door for everyone in the family. Jackets, Backpacks & umbrellas can be hung on the rack. Wallets, keys, phones, etc… can be placed on the shelf. Shoes, sports gear, or even the backpacks can be put in the cubby.
Set up recharging stations on each shelf as needed, simply plug a surge strip up & attach the charger for the phone, PDA’s, IPod’s, etc… on each shelf. Now everything is charged up & easily found the next morning. Energy saving tip – all chargers eat up power whether they are being used or not, so make sure you turn the power strip off when you leave in the morning.
Teach your kids some basic organizational skills – setup a few baskets & label them; Attention (needs to be signed or other action taken *hint* one simple effective rule – if it’s not in there before they go to bed, it doesn’t get signed till the next night); Informational (PTA meetings, fundraisers, etc…); Completed (graded papers, completed projects – you might want to scrap book or save some of these)
Put up a calendar / message board by the refrigerator where the kids field trips, school half days, business trips, church or other extracurricular activities are all written down
Setup a homework area; preferably away from the TV & close enough so that you can check on them & they can find you with any questions, have them put their homework away immediately after completing it, or in your Important basket (make sure that you go through that basket & place everything checked & signed back in their backpack, cubby, or shelf that night)
Set their clothes out the night before; pretty self explanatory, but it will help eliminate the what am I going to wear, or I don’t have any socks to wear
A few other helpful tidbits; Your kids should pre-fill out all the forms with their name & other known information required (homeroom, period, street address); Have some envelopes already printed with your child’s name, grade & homeroom teacher – this will help the teacher’s figure out whose lunch money is whose, or where the mysterious note came from; Make their lunch the night before & place it in a lunch bag the night before (or have them do it); have a special hamper setup for uniforms, or clothing that needs to be washed ASAP
I hope that some of these tips will help you and your family start the day off right.
Sean Lintow Sr.- SLS construction.com
Paul Lesieur General Remodel
After doing kitchens in Minneapolis for over 20 years I moved to the White Bear Lake area. Traffic is less than the Western suburbs and I like all the open space and wetlands. Its just a short drive to Stillwater and the fall colors are right out my window.