Is the back to school schedule getting hectic? With school pictures, homework, sports practice and other extra curricular activities, as well as your usual household needs, are you getting overwhelmed? It happens to the best of us, but there are some tips that you can use to help make weekday life a little smoother.
New Clothes not looking New?
Sometimes kids come home and their brand new clothes no longer look new. There are all kinds of stains they can get into at school, from ketchup to grass stains. Pick up a pocket size package of stain remover and slip it into your child’s book bag. Show him or her how to use it, and your child will be able to apply it immediately instead of waiting several hours until he or she gets home. This will help you save some garments that would otherwise be ruined.
Too Much Ironing?
Whether new school clothes needed ironing from the time you bought them or they came out of the laundry needing a touch up, you may find yourself with a pile of pressing to do. If you want to finish up quicker, slip a piece of aluminum foil beneath the cover on your ironing board. The foil will transfer the heat to the bottom side of the item of clothing and get rid of wrinkles (take care not to burn yourself as the foil can retain heat for some time).
Can’t Keep up?
Your youngest doesn’t like what’s being served for lunch on Wednesday and you need to make a lunch. Your daughter has cheerleading practice Thursday, but you scheduled a dentist appointment for your son at the same time. Your son’s first football game is Friday. How do you keep track of all these things and keep them from overlapping or being forgotten?
Set up a message center in a prominent place (usually the kitchen works best). You may even need separate message boards or calendars for each child to keep things tightly organized. Look for those that have cork, a chalkboard or dry erase board, and a perpetual calendar if possible. This way, you can pin school notices up, write notes, mark dates, etc. and keep all your reminders in one place.
You can also send yourself email reminders for important events like class pictures, homecoming, etc.