Ten tips for getting organized this summer

Ah, summer.

A time for relaxing and kicking back. Just as soon as you finish cleaning the house, shopping for groceries, running errands, ferrying kids to soccer and Scouts, walking the dog and planning the family vacation, all on top of a full-time job.

Sounds like fun, right?

OK, so summer might not be as relaxing for the parents of the world. Although your calendar might look more crowded from June to August, you can make things a bit less stressful by getting organized. We've gathered up tips from local experts and regional professional organizers to give you a few ideas how to stay afloat this summer. So take a 30-second break from your crazy day to read our suggestions. They might just make your life a little easier.

1. Write everything down. Trying to stay focused and organized when you don't have a list makes your life more difficult, said Deniece Schofield, author of "Confessions of an Organized Homemaker" who speaks on organization around the country. Instead of crowding appointments and important items in your mental calendar, put things in a notebook or day planner.

"It really helps if the parents have a planner or a PDA where they can keep everything in one location," she said. "It keeps them on track and reminds them of those dates, deadlines and appointments. Put the pressure on paper. If you keep everything in your head, you can't relax and you can't prioritize."

2. Keep a family calendar. Let everyone else in the family know what's going on, too, by writing items down on a calendar everyone can access to, said Muffy Kaesberg, co-owner of Organizing 4 U, located in Cleveland Heights and Solon.

"I have a simple calendar that I keep on the refrigerator," she said. "It has everybody's schedule and where they need to be at what time. For instance, my husband is trained to look at the calendar, so then he knows where we'll all be at the end of the day and what time dinner might be. It's an ideal way to stay on top of it and to know where everyone is going to be."

If you stick with the habit of filling out the calendar, you might just find yourself with a new routine, Kaesberg said.

"It only takes two weeks to learn a new habit, sometimes three," she said. "If everyone is committed to trying to work together and make it happen, two weeks is enough to make it actually work."

3. Have a "launching pad." Make sure everything you need for the next day's activities - from sporting equipment to beach bags - is kept to a universally-accepted location in the house, said Nancy Recker, extension educator for family and consumer sciences at OSU-Extension in Lima. Recker said her family uses the laundry room as their launching pad.

"It's a place where you collect all the stuff that you need for the next day," she said. "You get everything ready the night before and that way everything's packed up and ready to go."

4. Give everything a home. This is an all-year tip that carries extra importance during the summer, Kaesberg said. If everything has a specific location, it cuts down on time spent searching for what you need.

"In my household, we have one place for light bulbs and a place where all the batteries go," she said. "Having a proper home for things, or having kids help pick what the home is, makes them more involved and more likely to use them and return things."

5. Invest in special bags or containers. Organizing into bags and boxes can save both time and sanity. At home, have kids dump all supplies, shoes, and other items into a big box or receptacle when they walk in the door, Schofield said. You can also use industrial shelves with the same end result.

"I urge parents to have a put-away system," she said. "We had a big container that everything was tossed into. It was like a huge toy box without the lid. Whenever the kids needed gear, they would rummage through the box to find it. It's very easy."

If kids have equipment or supplies that need toting around, get them an athletic or duffel bag where everything can stay in a central location, Kaesberg said. Schofield also suggests putting together "waiting bags," bags with books and other activities to keep kids occupied while at the babysitter's, a sibling's sporting event or other activities that might inspire boredom.

6. Have a schedule or routine. Having a routine lets parents and kids know what to expect (and what's expected of them), Recker said.

"If you have a time of day that (kids) have to do things, like in the morning, they have to do certain things before they can go out and play," she said. "If you have time set aside, there's a lot less complaining if they know what the routine is."

It's also a good idea to schedule activities for kids, especially if they're younger, said JoEllen Salkin, who co-owns Organizing 4 U with Kaesberg. Scheduling fun outings like a trip to the pool or a picnic will prevent wasted time in front of the TV.

"We like to advice some structure to the day," she said. "Something like, ‘Okay, everyone sit down and read for a half hour,' or having special activities like that so there is some structure and the whole summer isn't wasted away in front of a screen."

7. Get everyone involved. This doesn't have to be a complete dictatorship. Let kids in on the planning, Recker said, and they'll have a vested interest in what gets accomplished.

"Sit down with your kids as a family and tell them what things need to get done over the summer," she said. "If they feel like they have an input, like, ‘Yeah, Mom, I can do this,' even if they don't like doing it, they've gotten a choice. It might be the lesser of two evils, but it's still a choice."

Whatever tasks you set before your kids, break them down into easily-done bites of time, Recker said. "Breaking it down into doable sections really helps things get done. If you tell your kids to clean the basement, they're not going to do that, but if you tell them to pull 20 weeds from the garden, that's doable."

8. Plan your meals. With all the running around you're probably doing, keeping a meal calendar takes one less thing off your "to do" list for the day, Schofield said. Shop for what you need and have it waiting for you in the kitchen.

"That way, based on your mood or when dinner will be, you can look down the list and say tonight is a great night for whatever meal you can pull off last minute," she said.

An extra tip: when you shop for ingredients, make sure they're labeled so family members know they are for dinner, not snacking.

9. Schedule "me time." You'll never get it any other way, Kaesberg said.

"If you don't schedule quiet time for yourself, it's not likely to happen," she said. "Maybe at the end of the evening, from 9 to 9:30 p.m., that becomes ‘Mom's time.' Or maybe it's Friday morning because you like to relax before the weekend. Whatever your thing is that you want time for, block it off on the calendar."

Want to learn more? Check out Deniece Schofield at her Lima-area seminar.

WHEN: 10 a.m. to noon and 7 to 9 p.m. June 17

WHERE: Comfort Inn (formerly the Lima Inn), 1210 Neubrecht Road, Lima

COST: $20 at the door

FOR MORE INFO: Call 800-835-8463.