Getting Organized: Your August Home Checklist

For many families, the arrival of August signifies the winding down of summer vacations and preparing to return to the daily grind of work and school. Use these last summer days to squeeze in a few more projects to start the season off organized and cut down on the inevitable chaos of back-to-school/work schedules.

• Teach and practice the 4 Rules of Personal Safety.  KidSmartz is a child safety program that educates families about preventing abduction and empowers kids in grades K-5 to practice safer behaviors. This program offers resources to help parents, caregivers, and teachers protect kids by teaching and practicing the 4 Rules of Personal Safety using classroom lessons, at-home lessons, parent tips, and fun printable activities.

• Ease the way for week-night dinners at home. As summer winds down and life becomes a bit more chaotic with school and after-school activities, meal prep in a cluttered space can become even more of a challenge.

  • Toss out food that’s old or stale.

  • Donate unexpired, unopened dry goods to a local food pantry.

  • Clean out and wipe down the fridge.

  • Clear off any cluttered kitchen counters or entryways/unloading areas. 

  • Keep the table set for family dinner and implement the "Low - High" conversation starter. 

• Establish a family calendar. Choose what works for you — whether it’s a big dry erase board on the fridge or multi-user Google calendar shared on everyone’s smart phone, keep everyone in the family on the same page with appointments and activities.

• Evaluate your wardrobe and closet space. Assess what you’ve got before you go shopping. Try on clothes, separate things that can be donated, fold or hang clothing scattered on the floor. Afterward, you may find that you’ve got a little extra real estate to work with in your closet.

• Create a “drop zone.” What do you need to make after school/work time run more efficiently?

  • Would a hook for each kid’s backpack keep it off the bottom of the stairs?

  • What about a separate folder for the 73 bazillion pieces of paper they bring home? 

  • How about a basket at the bottom of the stairs so at the end of each night, it can be taken upstairs and brought down again in the morning.
• Implement a morning and evening routine:
  • Load the dishwasher all day and run it at night; and empty it in the morning.
  • Prep the coffee machine at night with an alarm to start brewing in the morning.
    
    
• Laundry: Assign a day of the week to each family member to do their own laundry with rules that both machines must be empty for the person assigned for the next day. 

What other organization tips have you implemented and are willing to share? 

Do you know anyone thinking of buying or selling a home in the Katy, Cypress, Jersey Village, Tomball, or Fulshear, TX area? Give MJ Real Estate a call today at (832) 428-5562 and let us help you get started!