School Supplies for MOM

No, I'm not going back to school. My liver couldn't take it, Poodle. However, the start of the school year is a great time for you to organize your household. I've talked in prior posts about the endless ambush of school papers coming home in those deadly backpacks, but golly PETE, they're relentless and will absolutely destroy your counter tops if you don't take preventative action.

Some of you may really like to file things. I like the concept, except for when it's in a nice drawer, it's all of a sudden out of sight, out of mind. And that's not so good when school items have to be returned by a certain date or your kid turns into the loser who can't go on the field trip because mom neatly filed the permission slip that's lounging one more day in its climate-controlled, dark drawer.

So, how do I get the 'You're such an on-top-of it Mom' praise from the teachers? (I admit to striving for the Pet Mom designation.) I return items the very next day with a little help from my Mom School Supplies.

Mom School Supply List:
1 colorful calendar for the fridge (I use themes every year. Sometimes we learn about a country, activity, etc - I know, I'm waaaay into themes- but I plan parties as part of my living, and it just spills over into other areas of my life). Mark school holidays and birthdays immediately. Write due dates of everything. Include sport activities for each child. This is now the brain of the household.

1-2 clip-type magnets to hold said calendar on the fridge (they get heavy and slide down to the floor otherwise). If you post the calendar on a Bulletin Board, you don't need magnets, but may need push pins. Some folks like the dry erase board message center, but the dust from those things stain floors and makes a mess in my experience. But suit yourself.

1 diva-inspired 1" binder with pockets. This is your HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT BINDER. You are too glamorous for a plain one, Princess. Mine has a blue leopard print on it. It's fabulous. Some days, it helps to have a fabulous binder with mundane topics in it to inspire you to open it.

A hole puncher. I have a skinny one that fits flat and has ring loops for the binder, which is great because I don't have to run upstairs to my office to grab the big hole punch.

Color coordinating (if possible, otherwise, just colorful) tabs. My tabs are as follows:
~ School for general information, medication forms (keep clean and make copies), summer reading lists, Progress reports or daily reports, etc.
~ Room Parent Information if you're the Room Mom (I'm not this year, I'm pleased to report). One suggestion if you are the room mom, get one or two other co-room-parents if possible so that if someone is out of town, in a meeting, has a sick child, there's more than one person to fill the job. This tab is especially helpful for school carnival or fundraiser information/lists as well as for how to contact parents in the classroom.
~ A tab for each sport/after-school activity that your kid/s participate in. I keep team rosters for years because some of the kids don't go to the same school and inevitably, one child wants a teammate to come to a birthday party and if I've thrown out the list, I can't look up the dad's name to find the child in the phone book. You know... Basic Nightmare.
~ A tab for summer activities so I can refresh my memory in say March when Junior is bugging the stew out of me at Spring Break and I yearn for ways to get him out of the house for an extended period of time
~ A tab for birthday party organization per child as well as a record of what the birthday present was for the child
~ A tab for Christmas gifts so I can make lists for the whole family ... and I never throw the lists out so I won't duplicate presents.
~ In the front pocket, I keep the most recent school directory and some adorable pre-printed Note To The Teacher forms so I can just check off a box.
~ In the back pocket, is a legal pad for notes. I use it a lot.

Cute sticky notes/little note pads, 'cause I love them a lot. I have sticky notes with my company name on them, and then the fun stuff like in the shape of a purse, with shoes printed on them, leopard print, etc. I just picked up the purse-shaped ones at Target for $1 last week. It's my current fave!

Colorful envelopes for sending money in for lunch, PTO dues, field trips, donations to the school library, and whatever endless items I have to send continual checks to the school for. I have noticed that these don't get misplaced like the plain ones do (I happen to be out of them right now and I just got an email that said the PTO didn't get my check, which I DID send BTW but in a plain white A-10 envelope, so see, it pays to have the colorful ones!)

Paper clips. I have an unexplained attachment to binder clips. I just LOVE them a lot. Especially the little bitty ones. They're so cute. But, I do love having everything together. Those backpacks are a black hole. If you paperclip your bright envelope with the check on to the form, there is less chance either piece will wind up in the unknown mystery area where socks disappear to when you put them in the dryer and they never return. Have you noticed that parallel universe between backpacks and clothes dryers, too? Or is it just me?

Any needed pens, pencils, etc.

I'm a To Do list person, so I need a colorful array of legal pads and spiral bound notebooks. These may not be essential for you.

As a management side note, I also have binders for each volunteer activity I do (church committee, each of my singing groups, Junior League, etc.) as well as any special projects I have going on (home decoration ideas I tear out of magazines, for example).

Well, Cupcake, I hope this helps get you organized to respond to this school year and that you, too, can strive for Pet Mom status. If you have any tips that work for you, please post to the blog. I'd la-la-love to add to my repertoire. XOXO