Photo Credit: Dave Haygarth

Sure summer may be in full swing, but it won’t be long before the kids head back out the door on their way to that first day of school. As soon as that happens, you know they’ll be bringing home more schoolwork, more art, and more projects. Be honest, have you even taken care of last year’s paperwork? Remember last fall when you swore to stay on top of the paperwork?

Now is the time to give yourself a clean slate for the upcoming school year.

Grab your digital camera or fire up the scanner. It’s time to purge all but the most special keepsakes created by your little one(s). If you have a filing cabinet consider making a folder for each child and storing your favorite artwork here. At least it has been put away and cared for, which is better than sitting neglected in a pile on the counter. Scan or take photos of the art you don’t want to keep and create a slideshow with your favorite photo editor to use for your screensaver (or better yet, send that to Grandma, she’ll love it).

Go ahead and toss crayon broken crayons and pencils. Sure you can use broken crayons for crafts, if you’d like, but be honest with yourself. Are you even the crafty type? If not, toss out the nubs and quit torturing yourself.

Take an inventory before the back-to-school list of demands arrives. Do you already have backpacks and safety scissors already? Great. Don’t trust your memory, find them and place them in a safe spot for school. Check the glue sticks and bottles to be sure they aren’t dried out and rubberized.

Consider creating a staging area near whichever door is used in the mornings before school. It can be as simple as a table or desk with a nearby hook for backpacks. Don’t forget to hang and USE a calendar to keep track of this year’s projects and appointments. Having this area set up well before the school year even starts will help ensure your plan to actually be organized this year meets with success.