What are your hacks for being an organized parent during the school year?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone who's not a SAHM of only one kid have anything to share? HUGE eye roll

Haha, SAHM of 2 and we don't do this mess. Sounds like more work than just dealing with things when they come up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've mentioned this before, but with the onslaught of birthday parties for DD's 16 classmates, at the beginning of the year I take DD to Five Below and we pick out about 20 gifts that range from gender specific to gender neutral. We then go to Dollar Tree and buy 20 birthday cards at 2/$1, a few packs of tissue paper, and gift bags. We keep everything in a bin/tote in the closet. When a birthday party comes up, I send DD to the "gift bin" to pick out a gift for her friend, grab a card to sign, and we're good to go.
The whole year costs me about $125 for all of the kids and I save TONS of time shopping.

What kind of gifts are under 5.00?

She’s buying junk at five below

Wow, why are you so bitchy?

This is really, really cheap unless you are at a Title I school.

It's tacky to not put "please no gifts" on your invite.

[Anonymous]

I expect the kids to make their beds when they get up in the morning, before they do anything else. Somehow, this small thing goes a long way in setting the tone for their day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Back to school derm exams for all the kids? Seems weird. Why not full-on ortho and spinal while you're at it, maybe a full body MRI too?

This CRACKED ME UP. Well done.

Not cool people. PP (8:32) has bio kids plus foster children with medical issues and provides the medical care they need before being placed with an adoption family.

To 8:32 bless you for taking such great care of these kids. It takes a very special person to do this and I bow to you.

Ditto.

Oh, and to the snarky PPs, thank your lucky stars that you don't have kids with medical issues, especially multiple kids. You have no idea how difficult that is to coordinate. Hell, having three in braces at the same time almost pushed me to the brink of insanity. It is all well and good for those of you with one or two children to say, "I'm chill. I just deal with things when they come up." If you have more than two, or a child with significant medical issues, managing is difficult and you need an organizational strategy to make things work. At least have enough compassion not to mock those who share their tips.

Signed,
Mom of 5 whose "normal" life got turned upside down by her child's rare, chronic medical condition

[Anonymous]

OMG PP, OP didn't say that in the initial post. COME ON.

[Anonymous]

I'll give a few tips. I wouldn't call them hacks.

Labeled Snack drawers - 3 sets of two stacked plastic drawers in one of the lower cabinets; makes it easy for my son to pack his snacks for the day and for lunch and helps me easily see what and when to reorder

Auto Delivery for home essentials including some snacks. - Big time saver. I don't think about TP, protien bars, or paper towels. Whenever we are running low they magically appear in the mail.

Take pictures of important items. I may not always have the paper or card with me but I always have my phone. It has saved me many times.

Clear plastic refrigerator bins - these really help organize. Before I would be buying things I already had b/c I couldn't easily locate them.

Backpack goes on a hook in the hall closet. We always know where it is. Library books go in a specific bin in son's room so we are not always searching for them.

$10-$20 in the kid's backpack. You new know when one of you will need it.

Extra school supplies at home. We have it all, colored pencils, crayons, sharpies, large cardboard, pens, pencils, trifolds. You never know when your kid is going to remember something at the last minute. It is great to have those things handy.

Birthday cards and gift bags at home. Get them cheap in bulk on Amazon. That way I only need to grab a gift. the rest is ready to go. Kid do not care about cards or gift bags.

Always have gift cards on hand, just in case you need a quick gift.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've mentioned this before, but with the onslaught of birthday parties for DD's 16 classmates, at the beginning of the year I take DD to Five Below and we pick out about 20 gifts that range from gender specific to gender neutral. We then go to Dollar Tree and buy 20 birthday cards at 2/$1, a few packs of tissue paper, and gift bags. We keep everything in a bin/tote in the closet. When a birthday party comes up, I send DD to the "gift bin" to pick out a gift for her friend, grab a card to sign, and we're good to go.
The whole year costs me about $125 for all of the kids and I save TONS of time shopping.

What kind of gifts are under 5.00?

Google's down? They have games, puzzles, toys, little kids make up kits, cutesy bedroom decor, etc. So far this year we've given away a Bop-It, a DIY glitter soap kit, and a manicure set complete with stickers and a little nail dryer. All $5 each.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've mentioned this before, but with the onslaught of birthday parties for DD's 16 classmates, at the beginning of the year I take DD to Five Below and we pick out about 20 gifts that range from gender specific to gender neutral. We then go to Dollar Tree and buy 20 birthday cards at 2/$1, a few packs of tissue paper, and gift bags. We keep everything in a bin/tote in the closet. When a birthday party comes up, I send DD to the "gift bin" to pick out a gift for her friend, grab a card to sign, and we're good to go.
The whole year costs me about $125 for all of the kids and I save TONS of time shopping.

What kind of gifts are under 5.00?

She’s buying junk at five below

Wow, why are you so bitchy?

Thanks PP

The kids are SIX. If you're buying them collector's items instead of inexpensive toys, books, and games that will get the same amount of attention - you my dear are a simp.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've mentioned this before, but with the onslaught of birthday parties for DD's 16 classmates, at the beginning of the year I take DD to Five Below and we pick out about 20 gifts that range from gender specific to gender neutral. We then go to Dollar Tree and buy 20 birthday cards at 2/$1, a few packs of tissue paper, and gift bags. We keep everything in a bin/tote in the closet. When a birthday party comes up, I send DD to the "gift bin" to pick out a gift for her friend, grab a card to sign, and we're good to go.
The whole year costs me about $125 for all of the kids and I save TONS of time shopping.

What kind of gifts are under 5.00?

She’s buying junk at five below

Wow, why are you so bitchy?

This is really, really cheap unless you are at a Title I school.

LOL. We're actually at a private school and tuition is just under $25K for first grade this year. What you call cheap, I and many others consider smart. But if you're dumb enough to overspend on crap that will get a few uses and end up in the bottom of a toy bin, best of luck to you.

[Anonymous]

Right now we're in the thick of birthday party season (like 2-3 a weekend). To make this time of year easier, I buy large packs of kids' birthday cards, gift bags, and tissue paper on Amazon so we always have them available. Unless it's one of my kid's best friends, I buy the same gender-neutral birthday gift for every kid each year, which is one less thing to think about.

I have a paper planner that sits on our console table and we all look at every morning/evening. It's old school, but it works. So far.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Anyone who's not a SAHM of only one kid have anything to share? HUGE eye roll

I'm a SAHM and I do not have such detailed lists as OP and I don't have OCD. So don't group all SAHM together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone who's not a SAHM of only one kid have anything to share? HUGE eye roll

I'm a SAHM and I do not have such detailed lists as OP and I don't have OCD. So don't group all SAHM together.

Why did this become a SAHM vs WOHM thing? Why are you reading this?

[Anonymous]

We bought a whole bunch of succulents for cheap a few months back, re-potted them in nice containers and they have grpwn quite a bit now and filled up the container. DC will be giving it to his teachers as gifts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry these dcum cats are shredding you, OP. I liked your list and got a few hot tips. I keep paper copies of health forms handy too because every bloody camp requires it!

I agree with having a different big tote bag assigned to each extracurricular, one for library books, we also have one for grandma’s house since she lives close by and babysits often, so we send things like extra kid clothes, clean tupperware from leftovers, etc. back and forth in a tote bag.

We also have one-on-one kid meetings 3 times a year:
DH and I sit down with each kid individually and talk about their goals and desires for the next few months (and follow up on previous goals and desires) and talk about what needs to happen to make those plans turn into a reality.
In August we discuss the coming school year, class schedules, BTS shopping budget, social goals for the year and spring extracurriculars.
In January we check in on grades and social stuff and summer vacation/ camp plans.
In May we follow up on grades and social stuff, plan fall extracurriculars and create a summer “bucket list”

I am sure some will say that is an extra task and therefore not a “hack”, but I find it really helps with planning and with behavior and cooperation. So often the scheduling stuff happens behind the scenes and kids feel like life is happening to them. We get far fewer arguments because whatever is on their calendar is something they have committed to.

Is this a joke??!

[Anonymous]

Some things are expected from all the family members - making beds as soon as you get up, putting your dirty clothes in the hamper, no shoes inside the house, clean as you go, lunch boxes emptied and cleaned for next day, all papers given to parents to sign off on etc. I think when everyone is working together, it is easy to be organized.