Penelope Loves Lists » Kid Organization

Genius Idea for the new mom: Sticky Bellies

Meredith — Mon, 23 May 2011 01:50:19 +0000

True confession time: I’m not so great at taking photos. In fact, I suck. Horribly. There are entire years of my childrens’ lives that have gone mostly unphotographed. I know. It’s truly terrible.

It’s like I was born without the proper photo-taking gene. I believe my sister got every last ounce of that gene in our family, unfairly leaving me with zero. (Which is odd, because I’m older, but who am I to question the way these things work?)

But, I do very much want to document the first year of my son’s life by taking a photo of him every month in roughly the same place and position. We’ve all been inspired by Nicole at Making It Lovely, right? She’s done this for both her kids and it’s a wonderful way to watch them grow.

Today, I found this product, which I think will make the project easier for me. It’s called Sticky Bellies. It’s a pack of 12 stickers that you can stick on the front of your baby’s onesie or shirt each month. They’re adorable. They’re designed to look sewn on, for that handmade vibe we’re going for with these photos. They make it easy to tell how old baby is in each photo.

And, at just $15 for the pack, they are a great shower gift for any new mom.

I hope Sticky Bellies makes a million dollars on this product, because it’s such a genius idea.

Are Penelopes Born or Made – or both?

Meredith — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 17:00:07 +0000

My daughter is 15 years old and she was born a Penelope. I say this because I know for a fact that I never taught her to be an organized perfectionist. She came out that way.

When she was just one year old, she’d sort her blocks by color and couldn’t leave a book on the floor, she had to put it on a shelf. I didn’t make her this way, or teach her these skills, or even encourage them. They came to her naturally.

This translated easily into her academic life. From her first day in kindergarten, she loved everything about school: the activities and the structure, even the grading process. And don’t even get me started on her love of September School Supply Shopping. She’s in heaven in a Staples, just like her mother.

The other day, I was dropping some laundry off in her room and glanced up at her whiteboard, which she uses each evening to guide her through her homework. That’s right. Every night, she goes over her planner (which is a wonder in and of itself) and decides what that night’s homework entails and translates that to a whiteboard. And she color codes by subject, of course.

I just found myself staring at the board and being so amazed at how naturally this came for her. My sons, who are smart, hardworking young men, struggle with every step of the organization process. I’ve worked and worked with them and they just have such a hard time. They can’t seem to get it. And for my DD, it just…happened.

So, two questions: are girls just more organized by nature? And, are Penelopes made, or born, or both?

How to keep your kids’ toys from overtaking your home

Meredith — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 17:00:04 +0000

I’m so glad to be able to offer you this really useful guest post from professional organizer Linda Samuels, author of “The Other Side of Organized”.

The question of how to rein in the chaos of kids toys is one I get a lot and I couldn’t think of any better person to lend us her wisdom than Linda. Her advice is so smart and completely practical.

Kids and chaos seem to simply go together like peanut butter and jelly. Having raised two children of my own gives me firsthand experience of the frustration that can get in the way of fun when toys take over the house. Many of the organizing techniques I use with my clients have been tested for effectiveness in my own household!

Underlying all of my tips is the proven principle that kids will eventually learn to put away their things if you provide an obvious place for the belongings and are consistent in teaching them how. Organization can go beyond giving the relief of having a neat playroom; it can encourage the kids to be more independent in finding their toys and picking up after themselves. They feel like big kids, and that is a huge help to parents. A little strategizing can go a long way toward a smoother, functioning household and leave more time for fun!

Make it fun. Sorting, matching and lining up collections are activities that kids do on their own. They also are important tasks in organizing their toys. To make organizing time feel more like playtime, consider these ideas:

Use clear or brightly colored plastic boxes to store toys on shelves. Label boxes with words, pictures or actual objects to help your kids easily identify what goes where.
Use small plastic or wicker baskets to store similar toys together. Kids love being able to tote, empty and fill the baskets.

Make it accessible. Whatever structure or system you implement, make sure your kids can easily use.

Place shelving low enough for kids to reach. However, consider some higher shelving for storing toys with many small pieces. Having these toys out of reach will encourage partial clean up before taking out more.
Use pull-out storage containers on wheels, or other large flat containers from under beds for storing toys.
Low hooks are also great for accessing dress-up clothes and accessories.

Underwhelm. The less you have, the easier it is to maintain. It is also easier to make choices about what to play with when fewer options are available. Consider these techniques for having less visible clutter:

Cycle toys as you do clothing. Store half the toys away in boxes. In a few months, bring them out and store others away. This will make toy selection and management easier.
Once you’ve done your pruning of your existing toys, going forward, establish the one toy in, one toy out policy. This will help you maintain a better toy equilibrium.

Let Go. Whether it’s toys, kids or ideas, we all have to learn how to let go. Helping your children learn how to say good-bye to toys that they’ve outgrown, are broken or have missing pieces is a valuable life skill.

It’s easier to let go when we know our things are going to someone else that will appreciate them. Talk with your kids about donating extra toys to kids that have less. Kids usually love knowing that they are helping other kids.
Your kids might want to keep some toys as mementos even if they are no longer played with. Box those toys and relocate them to a safe, remote area in your home and show them they are nearby. You may discover that after some time has passed, they no longer want to keep those toys. Periodically, it’s worth reviewing the box with them.

Be consistent. To help your kids develop good organizational habits, you’ll want to be consistent.

Set aside the same time of day to help them get back to square one.
Work with them to help maintain focus on organizing and putting things away. If they like music, experiment with some upbeat music to keep you motivated and energized as you work. Let them pick the music.
Encourage and never nag or berate them. Organizing doesn’t come easily to everyone. Be patient. Make organizing a positive experience.

Linda Samuels

Be a role model. We can’t expect our kids to do what we ourselves are not doing. So, if you want your kids to stay organized and you are not modeling this yourself, start with getting your areas in order first. Once you are organized enough, then begin to help your kids to do the same.

Want to know more about Linda and all of her practical organizing advice? Check out her website and follow her on Twitter.

Loads of Artwork and Not Enough Wall: how to organize your kids artwork

Meredith — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 16:00:14 +0000

One question I get all the time is how I handle my kids artwork.

Confession: I wish I were more sentimental about my kids artwork, I really do. They work so hard on it and, when they’re little, they’re so cute when they stick out their tongues as they concentrate on that perfect dinosaur drawing.

But, when they’re in that “artwork phase”, and that phase lasts for years, there’s just so darn much of it that piles up. The Penelope in me wouldn’t let me keep all of it, or, even, much of it, but I always ALWAYS felt guilty about throwing anything they made away.

Here are a few tips to keep both the Mommy and Penelope sides of you happy:

Create an Art “Gallery”:

With these cute artwork hangers from The Land of Nod, you can create a rotating “gallery” of your little Monet’s drawings. If you put it low enough on the wall of their rooms, the little ones can even learn to change out the artwork themselves. The art gets its time in the “The Gallery” and then gets recycled as new art takes its place. No guilt, you’ve done your part for the art.

Artwork Banner from The Land of Nod

An easy DIY of this item would be just to hang some yarn and use either cute clips available at Michael’s or Target or just painted and decorated clothespins. Would take just a bit more work, but accomplish the same thing.

You could also deem your refrigerator “The Gallery” and treat the whole family to the Artwork of the Moment.

Create a “Best Of” Album or File:

For those true masterpieces, create either a “Best Of” photo album or an expandable file, with pockets labeled for each of the kids. Or, each child could get an expandable file of her own, with each pocket labeled for a year of her life.

This way, those truly special items can be saved for posterity. Just make sure to “containerize” this (we’ve all read Organizing from the Inside Out, Second Edition: The Foolproof System For Organizing Your Home, Your Office and Your Life" target="_blank">Organizing from the Inside Out and know about containerizing, right?) and not let the “Best Of” items grow larger than the space allotted.

Scan the Art and Have A Book Created for You:

Another tip comes from a Penelope named Michelle, who reminds us that you can scan the artwork and save it on your computer. When you’re ready, have it all made into a photo album by a website like Snapfish.com.

Create a Book of Your Child's Artwork

With any of these options, you’ll give your kids the attention their creativity deserves, and do it both stylishly and without a lot of stuff piling up. Perfect.

I’m sure the Penelope community has many more tips for how to control our kids artwork. What works best for you?

Enter the Sticks: how to get your kids’ daily tasks streamlined for the school year

Meredith — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 16:00:08 +0000

I’m super jazzed to once again welcome Guest Poster and SAHM Penelope Melinda to the blog. Last time, she gave us some tips to help preserve our sanity during the kids’ summer vacation. This time, she’s helping us refine our kids’s daily tasks as we get into the school year.

The Back-To-School extravaganza is upon us and we are ready. School supplies purchased, check. New clothes washed and folded, check. Backpacks filled, check.

Lunches made…wait, not sure. Alarm clock set, oops, I forgot.

This is how it usually goes in the home of this Penelope. All of the big, exciting preparations are made but it’s those little yet crucial tasks that are quickly put on the back burner by our darling scholars.

Let’s face it: we can be as organized as possible and yet we still find ourselves bellowing up the stairs, “Don’t forget to brush your teeth!!”

It was actually my husband who provided me with this “aha” moment. One morning, he had the privilege of listening to my litany of reminder to my kids. And then he said, “They would forget it all if it weren’t for you.” And he was right…but it left me discouraged. My job as a parent it is to equip them to live without me! I needed a new plan, one that would encourage independence and self-sufficiency.

Enter The Sticks.

The System:

I grabbed a pile of popscicle sticks. On each stick, I wrote a morning job that needed to be completed (make bed, brush teeth, grab your lunch, take your vitamin). Same thing for the evening tasks. On the back of each was a consequence, some natural (be hungry because you forgot your lunch) others punitive (lose 30 minutes of computer time). If the child doesn’t complete that task, she knows exactly what the consequence will be. It’s consistent and there are never any surprises.

Then I made a set of “point sticks”. One stick = one point. If they successfully complete all of their tasks from the morning, they get one point, same thing for their evening tasks. For the school week, there are 10 possible points to be earned.

Next, I created a “sticks” pouch for the bedroom. Using old placemats and a sewing machine (or hot glue if you prefer), I fashioned these little creations, one for each of my school age children.

Idea: This entire system could also be done in a “no sew” way by using 2 sets of 3 labeled glass jars, and moving the sticks from the left jar to the middle and point sticks going in jar on the far right. Your kids could get into the game by labeling and decorating the jars themselves. Or not. Up to you. I know how we Penelopes love to label.

The top section is for the Morning Tasks, the bottom for the Nighttime Tasks (responsibilities such as taking out the trash or packing up homework).

The sticks all start the day on the left. (My kids actually have a stick to remind them to move their sticks over…ha!) When they complete a task, they move its stick to the middle. If they earn a point, the number stick goes in the last little pocket.

One of the things that I love about the sticks is that I can add or subtract jobs as needed. If they have short days and don’t need a lunch, I remove the stick. If they have laundry to put away, I add the laundry stick. “Point” sticks and “odd-job” sticks are kept in a mug on the dresser.

The Reward for the Kids:

My kids earn a point for each morning and evening set that they complete fully each day. If, at the end of the week, they have earned 8 of the 10 possible points, they are rewarded with a slightly later bedtime the following week. If they earn all 10 points, they get a later bedtime AND a movie night on Friday (big news in our house as we aren’t big TV people). Obviously, you know which rewards will give your kids the best buy-in…use it to your advantage.

Note that you can transition your kids as they get older from the “Sticks” Method into a “To Do List” method using a lot of these same concepts. You can create a daily list using the customizable FeelGood Lists we learned about a while ago. This would give your older kids a strong foundation for using list-making to keep themselves focused and on task.

The Payoff for Me:

This system may sound a bit complicated, but it has saved me a litany of reminders and has taught my children to be more self-sufficient. And, the fact the I’m not constantly nagging at them has made for a more peaceful household.

For this Penelope Mom of four in the throes of a new school year, a little peace and quiet is my new best friend.

Tip for small space living: the Quarterly Cleanout

Meredith — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 16:00:54 +0000

Given that my family and I live in only 1,100 square feet of teeny tiny house, we have to consistently work to keep our home uncluttered. In order to do that, once a quarter, we dedicate a Saturday morning to the “Quarterly Cleanout”.

What is the Quarterly Cleanout?
It’s about one hour, once every 3 months, where every member of the family (our kids are 11 and 15) participates in thinning out and re-organizing his or her space.

How does it work?

First and foremost, I actually put the dates for these Cleanout Sessions on my calendar.
A week beforehand, I let my family know that the date is approaching so they can not make plans elsewhere during that time. They must be at home. If it weren’t for these first two steps, this whole process wouldn’t happen. Truth.
On the day, each of us makes 2 piles in the hall: one for donation, one for trash. We each spend 30 minutes in our rooms grabbing anything we’re not wearing, using or loving anymore. It’s always surprising to me how things pile up in just 3 months. {By the way, notice I said to take just 30 minutes. The time element is key here. Loyal readers, you’ll note this is almost always part of my strategy. You set a timer and move fast. If things take a hugely long time, you’re apt not to do them. So, set the clock and boogie. Don’t get distracted. Don’t answer the phone, don’t talk with each other. Just do it.}
At the end of the 30 minutes, we gather all items for donation, bag them up and put them immediately into the back of the car. All trash items go immediately outside to the big trash or recycling cans, awaiting collection.
After we’ve finished, we head out to the nearest Goodwill, donate our items and only then reward ourselves with a lunch at our favorite Greek place.

Why does this work?

It happens regularly. The calendar tells us when to do it. We do it. Period.
Every member of the family helps and is responsible for his or her own area.
Everyone sees the benefits of living in less clutter. (Or, maybe it just jazzes the heck out of me and they do it to put me in a good mood and keep me from being Stabby Mommy. Either way is ok with me.)
We do the whole thing in one fell swoop. We don’t leave bags of stuff hanging out to be dealt with later. This would prolong the task and make it feel much more arduous and annoying.

What’s the point?

Not only does this keep our house uncluttered, but it creates a habit of “thin living” for our children that we hope they’ll carry into their adult lives. (Fingers crossed!) And, I gotta say, it’s kinda fun, working together as a team.

How Penelope keeps herself sane when the kids are out of school

Meredith — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 16:00:32 +0000

Today’s post is brought to us by one my favorite commenters, a SAHM Penelope named Melinda. She’s got so many great ideas for keeping her home running smoothly and herself sane, that I asked her to give us some insight on how she handles summertime with 4 kids at home.

Melinda doesn’t have a blog – yet! Let’s hope we can convince her she needs one.

Summertime is here! For some, this means afternoons lying in the sun with an iPod and the latest issue of Real Simple. For others, namely mothers, it elicits terror as our Penelope plans fly out the window and the kids tumble in the door…for three long months.

School's Out!

Enter the Summertime Game Plan.

Some ideas are born out of inspiration…others out of complete desperation. I admit that my summertime plans were born out of the latter. Having 4 kids ranging in age by more than a decade, I needed a strategy…quick! Over the years we have altered it due to ages, interests and growing number of children, but the backbone remained the same. Each day has a loose schedule to it, and every morning, I communicate that schedule to the kids, so they know what’s on the agenda.

The goal: keep Mom and kids happily engaged without spending a ton of money. Here’s what we’ve done:

1.) The Calendar: Everyone has one, ages 4 and up. Print one off on-line (here’s a good one from Simple Mom) and have the kids decorate it with markers and summertime stickers. Whenever a plan comes up, have them all write it down on their own calendar. This builds anticipation and satisfies the desires of your need-to-know munchkins (the mini-Penelopes).

2.) Your Own Little Literary Society: Make reading a priority.

Stock up on books at second-hand shops, library book sales, garage sales or neighbor-swaps and have the kids choose a new book each week. These should be fun and age-appropriate, not a chore.
Couple this with a daily read-aloud time (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" target="_blank">Charlie and the Chocolate Factory or The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (The Chronicles of Narnia, Book 2)" target="_blank">The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe are two of our faves.) You may also work this in with a book-on-CD. This builds all-important listening skills and is a fantastic and stress-free bonding activity.
Finally, put a weekly trip to the library on your calendar. Let the kids stock up and take part in the summertime reading program that your local branch organizes. There are free magic and puppet shows and prizes to win along the way.

Image courtesy Charlotte's Fancy

3.) A Trip to the Theater: most communities host free summer movies throughout the summer. Yep, I said FREE. Showings are at 10am and feature previously-shown G and PG films. We can’t wait to see Clifford the Big Red Dog. Anyone else? Find one in your community here.

4.) Tantalizing Tickets: head to your nearest office supply store and grab a roll of raffle tickets. Then, let the kids decorate a big glass jar and place it somewhere showy. Throughout the summer, hand out the tickets when the kids are doing a fantastic job. Helping out a sibling…here’s a ticket. Emptying the dishwasher, here’s two more. Anytime I caught my kids with a great attitude or helping out the family, I’d reward the behavior with a ticket. The catch? They couldn’t ask for them. Their behavior had to be noticed. They all worked together to earn 150 tickets at which time, we headed to Sunsplash water park (or your big prize of choice). That trip was worth every ticket!

5.) Treat of the Week: Have each child write down three to four fun activities that they’d like to do over the summer that cost no more than $15 total (out for ice cream, a trip to Border’s, roller-skating on 2 for 1 Tuesday, a Slurpee at the 7-11). Then, stick all of the dreams in a jar. Each week, choose one (feel the excitement??) and schedule it into… you guessed it…the calendar.

6.) Binders: We do homework in the summer. It’s not for everyone but I’m a teacher by trade, so I can’t help it. Over the years, I’d hand my kids a binder with 4 sections (math facts, reading comprehension, puzzles like Sudoku and a silent-reading chart) and a timer. Each section took 15 minutes. Each day from 1-2pm, I went on break and the kids self-regulated their work. If they did a good job, more tickets came their way. (Note: math facts and puzzles can be found free on-line. Make use of them. Your kids’ teachers will thank you.)

Samantha Mackie - The Cooks Larder

7.) Cooking Class: Grab a kid’s cookbook at the library and have the kids each choose a recipe they’d like to learn to make. Summer is the perfect time to let them get their hands dirty and give cooking a try. If they are 8 or older and the recipe seems safe, leave the kitchen while the do it. We Penelopes tend to hover which drives young cooks CRAZY. Just remind them that they are on clean-up duty and slowly back away. It’ll be okay. It might even be fun.

These are just a few ideas that have kept this Penelope sane over the summers. Hopefully, you’ll find a strategy that strikes your fancy. Here’s to a stress-free summer that just might involve a moment to peruse Real Simple after all.

Assignment: Pre-Christmas de-cluttering, or: do this now, you’ll be glad you did later

Meredith — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 02:15:31 +0000

Given that the kids are off school this week, I started thinking that it’s the perfect opportunity to spend some time in each kid’s room, making piles of toys, books, clothes and shoes that can be donated this year. (It’s also a good chance for you to do the same in your own closet.)

This doesn’t have to be a huge thing, this is a busy week. Just set the timer for 20-30 minutes and see what you can get done. If you’re working from home while your older kids are off for the holiday, assign this to them. Give them a large black plastic bag and tell them they need to fill it with things they don’t use or wear anymore.

This assignment serves two important purposes:

we know there’s a tremendous need at all the donation charities, this year more than ever. Get those outgrown clothes, books and toys into the hands of people who can use them. Click here to find your local Goodwill.
this clears out room in your house for the gifts your family will receive for Christmas.

Parent alert: If, during this process, your kids balk at giving away toys you know they’ve outgrown and don’t play with, go through that pile together and let them choose 3 toys to keep. You’ll still be way ahead of the game. And take that opportunity to talk about how much other kids will love playing with those toys. It’s a great teachable moment.

Or, and I’ve totally done this: have your husband take the kids out to see a movie and get hot chocolate and go through their stuff while they’re gone. Sure, you’ll look like a crazy person madly trying to get this task done before they return, but 5 bucks says your kids don’t notice the stuff is gone. Your choice. Whatever feels right…

Taking the time to do this task early this week will make things much easier when it comes time to find homes for all the new Christmas gifts your family received. It’ll keep the clutter down and make the new stuff easier to enjoy.

Why do I own 1,000 pencils? A solution for vanishing school supplies

Meredith — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 16:00:50 +0000

My kids, aged 10 and 14, are great students, and I’m thankful. Part and parcel with this, however, is that they’re terrible hoarders of school supplies. After complaining multiple times that I’d bought 188 glue sticks, 350 pairs of scissors and over 1,000 pencils and was STILL being pestered for more, I decided that we needed to centralize the system.

Instead of having them keep their school supplies in their rooms, such items now live in “Supply Central”, otherwise known as a shelf in our central hall closet. Each kid may each keep a small number of necessary items on their desks, of course, but everything else must live in Supply Central and they retrieve things from there as they need them.

Bonus: This year, as I prepared to do Back to School Supply shopping, all I had to do was go to my Supply Central, make a list of some necessary items for replenishment and off we go. Best part? I still had several pencils and glue sticks left from last year’s shopping. Magic!

PENELOPE TIP: Other than one binder, some paper and pens/pencils, do NOT go shopping for school supplies until AFTER the first day of school. My early preparation instincts fought against this for years, but I’ve finally come to realize it’s just not smart. Your kids will get lists of things their teachers want for their specific classes and you’re going to need to make a separate trip anyway. Why not save an errand and instead build that trip to Staples into your First Day of School afternoon schedule?