Seasonal Spin

Seasonal Spin

Around the house, the calendar turns--and each season brings joys and challenges. 

Keep an organized home throughout the year with ideas and printables to get organized for back-to-school, conquer seasonal cleaning chores, and celebrate occasions around the year.

To get ready for the holidays, find Christmas organizing plans, printable Christmas planner pages, and lots of inspiration in the Organized Christmas section.

Save on Decor: Frugal Holiday Decorating Tips
Frugal ideas for holiday decorating
Cynthia Ewer November 22, 2021

Nothing says "Christmas!" like a beautifully decorated home. Fragrant greens, twinkling lights, holiday centerpieces all set the stage for a merry holiday season.

But at what cost? 

If you believe catalog vendors, department stores and florists, be prepared to lay down a bundle to create that holiday home. Each year sees a set of new colors, new images, new trends, all designed to part you from your holiday dollars.

Add these last-minute items

Holiday Survival Kit: Six Last-Minute Additions to the Shopping List

The holidays are here, with wall-to-wall shoppers at the supermarket. Who wants to have to join them?

Instead, assemble a holiday survival kit. Before you shop for the holiday meal, check supplies of these often-forgotten items for your holiday gathering. 

Pencil these items into your regular shopping list--and save a last-minute trip. They'll keep the fun in the festivities!

November 17, 2021
Gifting Guidelines: Understand the Unwritten Rules of Gift-Giving
Understand the rules underneath holiday giving
Cynthia Ewer November 8, 2021

Christmas is coming! Do you understand the unwritten rules of gift-giving?

Each of us carries within ourselves a set of rules about gift-giving. Seldom acknowledged and rarely discussed, these rules determine what we give, how much we give, and to whom we give. Despite living only in our minds and expectations, the unwritten rules of gift-giving govern everything from the office Secret Santa exchange to the family's morning under the Christmas tree.

Make a plan for housework at the holidays

Christmas Chaos? Make A Plan For Holiday Housework

For many families, the Christmas season causes more than usual chaos on the home front. 

Do you shove stacks of mail and magazines into dark closets to hide them from drop-in visitors? Does your dinnertime schedule fall off the rails when faced with multiple evening rehearsals? Does Mount Washmore raise itself to new heights in the laundry room, only to be scaled in panic an hour before the Nativity play?

November 3, 2021
Fall Back: Safety Checklist for Time Change Sunday
Safety Checklist for Time Change Sunday
Cynthia Ewer November 1, 2021

Autumn's here and it's time to Fall Back: Time Change Sunday is coming! 

On the first Sunday in November, we come to the end of Daylight Saving Time in most of the United States. With an extra hour in the day--and winter on the way--it's a good time for a seasonal home preparedness check

As you circle the house, resetting clocks to Standard Time, make time for this short safety checklist. It'll see you into the winter from a safe--and organized--home:

Get organized for homeschooling

Home's Cool! Get Organized for Home School

Homeschool families, like Tolstoy's happy ones, are all alike: drowning in a sea of clutter! 

Whatever the organization arena--time, space, money, computer access—-homeschool families have it worse. They have more stuff, less time, more distractions, less money, more chores and less space than just about anybody else. 

How do you get organized for homeschool? Don't despair, homeschoolers! Here at OrganizedHome.Com, we've assembled the best tips, ideas, resources and links to get your new school year off to an organized start.

August 30, 2021
Tips for teaching kids the planner habit

School-Year Plan: Teach Kids the Planner Habit

Teachers, parents and homeschool families know that training kids to the planner habit makes for successful students. 

School districts throughout the USA issue planners to pupils and integrate planner use into the school day. Homeschool families use planners to track and organize lessons, chores and activities, while tech-savvy teens rely on smartphone calendar and to-do apps to organize their work.

A student planner is only a tool. How do you teach a child to use one? Try these tips to teach kids the planner habit.

August 25, 2021
organize children's clothing for school mornings

Kids and Clothes: Win the School-Day Wardrobe Wars

What to wear? For many families, this simple question is a daily flash-point for conflict on school mornings.

A budding fashionista throws a tantrum if a given outfit doesn't meet her standards, while another child insists on wearing one favorite shirt day after day--laundered or not. Younger children resist getting dressed at all, delaying the whole family's departure--and everyone's mood descends to the basement before the day has even begun.

Win the wardrobe wars! Try these ideas to get 'em up, dressed and off to school on time.

August 18, 2021
School lunch ideas and tips

Lunchboxes Ready! Gear Up for School Lunches

Will you add "pack school lunches" to your to-do list when school starts? Time to get organized!

School-day mornings veer to frazzled in a heartbeat, and never more so than when trying to pack lunches while locating laundry, overseeing homework and calling children to breakfast. 

Give yourself a break, and take time now to prepare for the school lunch routine. With nine months of lunch duty ahead, planning school lunch menus will make it easy to pack the sacks each day!

August 17, 2021