Get Organized Now: Start the Year Off Right

Parenting, February 2008.

Goal: Get everyone out the door on time and tantrum-free

Now: Turn a plastic dishpan into a home-base bin to hold everything your child needs for school or daycare: backpack, lunch box, snacks to share. If she decorates it with stickers and markers, she may actually dump her backpack there instead of on the floor. And if you remember to stock it the night before with lunch and that signed permission slip, you'll make it out the door with only minor delays.

In two weeks: "Instead of several little routines every day, consolidate," says Amy Brady, the Austin-based owner of The Clutter Consultants and mom of a 2-year-old. For instance, she says, "If your child takes lunch money to school, don't give it out every day; divvy it into five different envelopes on Sunday night." Use a white board to track what you and your kids need to remember on different days of the week, like library books on Monday and show-and-tell treasures on Tuesday. Then stash them in a hanging clothes organizer (one compartment for each day of the week) so you can grab and go.

In a month: Okay, you're still running late sometimes. Make mad-dash mornings less hectic by stocking a bin with breakfasts your kids can eat on the go, like cereal bars, whole-grain toaster pastries, and baggies of trail mix. Stockpile napkins in your car's glove compartment.

Goal: Simplify the laundry, and keep it from taking over the house

Now: No room for shelving? Use a lazy Susan on your dryer to corral everything from detergent bottles to stain removers. Keep smaller necessities -- the bleach pen, the dryer sheets -- in a clear shoebag. (It's also perfect for holding popped-off buttons and the crayon stubs you've fished from your preschooler's pockets.)

In two weeks: Assign each family member two mesh bags for laundry, one for whites and one for darks (look for different colors to help everyone keep track of what goes where). Kids 3 and up can haul their own to the washing machine. Plus, when time runs short, you can throw the whole bag in and wash and dry as is, no sock sorting required.

In a month: Cut down on folding. Use a separate basket for each bathroom to hold clean towels that aren't folded, says Sara Fisher, a certified professional organizer and owner of A Simple Space, in Atlanta. "When towels come out of the dryer, they can go straight in the baskets." Same goes for undies and a baby's one-piece suits: Stick them in a shoe box in a drawer, no folding or sorting necessary. And if you come across clothes that don't fit your kid anymore, don't put them away thinking you'll sort them later. You won't. Keep a giveaway bin right in the laundry room.

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