Written by Kara Fleck, Simple Kids editor and Rockin’ Granola mama.

Can you believe that in just a few weeks we’ll be turning the calendar page and saying good-bye to 2012?  I’m having a hard time getting my head around that myself, and yet here we are:  December is half way over and we’ll be hanging up our 2013 calendars before we know it.

Speaking of calendars, do you have yours for next year yet? What about for your kids?

For my own use, I mainly rely on two calendars – online I use google calendar for writing related things and offline I have printed out  The Confident Mom’s calendar (which I just discovered a few months ago and have found that the format really works for me and my household).

We also have a large family calendar that hangs in our kitchen and a chalkboard where we count down the days to important family events and I think it helps with family harmony for the whole family to be able to see what comes next.

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Written by Kara Fleck, Simple Kids editor and Rockin’ Granola mama.

I mentioned on Monday that the inspiration for this week’s mini-series was inspired by the organizing and decluttering bug I’ve been bitten by this Autumn. Before the holidays arrive and our home is filled with guests and new things, I decided that I wanted to sort out, tidy, and organize around the house, especially in my children’s spaces.

I certainly don’t have it all figured out,  and I have to admit that I don’t really try  to keep things around here spotless. However, while a little mess doesn’t bother me, chaos does and so I try to keep it at bay.

Today I want to tell you two more ways we stay organized: labels and creative containers.

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Written by Kara Fleck, Simple Kids editor and Rockin’ Granola mama.

I think it must be the changing of the seasons, but I’ve been feeling the organizing and decluttering bug this Autumn.  Before the holidays arrive and our home is filled with guests and new things,  I’m taking some time to sort out, tidy, and organize around the house – especially in the children’s spaces.

I thought it might be fun to share a little mini-series with you this week about some of the  simple things that we do to help stay organized at our house (not always an easy task for the six of us).

Today I want to tell you about a super simple system we use to keep track of items:  color coding.

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 The following is by contributor Amanda Morgan of Not Just Cute.

When my husband and I had our fourth baby boy this summer, we thought we wouldn’t need a single new thing.  Other than diapers.  And a minivan.

But the interesting thing is, ideas and tools are always evolving and improving, and I found there were a few things I wouldn’t mind adding to our supply.  Fortunately for me, many of those things I could make myself.

I’m a fan of DIY, but I’m somewhat limited by my skills.  I can sew.  As long as it doesn’t require much more skill than it takes to sew a straight line.  These great projects, however, are simple enough to meet that standard. [Read more...]