Fall, Kids, School Days Martha Carol Stewart Fall, Kids, School Days Martha Carol Stewart

College Move-In: What to Buy for a Dorm

College move-in day is coming soon! Whether it’s your first time moving a college student into a dorm or you’ve done it many times, a refresher on what to buy never hurts.

College move-in day is coming soon! Whether it’s your first time moving a college student into a dorm or you’ve done it many times, a refresher on what to buy never hurts.

We have a free pdf that you can download here for a full list of what to bring, but here are a few more items we think are important and you may not have thought of:

  • Mattress Topper

    A mattress topper is an absolute MUST. The mattresses provided in dorm rooms are far from comfortable and a good mattress topper can make a drastic difference in comfort level.

  • Bathroom Caddy

    Even if your college student has a private bathroom in their dorm room, they will likely be sharing with at least their roommate. Dorm bathrooms are small, and they may want a caddy to bring their products in and out of the bathroom and store them elsewhere. Or they may want a caddy to go over the shower head if they have a private bathroom.

  • Power Strip

    Power Strips should not be plugged into each other and often there are not many outlets in a dorm room. Purchase a power strip that doubles as an extension cord to be sure it will reach where it needs to.

  • Phone Case

    This one may seem odd, but it is very convenient to have a phone case with a cardholder so the student can carry their room key in it and not worry about it getting lost. Plus, this keeps it easily accessible for them.

Good luck on your college move-in day and enjoy every moment of the process with your child. Plan something fun for that evening to make leaving them at school a little easier. Trust that you’ve done well getting them this far and let them fly!

If getting your home organized and ready for a child to move out is overwhelming, contact us!


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Kids, Summer, School Days Martha Carol Stewart Kids, Summer, School Days Martha Carol Stewart

The Best Bins for School Supplies

It’s back to school time! Can you believe the school year starts in just a couple of weeks?! This summer has flown by and it’s time to get the whole family ready for the start of the school year again. We’ve been there, and we’ve found a few tools along the way that make it all go a little more smoothly.

It’s back to school time! Can you believe the school year starts in just a couple of weeks?! This summer has flown by and it’s time to get the whole family ready for the start of the school year again. We’ve been there, and we’ve found a few tools along the way that make it all go a little more smoothly.

There are so many school supplies to be purchased and stored for the coming school year. Here are a few of our favorite bins to keep it all organized and functioning all school year long!

  1. Latch Bins

    Bins with latches work amazingly well for school supplies. You can find them at many stores and in an array of different sizes that work well for many items (pens, pencils, markers, crayons, paper, scissors, etc.).

  2. File Boxes

    File boxes are the best way to keep all those important papers your child brings home from school stored and organized, while also keeping them from getting crumpled. Put your child’s name on the front of the box and have a file for each school year. This is a great way to not only avoid losing papers, but also to store keepsakes from your child’s time in school.

  3. Rolling Carts

    Okay, so we know this isn’t really a storage bin, but rolling carts are great from storing school supplies at home. They’re also great for creating a homework station for your kids.


Does the thought of the looming school year overwhelm you? Let us help you get your home organized and routines set in place so that your whole family can start the school year strong!


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Kids, Summer Martha Carol Stewart Kids, Summer Martha Carol Stewart

Essentials for Road Trips with Kids

Going on vacation can be such a fun and enjoyable experience, but if you don't prepare ahead of time it can be totally miserable. So, how do you prepare? What do you do? Here are some essential items to have on hand in the car while on a roadtrip.

Going on vacation can be such a fun and enjoyable experience, but if you don't prepare ahead of time, it can be totally miserable. So, how do you prepare? What do you do?

Here are some essential items to have on hand in the car while on a road trip:

  1. First Aid Kit: For obvious reasons, but also because band aids have the power to make everything better! Lol

  2. Toothpaste and toothbrush or Mouthwash: After hours in the car, you may want to freshen up.

  3. Trash Bags: Trash bags are always good to have, but especially when eating on the go, and especially with children.

  4. Diaper Disposal Bags: If you’re traveling with little ones in diapers, you will definitely want some diaper trash bags that can be tied up to keep the smell contained.

  5. Water: Always keep water on hand both for just staying hydrated and in case of emergency.

  6. Rag Towels: Old rags or towels are great for cleaning up spills in the car.

  7. Hand Wipes: Having some sort of hand wipes or sanitizer is definitely a must.

  8. Toilet Paper: For those with toddlers and young kids, traveling with a kids portable potty is a great idea for when they have to go NOW and you’re nowhere near a restroom (or the restroom is just too nasty). So, toilet paper is definitely necessary for the kids, but you also never know when a public restroom may be out of toilet paper as well.

  9. Snacks: You definitely need snacks to keep the grumpies away.

  10. Toys/Prizes: Go to the dollar store or target dollar spot and purchase small toys and prizes for the kids. Keep them in a bin and dole them out every few hours to keep the kids happy.

That’s all!

Keep these items stored in a latch bin so you are both organized and can have peace of mind knowing that as things get shifted around on the car ride they will stay put.

Now go have a fantastic road trip with your family!

Need some direction on how to organize your home this Summer?

Give us a call to learn more about how we can help!


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Kids, Kitchen Organizing Guest User Kids, Kitchen Organizing Guest User

The Benefits of Organized Snacks

Organized snacks have 3 benefits. Read more to learn those benefits and see how we organize our snacks!

Organized snacks have 3 benefits!

  1. Your children can get the parent approved snack ON THEIR OWN! No need to stop what you are doing!

  2. You can see when the snack is running low and add it to the grocery list! No reaching into the pantry to find an empty box!

  3. Your pantry looks prettier without all the cardboard and you look like a parent who is WINNING!
    Win the day!

    Here is a link to our favorite snack bins!

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Want to know how to organize your pantry? Click here to see our online classes.


Don’t have time to organize your pantry? Call 225-205-6400 and let us help you!


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Routine: The Key to Survival and Success

If I had to pick one thing I could share that would make the biggest difference in your life, it would be routines.

As a teacher, there were no excuses for being late. I had to be on time to receive the children or the parents would then be late themselves! Not only did I have to be on time, but also I really needed to be there early to attend to a few things before the students were walking through the door. Oh, and I had to get 2 small children dressed and ready for school as well. I conquered this challenge with this beautiful thing called a routine.

If I had to pick one thing I could share that would make the biggest difference in your life, it would be routines.

As a teacher, there were no excuses for being late. I had to be on time to receive the children or the parents would then be late themselves! Not only did I have to be on time, but also I really needed to be there early to attend to a few things before the students were walking through the door. Oh, and I had to get 2 small children dressed and ready for school as well. I conquered this challenge with this beautiful thing called a routine.  

Routine = sequence of actions that you do repeatedly.

Simple. You repeat these few things every day. It takes discipline at first but you can do it!

 There are 3 times that routines should be in place to make your life less chaotic.

  • Morning-as easy and as simple as you can make it.

  •  Afterschool or work-do the things necessary to start tomorrow strong. 

  • Evening-reset your home, check for last minute to-do’s and put things in place.

 Here are some examples of daily routines for kids and adults:

Morning:

  •  Get dressed

  •  Brush teeth/hair

  • Eat breakfast

  • Get lunchbox, backpack, purse, wallet, etc. (items that have a “take with me” home) and walk out the door.

After-school (young kids):

  • Snack (in a designated spot so the children can grab without your assistance)

  • Homework

  • Repack backpacks

  • Make lunches(this can be part of the evening routine if needed.)

  • Play

 After-work (Routines aren’t just for kids):

  • Hang up work clothes

  • Start laundry

  • Pay bills/answer emails/take care of “home business”

  • Start dinner (check weekly meal plan)

  • Pack lunch (unless it’s dinner leftovers)

  • Homework help/sign any paperwork that the kids have and have child put back in the appropriate space.

  • Re-boot laundry 

 Kids evening Routine:

  • Mary Poppins called it, “Tidy up the Nursery” time. Aka: Clean up your mess! Setting a timer (2-3 minutes per child’s age. A 5 year old should get 15 minutes of time. If it takes longer, you will need to reassess the amount of toys they are allowed to pull out) and turning on music makes this task more fun with smaller children. Supervision is best with this step because kids love to hide their messes in their closets, under beds, in hampers and anywhere they think they can get away with it. No, your kid’s not a jerk, this is normal.

  • Get out school clothes. If this is a nightly struggle, try getting out a weeks worth on Sundays. (I used a 5-tier hanging shelf that hooks to the closet rod.)

  • Baths

  • Books (quiet time)

  • Bed-as in lights out because Mom and Dad need some grown up time.

Evening routine:

  • Lay out your clothes for tomorrow. This step is huge because so much time is wasted in the AM on this one step!

  • Put your purse, keys, wallet, mail, backpacks and everything else that goes with you in the AM in one place. This place should be it’s designated home every single evening. (No more searching for things in the morning!) Having a phone charger in that place would be smart so it’s all there together.

  • Check the weather. Do you need to leave a little early due to fog, rain, snow? (Well, not so much snow in south Louisiana, just hurricanes.)

  • Check the calendar.  Do you need anything besides the usual items? Valentines Card? Mardi Gras beads? LSU shirt?

Reset the house in 15-30 minutes. For me, this is making sure the dirty dishes are in the dishwasher, sofa cushions and sofa pillows are straight, extra blankets are folded and in the basket, toys (dog toys for me) are put in their home. I usually throw the dirty kitchen towels into the dirty clothes basket as well and wipe counters. This is also the time to put away all the items that are not in their home. Remember to be a good example and put away things when you use them so this is not a daunting task. 

Make a list of your routines and post it until it’s memory. You can hang them in sheet protectors and have the kids check them off with dry erase markers as the job is done. You are there to supervise the children, not do the job for them.  

Not sure where to start when making routines? Give us a call and let’s set up a consultation to get you on the right path. How much time will you gain by implementing these routines?


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