parenting

Keeping it All Together

We may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post. Please see policies for more information.


I don’t share a ton about our family outside of sharing our crafts and sometimes the awesome adventures we go on. One thing about me is that as much as I try I am not the most organized person naturally. I have to work (HARD) to keep us all going in the same direction. We have 2 adults that work from home, 2 kids in school, 2 crazy pups and some snakes (yes, snakes). You would think that both of us working from home would mean we could get a ton done around the house, and that we must save a ton on gas right?! Not so much. 
I’m the type of person who can go to the store 3 times and still forget the item I originally went for. And the type of person who has every intention of putting that birthday party on the calendar, but leaves it out on the counter until we realize the party is today – in 15 minutes. Now that the boys are older the one thing I can say that I’m proud of is teaching them to keep their own schedules organized, which in turn helps me keep all of ours organized. Here are some ways we keep it all going:

We use the heck out of our giant wall calendar.

Google calendar synced with my husband’s that includes everything already on the wall calendar. 

Paper calendar for my work/posting schedules. For some reason this works the best for me. Something about having to write things down and having them all visible in front of me – glowing screens or not.

A husband that cooks and does most of the grocery shopping. I seriously don’t know what we’d do without him (as I don’t like cooking).

Friends and Family. Don’t know where we’d be without them either!

Online chore chart for the boys has helped keep me from having to remember to ask them if they’ve done their chores or which ones need to be done. 

Notebooks by the bed. I’m not a great list taker but I definitely have a million things going through my head, especially at night, so I keep notebooks by the bed to jot down all the things keeping me awake, and I don’t feel like I’ll forget them in the morning.

Working on the go. I don’t feel bad working in the car or checking the email while out with the boys. My work from home job gives me the opportunity to do fun things with them and be around them during the day that my “day job” didn’t allow. Sometimes that means checking emails or being on social media more than I was before while we’re doing something fun, and I’m completely ok with that.

Sometimes I just need a break and drive to the beach (like now) to keep it all going.

 

 

For a chance to win a sweet set of Bridgestone tires, tell me something you do to keep your life organized.

 

Let’s face it – life is busy! There’s always somewhere important to be, something you need to do. Your wheels are constantly turning. And then it happens – you get a flat tire. There’s no time for that. You can choose to stay in control with Bridgestone DriveGuard tires. Even if they lose pressure, you can keep cruising without losing your cool because DriveGuard tires allow you to travel up to 50 miles at up to 50 miles per hour if a puncture or loss of pressure should occur.* Click here to learn more. Sponsored by Bridgestone DriveGuard Tires.  Third party trademarks referenced in the article are the property of their respective owners.

* Repairability of DriveGuard tires depends on the tire damage, amount of pressure loss and vehicle operating conditions. Contact a Bridgestone retailer for details.

Sweepstakes Rules:

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY.  No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

1.     Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

2.     Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

3.     Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

4.     For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 72 hours to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 7/2-7/31. 18 and over. Not sponsored by Twitter.

Be sure to visit the Bridgestone brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!

(Visited 3 times, 1 visits today)

Allison Waken is a wife, mom of boys and Phoenix, AZ native. She has been creating inspiring content for All for the Boys since 2011. Allison loves travel, movies and spending as much time as possible with her family while she can!

72 Comments

  1. We LIVE by my iPad calendar. This year's summer camp is checkered with different camps for each of my boys, so I had to take it a step further and print myself out an excel sheet with the camps they are attending for each week, start/end times, what they need to bring, who's picking them up (grandparents, my husband, or me!) I keep a copy of it at work, one at home, and one in the car!

  2. I try to have dinner ready before we call the kids to the table, and get the bath ready before I tell them it's time for one- doing things ahead of time helps our family a lot!

    chambanachik(at)gmail(dot)com

  3. I keep all of our calendars electronically; and keep all the devices synced to the calendars~ only way I can stay sane.

  4. I try to prepare as much as I can over the weekend by making my lunches ahead of time and cooking some dinners to freeze. I also lay out my clothes for the next day.

  5. you know, my iPhone is really essential to staying organized. i especially rely heavily on the Mailbox app. One feature I love about it is that I can tell an email to pop back into my inbox at a certain day and time so I remember to take care of it. Therefore, my inbox remains completely clean of junk and only has things that I need to take care of. Such a big help!

  6. A white board by the back door for an on going to do list and also quick notes.

  7. I struggle with keeping all our schedules in sync, I use a calendar in my kitchen and then add info into Google Calendars so my husband knows what's going on with sports schedules and school schedules. The running around is a little nutsy!!

  8. I love to see how mama's are living! To keep my stuff in line: I have less stuff. Only the basics in our schedules. Simplicity makes my life easier!

  9. i keep daily, weekly and monthly lists of goals and to dos in order to stay organized.

  10. Redfieldadopt Reply

    We use Cozi.com for our family's calendar. It is so easy to use, and it keeps track of both parents' and kids' schedules so easily!

  11. I use my Google calendar on my phone, and our "big" calendar at home to keep us on schedule!

  12. I live by the calendar in the kitchen, a daily planner in a binder and my phone calendar with popup reminders to keep us all going in the same direction. Anything else goes on notes in the daily planner and marked with some washi tape. I go back as I can. I'm employed full time and freelance on the side (graphic design), and there's aways something huge just over the next horizon. Keeping three calendars helps me keep my thoughts, plans and notes organized so that I can keep two kids and a scatterbrained husband (birds of a feather, right?) all going in the same direction!

  13. i try to create a schedule for myself and stick to it. i dont get side tracked and try no to let things slow me down like other stresses in my life.

  14. My husband and I recently got windows phones. We are able to share notes and it updates in the 'family room'. It is SOOO great for grocery lists and such! And we share a calendar on there as well. That has definitely helped!

  15. We are old school and use a huge monthly calendar in the kitchen to write down all appointments and activities.

  16. Wanda McHenryy Reply

    I keep from being overwhelmed by not having a care in the world. I don’t work and retired early and my day is care-free, simple and our lives are happy.

  17. Susan Smith Reply

    I make a lot of lists of the things that I need to get done during the day so I keep organized and ask for help from my family if I need it.

  18. My husband and I “invite” each other to important appointments so they always appear on each other’s apple calendar. We also add multiple alerts so neither of us can easily forget an appointment or event.

  19. We plann ahead a lot and try to prepare for everything (as best we can) For example, I take a spare change of clothes for my children for the beach, lots of snacks and an emergency first aid kit.

  20. i take lots of medicine! lol i know that sounds horrible but sometimes you need it when you have a super stressful life…which I totally do working full time with lots of kids running around! but to stay organized i have folders with all my papers !

  21. amy pugmire Reply

    I like to stick to a schedule and reduce stress as much as possible by getting things done early or the night before so there is less stress in the morning.

  22. I take advantage of organizational tools and like to make lists to help me plan out my day and tackle each thing in an organized, methodical manner so I am not as overwhelmed by the often, numerous tasks I need to do daily.

  23. I keep a calendar/planner on my computer desk and use it to keep up with schedules, bills, and even prescription refills.

  24. I keep a planner with me at all times to right down any appointments and things to do.

  25. I rely on my google calendar to keep myself organized.

    Thanks for the chance to win!
    wildorchid985 at gmail dot com

  26. tweet–https://twitter.com/WildOrchid985/status/489949526451433472

  27. shelly peterson Reply

    I try to get things ready the night before so there is less to do in the mornings. This helps a lot.

    cshell090869 at aol dot com

Write A Comment