Every day is a good day to to work on your “Landing and Launch Pad”.

Your Landing and Launch Pad:

• Is the flat surface near a door where you drop your stuff and bags when you enter your home and pick them up again to take with you when you leave;
• Is crucial to your success in arriving at destinations on time and prepared; and
• Is one organizational project that will improve your life immediately.

Why do you need a Landing and Launch Pad?

• We come and go from home daily, often multiple times! At Klimczak Central, 5 people come and go, to and from many destinations and events.
• Assign a Home to your necessary items (like backpacks, briefcase, keys and cell phones), corralling them in one location.  Eliminate the last-minute scramble on the way out the door!
• You probably have a L/L Pad already, but maybe you haven’t given it much thought.  This is your chance to consider your stuff and space, and make both work better for you!

What belongs on a Landing and Launch Pad?

• Essentials like backpacks, briefcase, keys and cell phones
• For Launch
  • Shoes, coats and accessories
  • Boots, gloves and hats in winter
  • Umbrellas, sunscreen, ball caps and sunglasses in summer
  • Activity Accessories:
    • For Example, Bags for Soccer with shin guards and uniforms; a bag for Band with music and instruments, etc.; and the bags to go to Choir with me, Cub Scout meetings with us, etc.
• For Landing:
  • A place to hang your keys and empty your pockets, an envelope for receipts, a jar for loose change, and a shallow bowl for your pocket contents
• Time between Landing and Launch:
  • Phone chargers and a surge protector
  • Stock items for purses, backpacks and diaper bags, like our stash of small snacks, tissue packets, chap stick, band-aids, anti-bacterial lotion or wipes

 Where should a Landing and Launch Pad be, and what does it look like?

• Just like your Command Center, let function dictate form.
• Choose one door as your main entrance, and funnel all the family through there so stuff doesn’t end up all over the house.
• A L/L Pad near your coat closet is a great idea, but not always feasible, for example our coat closet is at the front door, and our L/L Pad is at the back near the garage door.  We just limit the number of coats out at any time to 1 per child, and 2 per adult.
• We set a 2-pair shoe limit per person at the L/L Pad to cut clutter.  Extras are stored in bedroom closets.  This time of year, we see boots and sneakers, and sneakers and crocs in the summer.  (I am the worst offender of the 2 pair rule, but I am working on it!)
• To encourage participation, consider each family member.  For example, my youngest son has a row of hooks for his coat and backpack at his eye level, and he’s great about hanging his stuff there!
• Use vertical space – coat racks, baskets under benches, over-the-door shoe organizer with pockets for shoes, of course, but also seasonal accessories like gloves and mittens, or umbrellas and sunscreen.
• We keep it basic.  A bench for staging bags and for putting on shoes, hooks for coats and bags at varying heights for all of us, a basket for extra hats and gloves, and a large rubber (waterproof) mat for boots and shoes.

As with any Organizing Endeavor, maintenance is critical to your Landing and Launch Pad:

1. Pick a spot for your essential items and stick with it.  Label it, if that helps.  But ALWAYS USE IT!
2. Give each person assigned and labeled space (e.g. a hook or two, a cubby or basket, even a magazine holder on a shelf) for their Launch stuff AND USE IT!
3. Re-pack bags immediately upon returning home.
4. Keep only current season (weather and sports) items in your Landing/Launch Pad, to cut confusion and clutter.    There is so much activity there, it is essential to keep only the stuff you really need.

Invest a little time and thought (and perhaps a little money) this week, and set up your Landing and Launch Pad to make your comings and goings run more smoothly!