Tag: Entryway

7 Solutions to Get My (and Your?) Morning Back on Track

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This is not the blog I planned to publish this week.
But as I drove home from a very early morning client, I considered what I need to focus on today to make tomorrow morning run more smoothly.  We have simple and wonderful systems in place.  Our mornings typically work really well, and all 5 of us know our parts and make the essential stuff happen.
However….. This week…  we could improve.  Let’s just leave it at that.
So here is part of my plan for today.  Maybe one of these solutions will resonate with you, too?  If your morning is a scramble, give them try!
Solution #1: Put ALL the laundry away.
There was a scramble for pants this morning.  Sounds funny when I spell it out. Other days, we scramble for clean socks or a favorite hoodie, but today it was pants.  I occasionally entertain the idea of buying more of certain items to lessen the chance of running out, but we really don’t need more of anything, we just need to maintain the established system, and put ALL the laundry away.  It’s clean, its just not where its supposed to be.

Solution #2: Another set of keys.
A family member has misplaced his keys.  This one little foible has complicated things, by necessitating other family members having to come home to let the lost-key family member in the house, plan around them, etc. We used to have a back-up key, but a winter garage break-in caused us to change our ways.  And Yes, I know, the real answer is for lost-key son to find his keys.  But today’s solution is to suck it up and get another set of keys made.

Solution #3. Stock the Mom-Envelope.
The Mom-Envelope, with $40-ish dollars in small bills, is sadly empty.  A trip to the bank will solve the emptiness, and the Mom-envelope will be able to again solve morning scrambles for a few $$ here and there.

Solution #4: A Full Tank of Gas.
Luckily, I gassed up the other day.  But as I did, I recognized how having a full tank of gas eliminates a lot of worry (or conversely, worrying about running out causes a lot of stress.)

Solution #5: Fully charged technology.
The strategies are having multiple chargers and just one place to charge stuff (the kitchen counter).  Mysteriously, last night we discovered some of the chargers have wandered off, so a goal for today is to round them all up and keep them where they belong.  I have also started carrying an extra charger in my car.  A recent quote from the Minimalists reads “If your phone is constantly ‘about to die,’ then maybe it’s not the phone that has a problem.” (click here for the full article)

Solution #6: Communications.
My youngest is a rock star when it comes to reviewing the plan for his day.  Before going to sleep, and again in the morning, he reviews out loud what’s in store for his next 24 hours or so.  “Ok, Before-Care, then Band and Boy Scouts, right?  And I already packed my lunch.”  This helps us both to plan ahead and remember the details.

Solution #7: A Clean kitchen counter.
A quick way to de-rail movement in my morning is a messy kitchen.  Can’t make my coffee, eat breakfast, make smoothie, work on breakfast for the little guy, etc.  We left early and in a hurry, but that is the first thing on my list after I publish this!

So look around, and see where you can get your morning back on track!  Whether with these solutions or some of your own!

Soar to New Heights: Your Landing and Launch Pad

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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!