Our Kitchen Refrigerator...AKA Dad's Home Front Day Planner
Summer is the time of year when the homeschooling moms can breathe a little freer. With the books on the shelves and all the projects cleaned up, thoughts can run toward "next year" and how things might improve. Organization is a always big topic, so it was no surprise this week when I got several calls from moms asking me this or that on organizing the whole routine. My favorite question was "How do I get Dad organized?" Hmmm...have no idea. The dad in this house is pretty well organized. Am not sure I could personally get him there if he wasn't. I answered that I would think a little on that one and post it here (this blog is great for that: I only have to type it and respond ONCE!). For myself, I operate with a day planner and it makes everything go smoothly as I have ONE place where I can write it all down, and believe me, at this age, I have to write it down. The photo is what the dad in this house uses for a day planner as far as the home front goes (he has numerous secretaries and such who all look out for him at the office so I can't speak for what he does there). The refrigerator here at home is Dad's day planner. It's the one place I know he will go several times a day...and while he is there, he checks on the day's activities. All the church, choir, swimming, 4-H, scouting, etc. information goes there. When we got a new frig, they wanted to put fancy wood on the front, etc. to match the rest of the kitchen and we all panicked at the thought of losing the magnetic quality that this frig has...what would we do without it? Fancy wood or practicality...practicality wins out most of the time around here. So, my advice about organizing the dad is to put everything where he can visually see it...don't write it in an appointment book or put it on the desktop where something might get laid on top of it...go for the always visible! Updating it and circling times and dates are the only things I need to do to help him along...the rest is up to him. It has worked well here for years and years and it is a whole lot easier to say, "It's on the frig," than "Where did I put that?" Organization 101...next question?