GETTING ORGANIZED WITH YOUR FAMILY

GETTING ORGANIZED WITH YOUR FAMILY

Are You Up For The Task?

       

  By: Sabrina Ramos

                

When you think of organizing with your family, what's the first thing that comes to mind? What are ways that you can communicate with one another? Speaking to and planning with your family is so important. It can help all of you reach a family and personal goal. Communication is key to becoming successful in all things, including organizing.

Communicating with our children may seem more difficult than it was for our parents, but if anything, it's easier! We can go back to when we were kids and put the pieces together and see why they're thinking the way that they are. It helps to see from all points of view, so everyone can feel understood and heard. If you sit down with your children and talk to them in a respectful and calm way, many things can get done. A good way of communication is to have a traditional family meeting -- or a "sit down". This is when your whole family sits down together, and shares plans and goals. Then, you can sit and talk about how to reach these goals. Or you can talk about upcoming events, such as birthdays, holidays, school or work events, etc... Once you've established what's on the family and personal calendar, you can discuss how to plan for them, financially and time-wise.

                Finding a time during the week (or weekend) where there are no distractions is a must! There is nothing more frustrating than trying to talk to someone and resolve an issue when there are distractions in the background. A peaceful environment where everyone is focused helps problems get solved much quicker. Things you could talk about during a family meeting include: who needs to carpool/rides? Where do they need to go and how often? Making a grocery list together or budgeting on shopping to plan for a vacation. Also, are any of your kids in school? Do you need to plan for back-to-school shopping? Is there a baby on the way? Check what you didn’t get at the baby shower and make a list of items you might still need. Maybe there are big changes happening in the family that require a parent to children talk. For example, having another baby. A lot of children might need a talk to understand that they are going to be having their first (or second, or third…) sibling!

                Especially with school starting up right around the corner, it may be hard to align everyone’s schedules with one another. However, it is important to try your hardest to make these family meeting’s work. If they keep getting put off, things will get missed, or plans won’t be followed through with. This can be very frustrating and create an even bigger barrier in conversation. Making time to sit and talk with each other is one of the biggest things a family need. It will ensure that everything goes smoothly and that everyone is on the same page.

                Having a family meeting doesn’t have to be a huge deal, especially if your family is truly very busy. If your family just stops for half and hour to come together to even plan out plans for the week, it is a huge step in the right direction. This has worked for my family and I for many years. For example, talking about chores. Who is going to wash the dishes tonight? Who is going to help cook? Who is going to clean up after dinner? These are all things that you can communicate with your children that result in a smooth night time routine. Another effective way of communication would be to make a chore sign with your kids, so chores are not forgotten. Writing lists and keeping them up in your home in a place where everyone can see is a good way to make sure chores and responsibilities are not being forgotten.

                 

                                                                 

                Keeping your kids included in planning makes them feel involved and confident. As you may know, kids do not like feeling like they are being told what to do all the time; especially depending on the age. If you can find a way to compromise and plan WITH them, you can help them feel like they are in control of something yet have them be okay with you telling them what needs to be done. In my family, I would sit down with my children and we would write a chart of chores and they would pick which chores they wanted to do this week. We had a schedule that we sat down and talked about weekly and it helped everyone feel less overwhelmed and more organized. All these tips and tricks can even help you into adulthood. When I visit my oldest daughter, I see little notes around her home that remind me of what we used to do as a family. She has great communication with her husband which I think part of came from our family meetings. She took what we taught her growing up in our family and applied it to her own family. Even my youngest daughter will make herself lists or offer to make me lists. I think that this is beyond amazing and it warms my heart as a mother that something we could do for our children, they can apply for their children or even just themselves down the line.

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