5 Tips for Keeping Kids Organized This Summer

Thank you to Kidecals for providing us labels for keeping kids organized this summer.  All opinions are mine.

Summer break is something that nearly every child looks forward to.  There are dreams of lazy days, swimming, trips to the zoo, and just hanging out with their friends.  There isn’t much structure in the summer, and that’s half the joy.

With the loss of school-days structure, though, can come a desire to shed the structure of general home rules, too.

Here are five tips for keeping kids organized through the summer months and in all their summer activities (and beyond).

5 Tips for Summer Organization

• Hang hooks on the wall of your garage or entryway and designate one for each family member.  Painting each hook a different color for each person, or adding a wall decal with their initial or other icon (like the “I Speak Geek” label) above their hook will let each person know whose is whose.  Consider also placing a small bin for each person.  This will help everyone corral their shoes, swimsuits, umbrellas, sports gear, and more.
• If kids will be spending  a lot of time swimming or at the park, consider packing them each their own special tote bag packed with the essentials.  For the pool or beach a tote with a bottle of sunscreen, a pair of (inexpensive) sunglasses, a beach towel, and flip-flops.  For sports maybe pack an extra pair of socks (no one wants to wear sweaty socks!), a pair of sunglasses, a bottle of sunscreen, and some snacks for energy (don’t forget to restock each night).
• Are your kids heading to camp?  Pack one of those small pop-up clothes hampers so they can keep clean and dirty clothes separate.  If your kids still need a little help matching outfits, consider putting an outfit for each day in a zip-top bag so they can grab and go.  Or make it really easy on yourself and send them all denim or neutral-colored shorts so there’s no guesswork.  Be sure to order some labels for their clothes and personal items.  I remember when I attended summer camp as a tween, we liked to share and swap pretty much everything.  Sorting it out at the end of the week was kind of a headache for our parents.
• Just because it’s summer doesn’t mean there aren’t still chores to complete.  But when it’s beautiful outside and everyone else is tossing around a ball, it might be hard to finish a task before joining them.  If you’re flexible on when (not if) things can be done, consider picking up a whiteboard or chalkboard and listing each day’s tasks.  Let them know that everything needs to be checked off by a certain time, and then let them set their own schedule.  It’s a good way for them to learn responsibility, too.
• In the summer I tend to be a little more relaxed on having every toy or book put away each night.  Maybe you are, too?  So one day per week have a reset.  Kids should make sure all clothes have gone to the laundry, all games have their pieces and are put away, books and toys are tidied up, anything that belongs on their hook returned, etc.  End the reset with pizza night or something similar to keep it light and fun.

Kidecals has a great selection of labels to help you achieve your summer organization goals.  There are designs for the whole family from babies and toddlers up through us moms and dads.  Bubbles helped me pick out a set of purple princess labels that are really cute.  They are waterproof laminate that are also heat- and cold-resistant.  They stick really well to pretty much everything, but also won’t damage surfaces.

We’ll be labeling up a storm this summer, especially all of Bubbles’ clothes, toys, and gear that we’re taking with us to Maine.  She has lots and lots of cousins there that are the same age as she; personalization will help cut down on any confusion.  Especially good at keeping tears at bay if we find that a favorite buddy mistakenly ended up going home with someone else, and we’re already 500 miles down the road.

What tips do you have for keeping kids organized this summer?

I received a set of labels in order to facilitate my review. No additional compensation was received.