Modern Parents Messy Kids

The best ideas on how to raise engaged kids, organize your life, and create a stylish home.

Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life: Cheerful DIY Storage Jars

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If you're a regular here, you know we're all about getting kids involved in contributing around the house early. Sometimes that means setting up regular family and money jobs, and sometimes it just means taking a little time for a bright and cheerful DIY organization project. Here's Kristen with the details... Things look better when they are organized. And I think we function better when things look better. Case in point:  The Junk Drawer. We all have one and if you've ever … [Read more...]

Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life: How to Get Rid of Your Paper Piles for Good

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Five people live in this house.  That's five times the amount of paper a single person sees in one day. That means I have to organize my way through bills, business items, personal correspondence and all the paper it takes to make one's way through middle school and high school. It can be a lot to handle. I consider myself a fairly organized person, but before I created a system for my house there were tears over lost homework, stress over client invoices and the embarrassment of a late … [Read more...]

20 Organization Projects to Make Back-to-School a Breeze

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It's back-to-school month. You know what that means - time to buckle down and set up some solid morning, lunch packing, and maybe even homework routines. It wouldn't hurt to set up a backpack and study zone either! Here's Alli with 20 of the best projects out there to get you organized for Back-to-School. My oldest son will be starting a Mother's Day Out program this Fall. I know, I know. That's small potatoes in the back-to-school world. But still. It has my heart in a lurch. I'm already … [Read more...]

POYEL: Mudroom/Family Command Center Reveal

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We're back today with the big reveal of our latest Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life makeover- Janssen's mudroom/family command center. You may remember from our previous post, that Janssen had a bit of a fail the first time she attempted to get this room organized. Today she's back showing us how a little support from our latest sponsor, DYMO, helped her right the wrongs in this space. I am so smitten with the "Hooray!" idea - total genius! I seriously couldn't believe what a huge … [Read more...]

Round Up: Teacher Recommended Back-to-School Hacks

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This time of year I find I am usually equal parts excited and anxious for what lays ahead. So many new opportunities, friends, sports, clubs, etc. - so many new schedules to balance (especially now that I have a full day student, a part-time preschooler, and a baby). You may have noticed, in fact, that I'm already in preparation overdrive.  Well, I'm not done yet! Today our contributor Kristin, a former first grade teacher, is here sharing her all-time favorite back-to-school hacks. You … [Read more...]

How to Save Money with a Birthday Gift Closet {POYEL}

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If I'm honest, I've always thought setting up a birthday gift closet was a pretty unrealistic and over-the-top idea (as evidence by probably the most popular thing I've ever written). But then my son started elementary school and I quickly realized that the number of birthday party invites that come once your child becomes a student can be immense. Not only is it a stress-saver to always have an appropriate gift around, it can also be a serious money saver if you stock up whenever you see … [Read more...]

The Best Way to Fold Reusable Bags to Save Space (VIDEO)

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I've been meaning to post this video for quite a while (we're talking months) but - you know - life.  Now, however, the warm weather is coming and I'm not putting it off anymore. A neatly stored disposable bag or two in the car is a must have during summer - perfect for harnessing wet clothes and suits, sand toys, impromptu picnics, etc. And this method is pretty great just for keeping your cupboards from constantly overflowing too. Here's our resident professional organizer, Annie, with … [Read more...]

POYEL: Free Closet Sorting Printables

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You guys went so crazy over this idea to get the kids to put away their own clothes, that we came up with another Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life idea aimed at getting the kids (and the hubby) to do even more to get those closets sorted. And, once again, this one comes with a free printable to help you do it! Here's MJ with the details... Maybe it's the new year or the winter snows, but my children are all going through growth spurts right now. Their drawers and closets contain a lot … [Read more...]

DIY Jewelry Organization Board

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I'm gonna go on record right now and say this is one of my very favorite Project Organize Your ENTIRE Life projects ever! So cool, so easy, and so perfect for storing your #5RingsToStopYelling and/or a few pieces of "Not Your Mother's Engravable Jewelry" (both of which will support keeping families out of poverty). Here's Julee with the full how-to... Now that my daughter is six-going-on-sixteen, the number of necklaces, bracelets, rings, hair clips and other accessories in our home seems … [Read more...]