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Your daughter has a doctor's appointment on Wed at 2:15pm. Your son has soccer practice on Thursday at 4pm. You need milk, eggs, cereal and bread from the store. You need to pay the phone bill and electric bill. You have to call and RSVP for a birthday party. Oh and your neighbor just called and wanted to get together for a playdate on Wed at 2pm. Wait, you have something to do that daybut what was it? With a ton of appointments in your daily life, it is tough to try to remember them all. With a little time and effort you can actually get organized and make your life somewhat easier.

BUY A DAY PLANNER
First and foremost, in order to get organized, you will need to buy a day planner. A simple one with a notepad, address book and calendar should be sufficient. This will give you an opportunity to record every single appointment, school function, and playdate in one location. You will also have an area to keep track of phone numbers of family and friends. Use the notepad to jot down random thoughts and grocery items needed.

MEAL PLAN
Meal planning makes dinner time one hundred times easier. Sit down and write out two weeks worth of meals. Record which days you are going to prepare them and post it on the fridge. You can also use your meal planner to help with your grocery list. This way you are only buying ingredients necessary for each meal and you are not binge shopping. Take it a step further and meal plan breakfast and lunch as well.

ERRANDS
Another way to really get organized is to plan one or two days strictly for errands. Don't you hate when you have to go to the store on Monday and the doctor on Tuesday and the Post office on Wednesday and so on? Make Monday and Thursday errand days where you do the grocery shopping or light errands like the post office and dry cleaners. This will eliminate the need to run out every day of the week for simple items.

CHORES
Whether you are a working mom or a stay at home mom, household chores can be daunting if they pile up. Write down all of your household duties and then schedule a day for each one. You can do bathrooms on Monday; mop floors on Tuesday, and so on. Laundry should be done every one to two days so that you are not faced with a mountain of dirty clothes on the weekends.

PREPARE AT NIGHT
If you have to leave the house in the morning for work or even if it is just taking the kids to school, then plan the night before. Set out all the clothes for everyone and put together lunches the night before. Set the table for breakfast and sit book bags by the front door.

It really is not that hard to get organized so sit down and take a few minutes to get your schedule in order. You will feel much better as you will be able to plan appointments better and you won't be running late trying to get to different events. Just make sure to take at least a few minutes each day for "mommy time"; it will make a world of a difference.

Learn more about this author, Adina Carter Allen.
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