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The Family Home: 8 Summer-Prep Sanity Savers
A bit of organizing here, a little storing there, and when summer arrives you'll be kicking back with the kids
Designing a lovely life with five children in tow. http://www.dandee-designs.com
Designing a lovely life with five children in tow. http://www.dandee-designs.com... More »
Every year I'm just as excited for summer vacation as my children are. We look forward to lazier mornings, afternoons at the pool and road trips. There's more to getting ready for summer than purchasing swimsuits and flip-flops, though. Consider completing a few of these simple projects around your home to ensure that everyone stays entertained, organized and sane through those dog days of summer.
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Beach towels are one of my biggest summer pleasures. But many times when getting home from the pool, the children either leave them in the car on on their bedroom floors in a pile. Creating a little nook like the one shown here will make it easier to hang beach towels when you get home and will ensure they're dry the next time they're needed. Keep buckets or baskets below to contain sandals and sunblock.
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It's important to keep children reading all summer long. Carve out a little nook with piles of books and a comfy seat to entice them on afternoons when it's too hot to be outside.
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| Making sure the garage is in order not only will make it easier for you to pull the family car in and out, but it will enable your children to get their bikes and helmets on their own. |
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Before school lets out, consider going through your children's toys. If you have more toys than you can handle, perhaps storing some away for monthly rotation is in order.
Tip: It' s easier to sift out the junk, rotate toys and make donations when children aren't around. Set aside some time when they're in school or playing with a friend on the weekend to do this task.
Tip: It' s easier to sift out the junk, rotate toys and make donations when children aren't around. Set aside some time when they're in school or playing with a friend on the weekend to do this task.
Organizing the pantry may not seem like an obvious thing to do before summer, but I promise you, making healthy snacks easy to reach for children will help save your sanity.
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| In our home we have chores to accomplish before we head out on daily summer adventures. Establishing a spot in a common area (like the kitchen shown here) where you can hang chore charts and organize a family calendar will help everyone stay in the know. |
by Splendid Willow
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Changing out bedding to lighter, more breathable fabrics and placing fans in warmer areas of your home will help everyone stay cool and comfortable.
If you have the space in your yard, now is a great time to think of simple kid-friendly elements you can add to the landscape. Sandboxes, outdoor chalkboards and a swing are all nice, inexpensive ideas.
Comments
Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. These are very well thought out tips, obviously from an experienced mom. Good for you and thank you for using my pantry pic. Charmean
12 months ago · Like
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mandyludovissy Great examples of how a little thought and preparation can go along way! Thank you, great post!
12 months ago · Like
Christa Brower Great tips, love the beach towel idea! All though I think it's a great teaching moment to have your kids participate in getting rid of toys they don't use anymore. Every November we go through all the kids' toys together and explain that some kids aren't so lucky, so we go through the toys and learn to be honest about what we do and don't play with anymore, they pack it all up an we drop it off at a local place that provides the items free to families who can't afford them. The girls always seem very proud and learn about compassion and have some social awareness. :)
12 months ago · Like
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Jilson Modern Home Staging Do not get rid of toys without her knowledge. I heard of boy who was having major security issues because his stuff would always go missing. Granted, I was doing this too! So now I let her pick out toys, books etc to give away to family friends with younger kids. She feels good because she is giving gifts and I feel good because we can re-organize!
12 months ago · Like
donobrien Sorry for a tangential remark, but, other than the fruit shown in the pantry, those are not "healthy snacks"--heavily processed foods with lots of sugar, simple carbohydrates and omega-6 oils--all not healthy. Check your ingredients. We need to get educated about the food we eat.
12 months ago · Like
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Hides and Co. The bicycle wall is so clever.
12 months ago · Like
whatkatydid Where did you get the adorable posters in your playroom?
9 months ago · Like
vtcpbn This is a great article!! I love the reading corner idea! Currently my daughters play room cum bedroom is in our library which also houses a prayer altar. I would like to fit in a compact bookshelf just for her books. But I don't know where to fit it in the current layout. Any suggestions are welcome. Attaching photo of the room. 
9 months ago · Like
Ideabook published on May 11, 2012.
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