Six ‘to-dos’ meant to ease summer stress
As we head into summer, most of us are more than ready for a break.
We're desperate to complete our long, end-ofthe-school-year to-do lists and hit the pool or the beach. I get it. Parents are exhausted and kids are feeling a combination of tired, anxious, excited, sad and happy. Although you probably feel like you don't have even a minute to spare during the next few weeks, I am going to recommend a few additions to your already jam-packed schedule.
Yes, I can hear the virtual moans, but doing these six things will give you a real sense of accomplishment as you close out the school year, save you time between now and August and, maybe most important, give you peace of mind. First on the to-do list: Give your vehicle a thorough cleaning.
wipe down the surfaces and vacuum the floors yourself, or take it to the car wash. Don't just put the items you've removed in a bag and set it in the garage — actually go through the items and put them away, toss them or give them away. This should take 30 to 60 minutes.
any old returns and documents you no longer need, and start a new file or box for 2018 papers. Place the file somewhere accessible to put tax documents away as they arrive.
Summer schedule changes are both refreshing and stressful. To save time and keep frustration to a minimum, make sure your house or family calendar is updated, visible and accessible to all.
The desire for a lessstructured and -hectic summer makes people want to forget about keeping a calendar, but the changes in routine make a calendar even more necessary.
Use a whiteboard or a large paper calendar to jot down all major dates from now until the start of school. Include camp start and end dates, vacation dates with details such as flight times, dates that you will be hosting visitors, and even back-toschool events.
Encourage family members to add to the calendar.
Go through your children’s school papers and artwork. Yes, I’m aware this is the last thing you or your kids want to do now that school has ended, but it's not going to be any more fun if you put it off for months or years. Empty the backpacks and bags filled with artwork and the contents of the kids’ lockers. Put report cards, school photos and a few representative pieces of work, awards and favorite projects in a labeled file or box.
Perfection is not the goal here. Getting it done is.
Take everything out of your coat closet and clean the floor. Wash and store coats, hats, gloves and mittens in labeled plastic bins, and put them in the attic or basement. Give away or donate any coats your kids have outgrown, and dryclean items if necessary. Organize spring coats, hats, umbrellas, shoes and sports equipment using baskets, drawers or an over-the-door hanger.
Nearly everyone has a bag of clothing or housewares that they've set aside to be donated but haven’t gotten around to dropping off.
Put the bag in your car and mark a time on your calendar to drop it off. Because there's no firm deadline for making donations, it's easy to procrastinate. But bringing those items someplace where others can use them is doable and probably won't take more than 30 minutes.