Well, the Les Mess Organizing Card Game is just the trick to help accomplish these oftentimes difficult tasks.

According to their website, “LES MESS, a fun interactive card game that teaches children how to clean up after themselves and manage their possessions.”

Les Mess recently sent me a deck of these cards to try out and my kids have had quite a bit of fun with these.

The game is set up so that your child draws a card and then does the task in the allotted time.  There are also “Bonus” cards that allow the child a free day or some other twist.  You can then set up the game to offer a prize or reward when the task is completed.

This game seems like a handy way to get your kids involved in tidying up his or her things as well helping out around the house.   Ideally they will then become a bit more aware of keeping things organized and develop a habit of picking up more often.

Overwhelmed by all you need to do? Write it down! Make a list of everything you need to do.

Next, assign a day to each task. Those things that are most important and urgent should be assigned to an earlier day. Beside those items you will do on Monday, write an M. Put a T beside the things you will do on Tuesday, and so on.

Then, look at the items you have on your list for today. Prioritize them by putting a 1 beside the most important and urgent item on the list, 2 on the next, etc.

By tackling #1 on your list, you know you are doing the most critical task on your list. Even if that’s the only thing you accomplish today, you know you have spent your time on the highest priority on your list.

Transfer today’s prioritized list to today’s page on your calendar. Transfer your lists for each day to the corresponding days on your calendar.

At the end of today, evaluate undone tasks on today’s list and those items on tomorrow’s list. If necessary, reprioritize your list for tomorrow. By doing this tonight, this allows you to get started quickly on your day tomorrow with your most critical task.

As a result of creating and prioritizing your to-do list, you may realize that it is humanly impossible to do all the tasks on your to-do list. You will need to delegate, ask for help, or lower your expectations.

As things came to mind, add them to your list so everything is in one place. If you write things down, you won’t have them rambling around in your mind, and you won’t forget them!

By creating and prioritizing your to-do list, you stay focused on what you need to do,  you’re motivated to use your time well, and you are forced to live in reality as far as what you are humanly able to accomplish.

Beverly Coggins is an organizing expert, speaker and author of the 1-2-3…Get Organized series and blog. Her time management books help you determine your priorities, passions, and gifts, and thereby schedule your life around what matters to you.  Contact information: 330-922-0755.

Whether you have kids returning to school in a couple of weeks or you just have a busy life, routines can help you make the most of your time. They will help you accomplish all you have to do in your busy schedule, leaving time to enjoy life.

We all tend to have more time in the evening than we do in the morning, so it’s nice to accomplish the jobs can the night before. Here are some ideas for tasks you can add to your evening routine to make your morning less hectic:

• Lay out the clothes you plan to wear the night before so you are not running around in the morning looking for what you need or finding you need to iron an item.
• If you or your child takes a lunch, prepare lunches the night before and refrigerate it. Then you can just grab and go in the morning.
• Pack backpacks or briefcases and have them ready by the door to grab on the way out.
• Add the coffee and water to the coffeemaker the night before so all you have to do it press start. If you have a coffeemaker with a automatic start, set it to go off so that it is ready when you wake up.
• Set the table for breakfast the night before and have simple breakfast options that require little preparation and clean up.
• Before everyone goes to bed, have them make sure all bedrooms, living areas, and the kitchen are picked up.
• If you still find that you are too rushed, set your alarm 5-10 minutes earlier than you need to make time for those unexpected incidents.

By doing some of your morning tasks the night before, the family will rest well in a clutter-free home, knowing they are caught up and ready to begin a new day.

Cathy Bates is owner of Practical Solutions Professional Organizing. The offer hands on organizing for your home or office. Contact Practical Solutions for more information at 909.810.3719 or go online to www.psorganizing.com.

I am starting a series of mom interviews to feature bloggers and get some of their great tips for organizing and time management for their families this week. All of which will be posted here at Organized Families.

If you are interested in being interviewed please drop me a note through the contact form.

I also have a client blog to complete, an aupair training manual to write for Rod’s new aupair (my boyfriend for those of you who are new to my crazy life blog), another client who needs help getting started on twitter to promote their blog, a fence to finish staining, invoicing, and you know the daily life of being a single mom with three children !

Of course I also have my ongoing To Do list to work through and a library book that I really WANT to read.  Reading is a guilty pleasure for this busy mom. One I rarely dip into, for this very reason.  I of course had to start a trilogy which could result in my nose in a book for a week straight ;)

Speaking of library books my tip for the day: Get a library bag. I keep mine next to the door on a hook and the children are told to KEEP their books in the bag not on their book shelf or under their book shelf, bed, or laundry hamper (all places they tend to disappear to). It keeps them handy to grab when I get time to stop by the library.

To launch my 35th year, this almost always organized mom needs some inspiration, organization, and new goals. This week is all about inspiration  for a tired mom who needs to increase her energy and to that she needs some motivation!

Although I have made some great leaps organizing my children’s schedules, my personal space has suffered as a result. My yard is a tad overgrown, my room lacks an inviting feel and some days my ‘almost always organized’ feels like we may be on time but my home is no longer my respite.

When I tell others how to find my home my response for the last year has been ‘You can’t miss my home. Its the single mom home with the use to be brown picket fence and overgrown shrubbery.’

Standing by the Declutter Guide’s advice of letting go of perfectionism. I started painting that use to be brown fence yesterday. My mother arrived to help and I let my children get messy with me.

It was a great evening of ‘family time’ and even though only the first coat is done on the front of the yard this morning I have a sense of motivation to keep going knowing I accomplished that one to do task that hasn’t made it to the top of my list in four years !

I love paint. If you let go of ‘perfection’ painting is a quick and easy way to brighten up your home and make it feel new again. What could be a better motivator for positive changes ? Pick a room, pick a day, and paint. Or if the weather is nice pick something outside and make it new.

I recently purchased a beautiful antique linen cabinet with glass doors to keep my bathroom times organized, finding a way to utilize all the available shelf space and still enjoy looking at the cabinet (since you can see through the doors ;) has been an adventure.

I have made a few purchases and am now awaiting the arrival of them to my doorstep. Check these out -  this acrylic organizer can be easily washed, has 9 cosmetics, and the removable lipstick holder holds up to 12 tubes.

I learned long ago that keeping my desk organized at work would save me time searching for things. I am applying this theory to the craziest part of my day, mornings.

I have always wanted a towel holder like the ones you see in your hotel room – I actually found them.

Please let us know what types of tools you use for organizing your bathroom.
Click Here for more great Bathroom organizational products.