An Ode to Post-It Notes + Some Spring Wardrobe Refresh Ideas
Post-It Notes + Spring/Summer Fashion = two things that don't seem like a great mashup, but they've both been crucial to me getting through the end of the school year!
How’s your Maycember going? We’re getting through it here with predictable chaos and things not going according to plan… This week our most major unpredictable moment was when I was solo parenting for 5 days I got a flat tire! Luckily it was in my driveway first thing in the morning so we weren’t stranded. But the kids had standardized tests that day so I needed to get them to school on time! Figuring that out was an “adventure” we all got to have… On the plus side my youngest loved watching the tire get replaced, and on the minus side I did not love the expense of Uber rides to take kids to school and replacing the tire… Ahhhh I can’t wait for mid-June when we’re in summer mode!!
During this crazy time of year I’ve noticed two things:
I’m leaning on simple solutions to ease this extra intense workload because I can’t be bothered with ANYTHING complicated right now…
I forgot to prep ME for all these Maycember events with a wardrobe update! The weather quickly changed to hot and all of a sudden I have all these events to go to and I feel unprepared which adds a layer of stress to an already busy hectic time…
This week I want to share how I’m addressing those two issues so I can stay on track (and stay sane) from now to the end of the school year!
KEEPING THINGS SIMPLE WITH POST-IT NOTES
I’ve previously shared an article about 6 simple systems I do that help me parent, and those are things I’m definitely using right now to help me get through all this.
Today I want to highlight a simple item that helps me parent and is something I’m using ALL THE TIME right now – Post-It Notes! Yep, those sticky notes are a major key to me not dropping many balls right now! They are so simple to use, and they keep my days organized in many many ways. I thought sharing these easy-to-implement ideas would be helpful for you too, so here’s how I use them.
Reminders on My Steering Wheel
I often drive my regular routine of drop offs and pickups, and after-school activities, on autopilot. But this time of year requires handling so many things that are out of that regular routine (teacher appreciation snacks, birthday balloons for my daughter!). Being on autopilot often means I forget to do those extra errands and have to go back and do them later which is a waste of time I don’t have right now!
The way I solve this is when I need to run one of those errands, I write the errand on a Post-It note and stick it on my steering wheel. It’s hard to miss that reminder, which means I won’t miss doing that errand! I do this steering wheel Post-It note reminder for other non-regular errands during non-crazy times too, like for going to the post office or the bank.
Reminders on My Door
This time of year means there are a lot of things we need to remember to bring out with us during our days that are out of the ordinary like returning school library books, cards to teachers, and final projects. To remember them all I write what we need to bring when we leave the house and put it right above the door handle so we see it when we leave. Can’t miss it if it’s right above the door handle!
List of Kid’s Homework To-Dos
All year long we do the same thing for homework – my kids take their folders out of their backpacks and they write down their homework to-dos on a Post-It note that they place on the top of their folder to cross off as they complete them. With so many different end-of-year homework tasks, this routine is more important than usual.
To-Do Lists for Kids
My kids have to do a lot of different tasks right now for both in school and out of school commitments. Making a to-do list on a Post-It note and placing it on the kitchen table is how we manage all the tasks each day!
Notes to Kids in Classroom
Every time I visit a kid’s school during non school hours I bring Post-It notes with me. Lately I’ve been at schools for parent/teacher conferences and for open houses. I love to write a note on a Post-It saying hi and sticking it on my kid’s desk for them to discover when they go to school the next day (I place it inside the pencil box for my 4th grader so it’s not cringe😉).
Frozen Food Labels
Lately I’ve been relying on a lot of dinners I’ve previously made and then froze for exactly this type of busy time. When I make and freeze these meals I always put a Post-It note on the outside that says the date it was made (so I can track when it goes bad), what it is, and then the defrosting and cooking instructions. My future self (aka me right now!) is always grateful I do this when I freeze stuff!
Lunchbox Labels for Allergy Info.
Two of my kids’ schools are nut free, and almost all of their summer camps will be. I send Sunbutter and jam sandwiches sometimes, and they look a lot like peanut butter and jam sandwiches. It’s been my experience that if a teacher or a camp counselor thinks an item in a lunch has nuts, they throw it out to keep kids with nut allergies safe. After this happened too many times I started writing a Post-It note on my kids’ lunchboxes whenever something looks like nuts but isn’t. And now the teachers can be sure the kids with nut allergies are safe and I can be sure my kids will be able to have their full lunch!
List of Lunch Items to Assemble
Making lunches takes a lot of thought… To help myself, each night I write out my plan for what I’ll make for each kid’s lunch on a Post-It note and I stick it on the wall next to my lunch packing zone. I do all the heavy thinking the night before so that on the busy morning I just run on autopilot and pack what I’ve already planned!
Packing for Sleepaway Camp
I am sending my daughter’s sleepaway camp trunks on May 29th so I’m in the thick of packing prep! I put checklist style Post-It notes on top of the piles of clothes and gear so I know what is in which pile, and what I still need to get. Then, when I pack the items, I put Post-It notes on the packing cubes that state what is in each packing cube.
For Travel
In general I always have Post-it notes with me when I travel. So although I’m not traveling right now, I will always pack them for fun ways to entertain my kids (when they were young they loved sticking these all over the plane seats and windows), to add notes to different packed items, to write reminders to myself, to use as a bookmark – there are tons of ways I use these when traveling!
UPDATING SPRING WARDROBE FOR EVENTS
The other thing I noticed during the start of May is that I forgot to prep ME for all the special events of Maycember! I’ve already been to two kid’s school open houses, a grandparents day, two birthday lunches for my friends, an orchestra performance, hosted C’s birthday party, and today I’m headed to music performances by A(6) and C(9)…
I have so many more events coming up before school ends (kindergarten graduation, school fair, final middle school project presentations, theatre performances!) and after the first week of Maycember I realized I did NOT have a plan for all the attire I needed to wear to each of these events! So I quickly took stock of what I have in my closet already (I have some great items like this dress, this skirt, this shirt, this bag, these pants, these sandals, these shoes, this hat) but I needed to order items to supplement what I have in my closet. I bought a few things that feel great (this skirt, this sweater) and I ordered a few more items that I can’t wait to try on. I feel much more prepared and comfortable now!
For me, when I’m stressed and running from event to event, if I’m not comfortable in how my clothes feel (both in actual fit and in being appropriate for the event), I feel very unprepared and it adds to my stress. If you feel the same way, and are currently rushing around and realizing the switch from cozy clothes to spring/summer event clothes is tough, don’t worry! One of the things I love to do as your Type A Mom friend is research and then create curated lists to help save you time. In this case, to help you with figuring out attire for all the different demands of the end of the school year, I made a spring/summer wardrobe update list (click here).
I’ve pulled out a few highlights from that list to show you below which will hopefully help ease your stress about dressing for all the events. I hope having all these ideas in one place saves you energy and time, and that you find items that help you feel prepared and ready to have a great time at every upcoming event!
For a list of all those items together, plus more favorites, click here!
I hope that putting these together saves you time and energy searching for the perfect thing to wear to each event. And, I hope that they make you feel great when you’re wearing them so you can focus on the event and have an amazing time.
Also, please tell me your fave ways to use Post-It Notes - I’d love more ideas for how to use my favorite items!!
Sending us all strength for this marathon/sprint to the end of the school year…
❤️, Amanda, your Type A Mom friend
PS: Since we’re all getting ready for sunshiney weather, we need sunscreen! Supergoop is my fave brand and they’re having a 20% off sale through May 18th!! Stock up now for summer days🌞 I bought sunscreens my kids can easily apply themselves: 2 sets of these 3 sprays, 4 of these big sticks, and we have this big pump by our door so kids apply sunscreen on the way out.