With two kids, both Andrew and I working full-time jobs, volunteer commitments, activities, etc life gets VERY busy in my house! I truly don’t know how Andrew and I would stay organized without the system we have in place. I know a lot of people are constantly trying to figure out how to keep busy families organized so I want to share what works for us!
How TO Keep Busy Families Organized
Have a shared calendar: This is key. I truly do not understand how people don’t do this. When Andrew and I started dating seriously we started sharing our Google calendars with each other. We now have our own personal calendars, the kid’s school events calendar, a calendar for kid’s activities, and everything that involves our family. This way if I need to schedule a Dr appt but need Andrew to watch the kids I know if he’s in an important meeting. Or if we have a date night, the kids have a school function, Liam has a soccer game, etc. It’s ALL THERE!
Talk about your plans: We also try to talk through the week each Sunday. If something important is coming up we remind each other about it. The day before something is going on I will also bring it up. For example “hey Andrew don’t forget I’ll be at an event tomorrow from 5-6 so you’ll need to get the kids’ dinner going.”
Have your calendar VISIBLE: I know some people have big whiteboard calendars or chalk calendars but since we keep our calendars digital as a lot of people do now, we use the Skylight Calendar. It looks like a digital picture frame but your calendar is on the screen. We keep ours on the kitchen counter and we are able to easily see what’s going on today, tomorrow, or even 3 months from now simply by toggling through the screen. It’s also great because there’s no need to erase something or remember to write something down, once we update it in our Google calendar it syncs. You can sync most calendars: (Apple, Google, Outlook, Cozi, etc.), and it’s truly become such a lifesaver.
Each synced calendar is color-coded, so it’s easy to differentiate between multiple calendars as well! A plus is that there’s also a to-do list, grocery list, and meal planning functionality that can all be managed from the Skylight App. Basically, it keeps everything in your life organized in one place so you don’t have to remember 100 different things. It’s a LIFESAVER for busy families! It is BEYOND easy to set up, sync, and manage. Even Liam loves checking it since he knows what his color is!
Plus it’s pretty aesthetically pleasing on the kitchen counter. If you want to grab a Skylight Calendar or a Skylight Frame use code NEELY10 for $10 off any order of $100 or more!
I know as moms we feel like we are pulled in 100 different directions all the time and that’s why I love the Skylight Calendar because I don’t have to feel unorganized. It makes me feel like I have my life together!
What is one of your best tips to keep busy families organized??
Thank you to Skylight Frames for partnering on today’s post. Thank YOU for supporting the brands I partner with!
I’ve never heard of the Skylight Calendar before! That’s such a neat idea! I don’t have kids yet, but my fiancé can be pretty scatterbrained, so a shared calendar is going to be a must! Thanks so much for the tips!
This is interesting but hard to believe because to keep a family organized is according to me is a very tough task. Anyways, Loved your article. Thanks for sharing!
Getting ready at first makes the whole day go smoother. I like to wake up earlier than everyone else and focus on just me before tending them. It makes a huge difference
I love all your tips. Keeping a busy family is never easy. One thing I can add is to have a place for everything. Designate a place for the kid’s toys, school stuff, and designate a place for everything.
At the beginning of each week, my husband and I sit down with our planners and learn what the other one wants to do. It helps us stay organized. Thankfully, it’s just two of us and it’s not super challenging to schedule around each other!
I’ve never heard of this calendar, but I love that it’s digital and syncs up automatically. I love handwriting things, but sometimes I forget or don’t have the time to write it all out.
I have a busy household. There’s me and my life as an American diplomat. There’s my wife and her life as a passionate advocate for childbirth and new parenting education. There’s my son and his day-to-day as a rambunctious toddler. We keep it all together by developing a routine. Mornings at the breakfast table and evenings on the sofa are important to us. Likewise, keeping a calendar of each other’s happenings is important. So much happens in such a short time during the day that it’s important to know all of what’s happening.
The shared calendars idea is genius! It’s just my husband and I and we don’t have that much going on (LOL!) but I can see how adding kids and THEIR schedules to the mix can get hectic. I’m all for organization ideas!
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Amazing blog! I really like the way you explained such information. And blog is really helpful for us.
I’ve never heard of the Skylight Calendar before! That’s such a neat idea! I don’t have kids yet, but my fiancé can be pretty scatterbrained, so a shared calendar is going to be a must! Thanks so much for the tips!
I need that calendar in my life! I feel like this would make coordinating my schedule with my husband’s so much easier just because it’s so visible!
Well, our family is doing none of these things. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why we always feel so disorganized.
This is interesting but hard to believe because to keep a family organized is according to me is a very tough task. Anyways, Loved your article. Thanks for sharing!
Keeping your calendar helps a lot. I used a shared calendar with my family so we know everyone’s whereabouts
Getting ready at first makes the whole day go smoother. I like to wake up earlier than everyone else and focus on just me before tending them. It makes a huge difference
I love all your tips. Keeping a busy family is never easy. One thing I can add is to have a place for everything. Designate a place for the kid’s toys, school stuff, and designate a place for everything.
That’s such a handy calendar! I love keeping everything organized. Thanks for sharing.
At the beginning of each week, my husband and I sit down with our planners and learn what the other one wants to do. It helps us stay organized. Thankfully, it’s just two of us and it’s not super challenging to schedule around each other!
I’ve never heard of this calendar, but I love that it’s digital and syncs up automatically. I love handwriting things, but sometimes I forget or don’t have the time to write it all out.
We are always so busy, it is a struggle to keep track of everything. I will have to check this out.
I love being organized, and keeping up with my busy family is indeed not that easy. I will surely check the skylight calendar for easy organization.
Great tips! We are all so busy that anything helps. We have a giant chalkboard wall in our house that we use
Talking about our plans as a family sounds really good and practical to me. That way, we can all find ways of fitting in, into each others’ plans.
I have a busy household. There’s me and my life as an American diplomat. There’s my wife and her life as a passionate advocate for childbirth and new parenting education. There’s my son and his day-to-day as a rambunctious toddler. We keep it all together by developing a routine. Mornings at the breakfast table and evenings on the sofa are important to us. Likewise, keeping a calendar of each other’s happenings is important. So much happens in such a short time during the day that it’s important to know all of what’s happening.
The shared calendars idea is genius! It’s just my husband and I and we don’t have that much going on (LOL!) but I can see how adding kids and THEIR schedules to the mix can get hectic. I’m all for organization ideas!
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Great tips! We are all so busy that anything helps. We have a giant chalkboard wall in our house that we use
Great tips! We are all so busy that anything helps. We have a giant chalkboard wall in our house that we use