Summertime, and the livin’ is easy… Wait, what? I guess the kids didn’t get that memo. So, what do you do now that the temperature is rising and along with it, your wanderlust? Watch this video and start singing a new tune and enjoying your endless summer.
(Click here to watch on YouTube if you can’t see the embedded player. Or watch the video at http://bit.ly/tcdsummer.)
Transcript:
Hi I’m Lorie Marrero, creator of the Clutter Diet book and online program. Today, we’re talking about planning the ultimate summer. I have 11 questions to ask yourself so that you can have a hassle-free summer.
First, let’s talk about getting away from it all– travel plans– have you asked off properly for the time off you need from work? Make sure you get the requisitions in at the right time to make that happen. Also, have you done all of your travel arrangements? It’s getting that time of year where the reservations start filling up and the prices go up, make sure you buy plane tickets and make hotel reservations right now.
Another question: Do you know where your passport is? This can be a big surprise for people when they get ready to go out of the country. They think they know where their passport is, and they don’t, or they think that their passport is current, and it’s expired. Make sure you look at your passport right now and find out if it’s current.
Also, have you made your arrangements for house care, pet care, and child care, all that you’re going to need to do go on your summer vacation? You may also need to make child care arrangements for just your regular work schedule since the kids are out of school. Also, with the kids, do you have a summer routine figured out? What’s their new bedtime going to be? How can you give them a little bit of routine like regular meal times and bath times, but still make it feel a little more relaxed for the summer?
Do you have a plan for the kitchen? With the kids running around the house a little bit more often, you might have a lot of extra dishes that are being used; you might need to keep extra snacks around.
Do you have agreements and understandings and rules with your kids around, going to the neighborhood pool, the park, neighbors’ or friends’ houses? Maybe they like to have friends over to spend the night- how often are you going to allow that? Make sure you’ve had those conversations with your kids and that you both know how to communicate the best way about all of those fun things.
You may need a place for swimming gear. Establish a home for those things so that the drippy wet towels don’t get mildewed and all over the house. You may have baseball equipment or other kinds of sports equipment too. Make sure there’s a home for that stuff.
Do you have your paperwork done for the kids’ summer camps? Usually, there’s a lot of paperwork to do, and sometimes that entails a physical appointment with your doctor. Make sure you’ve got that appointment on the calendar. And if you need to buy special gear for camp, maybe you need to have a trunk or iron-on labels with your child’s name on them. When my kids went to summer camp, we had to label every single sock and every pair of underwear and every item they brought with them. It took a little time to sit there and iron all those on, and I needed to order the labels.
Ask yourself what you need to do if you’re having visitors this summer. People may be traveling to you, and you may need to entertain them. Do you have arrangements made for that? Maybe you need to dust off the welcome mat and put some fresh flowers out in the front and clean up the guest room. You might need to figure out some activities for them to do.
Most importantly, I want you to take this challenge. Take action today doing one thing to move some of these things forward. Take the time to make one phone call, or do one thing. Share that with us in the comments, and also share with us any tips that you might have for having a smooth summer with your kids.
We’ll see you next time, and may you always be happy and grateful for having more than enough.
You may have been searching for how to prepare for summer break or tips to stay stress free through vacation.
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