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CTC Readers' Poll:
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"I
created a communication center that works really
well for our family of six. I took a small
corkboard (2 ft. x 3 ft.) and hung it on the wall
vertically. On the bottom edge of the
corkboard, I screwed in small cup hooks to hang
car keys. Everyone automatically hangs
their keys there as soon as they come in; no more
searching for keys! Above the keys, on the lower
end of the corkboard, is a large calendar with big
blocks where we write in everyone's activities.
And on the upper half of the corkboard,
we tack notices, sports schedules, invitations,
etc, that need to be kept for awhile. Everyone
knows to look at the board for important
information, and every month when I rip off the
calendar sheet to reveal the next month, I go
through all the papers at the top and get rid of
outdated information. The key is to train
everyone to put doctor appointments, party dates, sports
events, etc, onto the calendar as soon as they
find out about them. Whenever my kids tell me
about anything that is upcoming, I say, 'Write it
on the calendar!' That way, we never miss an
important event! I also keep a small container
hanging on the wall by the phone with post-it notes
and pens/pencils in it to make it easy to
write down phone messages as you talk to
people or listen to voice mail messages. Then
peel off and post near the calendar where people will
see them." ~ Linda
"We write
everything down on a calendar posted by the
main telephone. Appointments, visits,
vacation from school, pending due dates, or
anything of importance. My kids also
remind me of special days as they come up.
Very low-tech, but it works for
us." ~ Shaunna in ND
"For communication we use Google Calendar. I have set up many different 'My Calendars' for our regular schedule, homeschool group events, bills/paychecks, and church (and others). My husband and I allow our calendars to be shared with each others. It's great! Plus, recently, I have started using the Yahoo Calendar to set up reminders for myself cleaning reminders like change the batteries in the fire alarms, clean the wood floor, etc. This personal one is similar to Flylady, but it is only for me and I don't get all the messages that come along with Flylady -- just my cleaning schedule!" ~ Delores
"I
leave Post-it notes on the bathroom mirror
for my husband. I know he'll see them there.
In fact, there was one morning he kissed me
goodbye while wearing his post-it note on
his shirt. He put it there as his own
reminder to grab whatever it was he needed
before he left the house. Otherwise, we
communicate through instant messenger over
the computer during the day. I keep things
on a calendar and can send him
reminders." ~ Anne Marie
"In addition to having a BIG wall calendar up in the kitchen to keep track of this six-member homeschooling family's activities, my husband and I have what we call 'date dates.' We will regularly sit down with our personal calendars and make sure our calendars are synchronized. This not only helps us not book over each other's or the children's activities, it helps us talk through some of the implications of our schedules - transportation, meals, etc. It also gives us a picture of what the next week or two will look like." ~ Danielle"My
kids are young, so we use a printed out
calendar for the current month and post it
on the refrigerator. On it we list all of
their activities for that month. This is a
great tool. It gets little children used to
calendars, learning the days of the week,
learning schedules and if I get asked how
many days until we do such and such, I just
have them count the squares. It's a win-win
for my family." ~ Jen Editor's Note: Thanks to these readers for taking time to write! |