Do you lay in bed at night with a swirl of “to do” lists over your head? Get those tasks out of your head and on paper (or the computer) and get organized! Homeschool moms are the queens of multi-tasking and project management if we make the best use of our time. A half-hour of focused effort making lists and scheduling can get more done than an entire day of distraction and winging it. Take a few minutes to plan and rank in order of importance what you need to complete each day and you will save hours of spinning your wheels (playing catch-up with missed and forgotten tasks).

The usual mode is to have our lists (or phone numbers or appointments, etc.) on sticky notes, or notebooks, backs of envelopes, scattered all over the place, sometimes never to be seen again, or in a pile of chaos.

I use Backpack. In a nutshell, it’s a simple-to-use free web-based space for everyday simple organization like grocery lists, appointments, and storing information powerful enough for project management. I use it daily for all kinds of information (curriculum choices, recipes, contacts, chore lists, etc.) and my many projects. It’s like a spiral notebook on steroids. Here is a quick sample of a page used for shopping for homeschool books.

You can access it via email or via the web. You can create everything from daily to-do lists, grocery lists, as well as photo galleries, curriculum reviews, shopping guides, etc. You can organize your children’s school records and schedules, attach notes and files to pages, email yourself reminders, and much more. It allows you to keep some portions private and to share some portions with others.

Share your password with your family and they can add appointments to your calendar and/or things to your shopping lists.

Here are sample pages getting organized for a dinner party and a craft planner:

Click the link and take a tour. Get a simple version FREE and upgrade if you need more organization.

Getting the Most From Free Pages: BackPack Tips

The free account comes with five pages. Here are a few ideas to get the most from your pages.

1. To Do (divide by To Call, To Pick Up, To Mail, etc).
2. Chores (divide by family member).
3. Homeschool (divide by child or subject).
4. Shopping (divide by grocery, clothes, books, etc).
5. Bible Study (by reading schedule, word study, passages, etc).

Put all appointments into the calendar. Homeschool schedules, chores, and birthdays can be repeated (weekly, monthly, annually). Add notes and tags to pages to find things easily.

Do you have an organizational tip for homeschoolers? Share your favorite tip in the comments section below.

Visit my Heart at Home Homemaking Blog for organizational ideas, decluttering tips, and more.

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