Soccer, Cub Scouts, Dance Class, Religion Classes… you know how busy your weeknights get. Here are three tips to save you time:

Tip #1. Put everything in one bag.

We have separate bags or backpacks for each activity. All the “stuff” goes in that bag which is stored in the kids’ rooms. So the dance bag has tights, leotard, tap shoes, ballet shoes, dance skirt, hair bow, and the card for class. The soccer bag has the uniform, socks, shin guards, and soccer shoes. The secret here is to put everything in one place so you aren’t running around the house trying to find everything, or trying to remember if the uniform was washed. It goes right back in the bag out of the dryer. Keep an eye open around September and October when the school backpacks go on sale, and you can pick up some spare ones to use for activities.

Tip #2. Plan easy meals.

Take a few minutes at the beginning of the week when you plan your meals and go to the grocery store to determine what days you will need quick meals and when you will need to take a meal along (so you don’t have to hit the drive thru again!). Some of our favorite quick meals are light hot dogs on whole wheat buns, macaroni and cheese, and cheese quesadillas on whole wheat tortillas. For take-along food, some of the Lunchables are healthier than others, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cereal bars/Kashi trail bars, and cheese sticks.

Tip #3. Pay by the semester instead of monthly, or automate payments.

My daughter’s dance class didn’t have an automatic payment option so every month, I had to make sure and get a check in the office by the 10th of the month, or we had to pay a late fee. After I missed the deadline a couple times, I found out I could pay for the whole semester at once and even save 10%. So now instead of 10 checks, I only have to write two. Check to see if you can get automatic charges to your credit card and take one more thing off that long to-do list!

With a little advanced prep, you can take some of the stress out of the kid’s activities–and actually enjoy them!

Last Modified : October 13th, 2007 Filed under : Kids Navigate : Previous post / Next post