Simply organized: Tips for every Survival Mom

For years I have been telling busy moms that one of the first steps to becoming better prepared for whatever life throws at you is to get organized. In a world of food storage, home defense, emergency kits, and lots of technical gear, my advice may seem out of place, but have you ever tried to respond to a household emergency and were unable to find what you needed?

The kid with the bloody knee needs some first aid, now!

But where’s that kit?

Hubby was in a car accident and doesn’t have his insurance ID card.

Now, where did that go??

(Can you tell I’m describing a chapter of my life?)

There are many products and books on the market to help families organize, but over and over I return to the most simple methods of posting a list on the fridge or taping a manila envelope inside a cupboard to hold receipts. I don’t want or need expensive products that are just one more thing to maintain.

Now, Post-it Brand, Scotch Brand and Command Brand have introduced their Home Collection, a group of budget and family friendly products that help organize paper clutter, routines, and the family calendar. When they sent me some of these items to try out, it was a happy day in the Bedford household, let me tell you! If there’s one thing that consistently derails my efforts at staying organized, it’s paper.

And, as The Survival Mom, I’m always looking for products that will help me stay one step ahead of the next everyday disaster, and yes, that includes a   kid’s bloody knee.

My favorite products with Survival Mom tips

One of the most useful products from the Home Collection is the Post-it View and Go Pocket. When my team and I got together to brainstorm uses for this see-through plastic pocket, the ideas flowed for a good 30 minutes. This pocket can be mounted on any surface, easily removed, and then re-mounted. Super handy!

Check these out these other  uses:

• Stick this pocket to the inside of your Grab ‘n Go Binder to hold photos and smaller pieces of paper.
• Use it as a catch-all when preparing for a trip to hold maps, tickets, itineraries, etc. and then take it with you as a handy place to keep receipts as you travel.
• Older kids could mount the View and Go Pocket on the inside of their locker to hold important papers they don’t want to lose. Since it can be easily removed, they could bring it home, and then return it to their locker.
• It could be kept in a kid’s backpack or locker to hold a map showing how to get home, contact information for relatives and others to call on in case of an emergency. It could also contain medical information for a child with a health issue or handicap.
• Parents could mount this envelope inside a kitchen cupboard to hold information a babysitter might need. The flap folds down to keep everything in place.
• Keep this in a glove box or the trunk of your car to hold important documents, including maps and emergency evacuation routes.

If I said, “I love the Post-it Grip Board,” 10 times out loud, it might convey how I feel about this little goodie! Remember I told you how much I hate paper? Well, after mounting this on a cupboard next to my refrigerator, some of that hate has gone away, a little.

The Grip Board is designed to hold all types of items, from lists to photos, receipts, mail, and my kids handmade birthday cards. Plus, it includes a handy note pad. What a great idea!

No pushpins are necessary to keep everything in one central location, and I can easily tuck some new piece of paper in between each little gripper. It’s a great place to keep birthday cards, invitations, and lists of all kinds.

The Grip Board would be ideal for holding the Family Preparedness Plan checklists found in my book, along with inventories of emergency supplies and your stock of stored food. As well, it’s the perfect place for holding emergency medical instructions and any other piece of information you might urgently need.

Organization is all about being able to find what you need when it’s needed.

Could you use an Idea Catcher?

It might sound crazy, but yesterday I had The Brainstorm of the Year (so far) while I was blow-drying my hair. Thankfully, my brain held on to that brilliant thought until I could write it down, but sadly, that doesn’t usually happen.

An Idea Catcher is what busy moms need, right?

Enter the Post-it Reminder Tile. This small, attractive pad of Post-it Full Adhesive Notes can be mounted just about anywhere, but especially those places where you tend to have ideas and then, they’re gone. I posted one of these inside my closet but other possibilities are the garage, laundry room, in the playroom or basement, by the bathroom mirror, or even by the toilet or shower.

Add the brilliant Command Clear Small Caddy, and you’ll also have a pencil, pen, Sharpie, or crayon (your choice) when you need it. If you mount this high enough on the wall, your little ones will have to be extra crafty if they want to borrow whatever you have stashed there.

(One of our family cats is constantly chewing on phone charging cords, so my son mounted the Command Clear Smartphone Station near his loft bed and just far enough away from the mattress to keep it out of the cat’s way.)

Busy moms always have lots on their minds, so between a handy writing pad, the Post-it Reminder Tile, and a place where a writing utensil can always be found, your grandest and most creative ideas will have a better chance of becoming a reality.

A place for lists

I live by lists and you probably do, too. The Home Collection includes several products that make it easier to keep lists of all kinds.

As the proud owner of a stainless steel fridge, I can’t put anything on it that requires magnets. As soon as I saw the Post-it Dry Erase Planner, I knew where it would go.

For meal planning and even grocery lists, I don’t need a huge chalkboard or bulletin board. I just need something small, posted where I can easily see it, to nudge my memory.

“Were we going to have chicken tonight or enchiladas?”

I’ve been using the Dry Erase Planner to keep track of weekly activities and the dinner menu. It’s small enough to post just about anywhere but because it isn’t labeled in any way, a Survival Mom could get pretty creative with it.

Bonus tip: Mount a Post-it Display Card nearby with its stick-able surface to hold recipes for the week.

The planner could be used to schedule gardening activities, household chores for every member of the family, a reading/homework schedule or keep track of medications and dosages. It’s divided into 7 sections, so you’re free to use those however you like in a way that makes sense to you and your household.

One final product that has multiple uses is the Post-it Planner & Perforated List Pad. Whatever is going on in your life at any given moment can probably be noted in one section or another of this pad. There’s a perforated list ready to tear off and take with you on errands or a shopping trip. And, if you have events, chores, appointments, and deadlines, those can all be combined on the handy, lined paper already divided into sections to help you stay organized as life swirls around you.

Sometimes it’s the small things

Sometimes just having a rubber band or a paper clip at the right moment is all you need to organize something. In the case of Post-it Brand’s Home Collection, these are small items, definitely within most budgets, but any of them can make a world of difference to keeping life sane and manageable.

A note pad posted here, a caddy filled with pens and sharpened pencils there, and pretty soon, you’ll be simply organized!

You can find products from this collection at www.postit.com.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. Additionally, I was provided with several products for testing purposes. The opinions and tips included in this article are original and are my own.