Getting Organized for Back to School

Back to school time is a stress for all involved.  We homeschool and I'm not usually stressed but two of our daughters are high school juniors and are taking most of their classes at a local college this year. They are in a dual-credit program that allows them to finish up high school taking college classes. We are very blessed to have this opportunity for them but the stress of college classes on 16 year olds seemed to be a tad high the first week.  

Part of the stress is the unknown. They are socialable, level-headed girls who are ready for the class load. One of the class locations is in our town  which is no problem. The other location is 40 minutes away which adds the extra stress of one daughter going off by herself to class. This is a good thing for her but as with any new situation, it increases the stress level. 


One of the biggest issues is how to get organized so that everyone can be prepared for what is going on and what is coming up on the calendar. Prior to this year, I've been able to follow the flow of the 3 girls schedules but that flow isn't going to cut it this year. I just recently tried out AboutOne which is an online digital filing cabinet to post and share with a specific group of people. In our case, we can use the digital family calendar to input the class schedules, travel time, work, study time, meetings,etc to keep up with what is going on. We have two cars so we have to coordinate this to make sure that there is always a car available for work and classes. 

I'm not the best user of digital calendars because I'm such a paper person but I know that I have to try this route this year or we will all go crazy (if not ALL of us, at least ONE which is me). This site might just be what I'm looking for to get me into the digitize age of planning. Even though it is a  digital filing system and more  It is very user friendly and syncs with other already established digital calendars such a Google calendar which is what the dad uses, faithfully.  

I do know that the though of getting organized or learning how to declutter is a HUGE stress in itself.  I'm finding that AboutOne is very easy to use and to input data. I love that you can easily upload cell phone photos and share them with a specific group. What you do this already with Facebook? Yes so do I but believe it or not I know a lot of people who don't use or refuse to use "fakebook" which drives me crazy when they call it that.  So if you have people like that, AboutOne is a great way to get those rebels included into the fun. You can create a "Bulletin Board" and post photos and updates and share. It really is impressive.


What areas of your life do you need to organize? AboutOne has these categories: Family Newsletter, Babysitter Instructions, Home Maintenance, Health History, Caregiver Report, Vehicle Maintenance, Capital Gains, Volunteer Hours (very cool) and Educational History. The Educational History is great for homeschooling. This will allow me to keep track of the girls actual classes for their transcripts. All this can be done online and some on your smartphone, email and iPhone app! 

Check out the video for an online organizer:



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