You’ll love it for:
•  Holding small items like pens and scissors
•  Hanging resusable grocery bags
•  Storing forms and paper the whole family needs access to

Cost:
Corky Wall Organizers in green or pink: $29.99
Wally Wall Organizers in pink or black: $39.99

Available at: our Amazon store

If you’re the CEO of your household, contact management is great for planning play dates (ie. make note of whose kids have what food allergies).  You can store information about all of your family’s doctors, favorite restaurants, and preferred stores.  Make a contact for each family member, including not just their phone numbers, but also their clothing sizes, favorite foods, and schedules.  Add the contact information of your children’s best friends and teachers, in case you ever need to get in touch with them.  

If you’re a student, start creating a comprehensive contact management system for everyone you meet, especially your professors, career mentors, and school alumni.  Adding someone on Facebook is not enough- you need to start storing contact information like where people work, new networking contacts, and important job references.  Make note of birthdays and addresses, so when you go to school, you won’t miss special occasions and you’ll know where to mail cards.  Start updating all of your contacts to include your friends’ Skype usernames, blog addresses, and Twitter handles.  Then sync your devises, so you can always contact people wherever you are.

And no matter who you are, what you do, or how old you are, start organizing all of your contacts better.  We all have different tiers of relationships- our family members, our close friends, our colleagues/associates, our acquaintances, and everyone else.  The sooner you start sorting these relationships into categories, and tracking these relationships (like the last time you connected), the more productive you will be.  Capture every type of information you can- their current employer, their LinkedIn profile, their food preference.  In the long run, this will help you network, expand your relationships, and stay connected.

Whether you are using your phone address book, your Gmail address book, or a simple Excel spreadsheet, it’s important that you’re managing your contacts. 

• Paying bills
• Planning a party or event
• Homework assignments
• Filling out your child’s school forms

You’ll love it for:
•  Busy families- you can make a section for each member of the family
•  Business owners
•  Every profession- architects, event planners, graphic designers, bakers, etc.
•  Taking notes in a meeting
•  Planning a wedding
•  Students- college, high school

Cost: $14.99+

Available at: Staples

You’ll love it for:
•  Keeping track of clothing
•  Labeling bins and containers
•  Distinguishing children’s toys in the play room

Cost: Sets start at $12

Available at: Mabel’s Labels

Get organized now with our Family Back-to-School Checklist!