When you hit adulthood, you realize you are on your own and are now responsible for all your own scheduled appointments, deadlines, and maintenance cycles for all the things that make life comfortable.

When you hit parenthood, you realize that not only are you responsible for all your own dates and times, but somehow you become responsible for the whole family’s dates as well. And that somehow, when mummy parts and daddy parts meet and have those feelings, the end result never includes an accompanying expand-o-file for all the paperwork.

We are starting up a new school year in a little over a week, and this time, I’m staying on top of things. I have blogged before about the organizational wall. It became a Wall of Shame a few months ago when a roof leak required some drywall surgery and I lost my corkboard tiles. My dry-erase board had to come down as well, but it was salvageable.

Still, I was left without a wall, and it sent my world a-spinning. So I thought I might try a new, more portable system. And…it’s paper-based. I know, I know. Shocking. But I’m carrying it around in my purse and making a habit of looking at it at least once a day.

If it doesn’t work out, I will change systems, because the point of this blog post is that being Chief Organizer is a tough job, and one that most parents forget to give themselves credit for. It could also be a full-time job in itself, so don’t feel bad if you have to try a few different ways to keep that job running smoothly.