1. Haircuts & Headlice: When choosing styles for children consider things like ease of combing and maintenance as well as the possibilities of the dreaded ‘head lice' reminder note. Personally I can recommend Moov Head Lice Treatment by EGO, it is a 3 way solution and included in the range is a bottle of repellant shampoo to help stop lice moving into your child's hair. So when the note of risk does come home, simply wash your child's hair with the repellant shampoo. Remember, lice don't jump they swing like Tarzan from head to head and they can't live off the host. It's all about head to head contact. Moov is a natural product and smells lovely! So look for the bright green bottles in most good pharmacies and stock up now!
2. Summertime Lunchboxes: I personally loathe packing ‘summer' lunchboxes. For me, regardless of all the fancy insulated lunch bags/boxes and heavy ice-packs, trying to keep nutritious food cold and appetizing through the day at this time of year when kids are generally forced to leave their bags on racks in the sun is an expensive and time consuming chore. Have a kid (as I do) with allergy issues and you turn this problem up by another 50%. I suggest using the tuckshop whenever you can. If allergies are an issue become proactive -get to know your tuckshop staff and specify a quiet time when you can go in and read the ‘food labels' so that you know what you feel safe ordering for your children. For the amount of money you would spend on food for a lunch box that will only end up in the bin, believe me it is worth the effort. Want to purchase some lunch bag labels highlighting your kids allergy or dietary requirements with defined fields for writing information? Contact the Less Equals More website. A great product for school fund-raisers, have the school logo printed on the labels.
3. Change Room Lost Property: Especially at this time of year when ‘swimming' starts, more things get lost. With more bits and pieces for kids to think about, goggles, swim hats, swimwear, towels, socks. Kids talk and carry on in change rooms and simply forget their organizational skills (some kids just don't have any!). Don't expect your kids to know how to keep their act together. Have a practice run at home. Show them how to keep their change area contained, how to re-pack a bag and keep dry items ‘dry'. Do a simple thing like count the objects. E.g. "We took off 6 items of clothing, we put on 5 pieces (include towel)". If they can remember 6 items off and 5 on then in reverse that's 5 on and 6 off and back into the bag. For individualized waterproof sports bag or schoolbag checklist tags contact the Less Equals More website.
4. Record the year that ‘was': Usually by this time of year the school photos have been done. Maybe the school excursion or camp is due, winter sports are over and the time for swimming carnivals, end of school plays, parties and formals are happening. Either way, there is a better way to consolidate these memories check out My School Days from Milestone Press. Designed for the Australian school system from the first year of school (prep or Kindy) to Year 12. Simple, fun prompts to record memories like favourite subjects, TV Shows and friends. The pages form pockets for each year level to store artwork, stories, photos and report cards. I got a similar book to this when my child started Kindy and can highly recommend the idea for the simple reason that it forces you to limit the keepsakes to a manageable prioritized quantity.

© Angela Miller-Davis.

For more tips and ideas subscribe to the Less Equals More newsletter. Angela Miller-Davis is a Professional Organiser who helps people to find solutions for an organised lifestyle through her consultancy Less Equals More, Brisbane. Click here for Angela's Blog. Angela is a member of NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers).

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