Organizing Tips for August

This month brings us the back-to-school events, the end of summer sales and final trips to the beach and other vacation destinations. Planning for fall activities is a good idea, too.

There are two areas that benefit from organizing in August: school or office supplies and clothing closets.

Most stores have added inventory of school supplies for the little ones as well as teens and college bound students. You can also find a better selection of some items for your home office. Clean out items that are no longer useful or in disrepair. Make a list and try to find those things you need while there are good choices. For children, check the supply list created by the specific school or teacher.

Many states have a weekend of freedom from sales tax to help with school supplies. In Virginia, this is August 6-8, 2010. Many stores will identify covered items for you. There is a link for those items at the end of this post. Use Google to see if your state also participates.

Think ahead in purchasing children’s clothing. My oldest child grew 3” the first two months of his 9th grade year. The clothes I purchased early in August to get the best selection were too small in October. (This was before baggie pants were acceptable.)

If you plan on having a yard sale in the fall, begin planning now. Start gathering items that you need to move on, clean and price them. Young children have probably outgrown last year’s school attire. Take an inventory to see what you can sell or donate now. As colder weather and winter approach, you may need to take another look at heavier clothing to see what can be eliminated.

Go to Craig’s list or Ebay to determine a reasonable price for selling your items. In fact, you may want to put some of the items up for sale there now so they won’t take up storage space in your home. If you want to join with others in a sale, pick a date now that is good for everyone.

Update the family calendar with upcoming school and fall events. Create a file, folder or notebook for keeping the details.

Link for items included in the Virginia Tax Free Holiday:

http://www.tax.virginia.gov/Documents/Sales%20Tax%20Holiday%20for%20Clothing%20and%20School%20Supplies%20-%20Lists%20of%20Exempt%20Items.pdf