Getting Organized

The Savvy Source has been participating in the SlideShare Parent Toolbox, sponsored by Microsoft, where some of the web's most talented parenting bloggers have been sharing tips and documents to make family and home life easier.  This is one of our contributions.

This may be a familiar scenario for many of you: you've been asked to chair an event at your child's school, handed a binder full of information, and been set loose to make this year "the best ever!" Now what? You make some calls, round-up some helpers, and pore over last year's information. But putting everything together in a way that makes sense, that can be daunting.

At first you might try remembering everything (it's a small event, after all) or collecting all the bits of paper you've made notes on. But eventually that system fails you. A call is forgotten, a receipt is lost, a task left incomplete.

This year, try using a spreadsheet to help you stay organized. Excel isn't as complicated as it seems to be. You may want to use it just to keep your to-do list neat and orderly. And that's fine! The rows and columns help you to see quickly what tasks still need to be completed or which shifts still need to be filled.  You can also use it to keep a running budget. Just use the Auto Sum button at the top. If you have a long list of volunteers and phone numbers, you can use the Find feature to locate a phone number quickly or the Sort feature to re-alphabetize after adding someone new to the list. It’s organization with just a few keystrokes.

When you hand your binder off to next year’s chairperson, he or she will thank you heartily for keeping such good records and making it easy to follow in your footsteps. And that’s the best way to end the “best year ever.”

To download the sample spreadsheets that go along with this article, visit the Parent Toolbox on SlideShare.

Even better! We're giving away a copy of Office 2007 to one of our Savvy readers! 

How to win: Visit the Toolbox and upload your favorite, most useful Office document template; leave a comment on The Savvy Source letting us know that you've done so with a link to your contribution; and on Monday, November 9, we'll draw one winner from the comments below.  It's that easy!