Whether you have one kid or multiple kids in sports, it can get hectic. You may have multiple kids in house league sports, or one kid in travel sports. Or maybe you have multiple kids in travel sports (yikes!). Either way, it is busy and we need be organized. I have compiled a list of ways that I stay organized in our house.
A little background on our situation. I have two boys who are younger so we haven't hit the travel sports yet. The younger one is just starting to get into sports but my older one plays multiple sports a season. I honestly dread when he will have to choose because he loves it all. My husband works shift work so everything is on me basically every other week.
Here is how I cope.
Keep the sports equipment for that season in the vehicle.
In the summer, my son plays soccer and baseball. I have an organizer and in one slot was his glove and helmet and the other are the soccer balls. Gear like shoes and shin pads gets kept in a dedicated bin in the coat closet and the uniforms have their own drawer in the dresser. During the winter, in hockey season, the stick gets kept in the vehicle and the hockey bag comes out to air everything out - but everything is kept together for simplicity.
Before I did it this way, I had my toddler, t-baller in tow by myself and we got to baseball only to realize that we forgot his helmet! Thankfully, we only lived a few minutes away but I had to pack the kids back into their car seats, stroller folded back up and do it all again.
Meal Plan for the Week
I only meal plan. I am not a cook. I cannot just look in my fridge and be like yep I'll just whip this up. I envy those who can do that though. Every week, before we go grocery shopping, I sit down with my notepad and have my calendar in front of me. I base the meals based on if we are even home around dinner time. Do we have practice that evening? Those days in my house may be a take out or leftover day. I usually make meals that will last two days and I plan the leftover days around days I will not have time to cook.
Have a game plan for sibling entertainment
This is more geared towards the younger siblings. For mine, we pack a backpack. He might have a few monster trucks or cars (not too many so we can keep track and don't leave any behind), some colouring/sticker/activity books if there will be tables and chairs and over here we have ZERO shame in using the tablet. Last but not least - snacks!!!
Have a family calendar app
There are so many different apps you can use. I've tried a few but my favourite one that I have stuck with is FamCal. It is free and you can invite other family members to be apart of it. Every family member can be colour coded. If you put a new event in, you can notify other family members. It also has shopping lists so we use it for our grocery list. My husband might add something, or I can add something and it makes it so much easier that it is connected that way. I'm not that tech savvy with it (I just use it at face value) but you may be able to connect it to other calendars.
Delegate tasks to the kids!
This one is for older kids - I am not here yet in my journey. They're just responsible for carrying their stuff over here. Anyway the lesson here is have your kids be responsible for age appropriate tasks - filling up their water bottle, packing their bag, getting dressed. When it becomes their responsibility, they also have to take ownership which is good for them right? I'm not going to tell you what tasks are appropriate for your kids as you know them best but I will say to give them a chance. They may surprise you.
Take time to insert all the games AND locations in your calendar app.
Pretty self explanatory - but also make sure to go into the team calendar once in a while to double check that nothing has changed. I usually do once a week or two.
Be routine on game/practice days
Kids thrive on routine right? If you have a routine, it is easier to remember what to pack.
Take advantage of the sports team management app.
Many teams use these new apps now - all the communication tends to run through there if they use them so be sure to be on those.
LAST IMPORTANT NOTE
If your child plays summer sports outside, do yourself a favour and get yourself a big water jug and some cooling towels. These are life savers. Water bottles need to be refilled regularly and the cooling towels really cools them down (and us). This is what I use.
These are just a few things that I do to make things a little more simplified over here. Do you have any tips that I have not mentioned?