10 Things To Do Now To Plan Your Summer: #SummerPrep2015

As I mentioned before, my family is in full swing of planning our summer. While some details cannot be hashed out quite yet, there are steps to take now to make sure that your summer goes as smoothly as possible. All this, while still fitting in all the adventures you want to take with your family.

10 Things To Do Now To Start Planning Your Summer: 

1. Sit down with your calendar and go ahead and mark any important dates. This would include traditional things like weekends away, birthdays, and even festivals. This will help make sure you don't double schedule. 
2. Go ahead and schedule doctor appointments, eye appointments, vaccinations, physicals, and any other appointments that are best scheduled during the summer.This gets you in before their schedules are filled, helps you not rush at the end of summer to get it done, and marks another thing off your list. 
3. Decide which programs you want to participate in. While you may not be able to schedule anything yet, making a list of those things and finding out when details will be available just helps keep you a little more organized. On my list right now is summer reading at the library, a karate workshop for Tbomb, and to see what the state and county parks have on their schedules that the kids would like to do.  
4. Start your summer bucket list. Grab a piece of paper, word document, app, or dry-erase board and start making your list of what you want to do with your family this summer. I like to have it where my husband can add to it. We talk about it with the kids and Tbomb has his own ideas. Our list is getting pretty long, now including a trip to Stump House, catching fireflies, picking blackberries, and fishing. 
5. Start gathering your family's must-haves. You may have to order some, and you really do not want to be scrambling on your out of town on vacation or on the way to the beach. See my list here. 
6. Get your household maintenance projects scheduled. While some things cannot be done quite yet and are reserved exclusively for summer, you can go ahead and put them on a calendar to get them done early in the season, making sure that you can enjoy the rest of the summer.  Some things are best to go ahead and get done now, like prepping the pool, planting flowers, and making repairs around the house and yard. 
7. Clean out the car and get it organized. Go ahead and purge items kept in the car and place inside what you need. Put in picnic supplies, blankets, a few toys, and activity kits for the kids. Don't forget to include the firstaid kit , extra clothing, and swimsuits. 
8. Think about routines. Even if your children are not in school, routines are important. Something about the summer distrupts them for everyone. It may be the weather, the drive to have fun, or the need to get outside. I'm not sure, but it does something to us. Go ahead and start thinking of ways to keep some sort of routine in place. This may be family breakfast, set quiet time, or chores at the same time each day. Just go ahead and make a plan for this. It will make your summer go more smoothly. 
9. Start gathering some activities for your kids to keep them busy. Even if you don't work at home, there are going to be times that you need them to keep themselves busy. This may be for making phone calls, cooking dinner, or a quiet coffee break on the deck. Go ahead and gather puzzles, games, coloring books, and other activities they can do themselves that will keep the kids busy. You can pick up many of these at Dollar Tree- that's where I got ours. 
10. Plan to have fun. Make a list of fun family activities that can be done anytime that life gets overwhelming or the kids are board. Other than this, know that spontenaety is fun and needed. Every moment of every day cannot be planned and our children are the most important things in our lives, so have fun with them while they are young.