Recipe for an Organized Family Life

I know a couple who both work full-time, volunteer in the community, and have two boys, four years apart. The husband coaches his sons hockey and soccer teams, the wife is on the school Parent Council, the kids also sing in a community choir. Their family life is organized, the house is tidy, and dinner's ready to put on the table every night when the get home.

In my house, if the laundry pile fell over I might never be found. We had sandwiches again for dinner, the dog wasn't walked today, we still haven't found the time to go shopping for a new dishwasher, the sink is full of dishes, and I just want to read the next chapter of my book.

This is a recipe for an organized family life, not mine:

• Cleaning service, once a week.
• Fridge calendar with big empty squares to write in family appointments and activity schedules. The kids add important school deadlines--like projects they need parental help with. 
• Chore wheel. Cut two circles from cardboard, one about an inch larger than the other. Place smaller circle on top of larger circle and connect at the centre with a brad. Draw sections on the inner circle and label this "inner wheel" with appropriate chores for your family, like yardwork, trash/recycling, dog-walking/pet care, kitchen clean-up. Label larger outer wheel with names of each family member. When children are young, they "help" with their chore. Later, they're responsible. Turn the wheel every Sunday and make sure the chores get done. Research shows that kids who do chores have higher levels of success in later life.
• Shopping: Keep a list on the fridge or a bulletin board, family members jot down items as they need replacing.  Grocery shop no more than twice a week and during your "one big shop" buy the main menu items for six nights of meals. Leave one night unplanned, for take-out or left-overs.
• Backpacks and Post-It Notes: Pack completed homework and any other items needed for the next day in kids' backpacks and leave them in the front hall, ready to go. Do this together when they're small. To remind about other items, if parents leave the house first, stick a Post-it Note on the front door like: "Gym clothes in the dryer."
• Slow-Cooker Weekday Dinners: Prepare root vegetables for the next day's dinner during kitchen clean-up. After dinner, spend an hour or so daily on evening chores, like laundry, and bagging and labeling lunches for the next day. In the morning, one parent supervises breakfast while the other preps dinner. Put meat and peeled, chopped vegetables in a slow-cooker, half-full of liquid, turn it on, and dinner will be ready at the end of the day.