____ August 1 Assess your sleep schedule. Most people need at least 8 hours of sleep to feel refreshed the next day. If you're not getting enough shut-eye, determine what you could change in your routine so you can get to bed a bit earlier.
____ August 2 Start a dinner co-op. Get together with two to three other families in the neighborhood. Each night, one family cooks for everyone in the co-op and the other families pick up their meals. Each family will have a few nights off from cooking.
____ August 3 Do any paint touch-ups around your home.
____ August 4 Go through your shoe collection and donate any pair you haven't worn in months.
____ August 5 Shred and/or recycle any old and outdated documents you no longer need.
____ August 6 Go through your kids' clothes closets. Have each child try on fall/winter outfits from last year. Put anything that no longer fits into a box and deliver it to your favorite charity. The closets will be all ready for the upcoming school season.
____ August 7 Bring back the good old days by dropping off a freshly baked batch of cookies or a fruit salad at a neighbor or friend's home.
____ August 8 Pull any weeds from your plant beds and trim bushes or trees as needed.
____ August 9 Add a little spice to your life by doing something you've never done before. Some possibilities are making ice cream, learning to knit or going sailing.
____ August 10 Deep clean each bathroom floor. Get down on your hands and knees and clean until they shine.
____ August 11 Begin budgeting now for the holiday season. It will creep up on you faster than you think.
____ August 12 Transfer any phone numbers written on sticky notes, business cards or your calendar to a paper-based or computer-based address book. In doing so, all contact information will be in one place and easy to locate when needed.
____ August 13 Swap kids. You babysit for a couple's kids one night, and they babysit your kids on another night. This way, both couples get to go out on an occasional date night.
____ August 14 Fill out and send in any rebates you have been meaning to get to.
____ August 15 Stock up on school supplies as soon as you know what your kids are going to need. Many schools provide school supply lists to parents ahead of time.
____ August 16 Go through your sock drawer and eliminate any socks that are ripped, torn, threadbare or dirty-looking. If necessary, do some shopping for new socks.
____ August 17 Do some dusting in the basement, especially if you use your basement as a kids room or to entertain.
____ August 18 Clean any inside windows that have smudges or fingerprints on them.
____ August 19 Go through any photos still in envelopes and put them into a photo album or acid-free box. Or scrapbook them! Too many photos to go through in one sitting? Then, just plow through a portion of them. Sorting through some is better than not sorting at all.
____ August 20 Get yourself a digital camera. Any photos you take can be stored on CD, taking up very little space. Plus, they're easy to share with friends and relatives online.
____ August 21 Let the sun shine in. Change those dark window shades to shades that allow the light to filter in, and wake up to the sun streaming in each morning. Waking up naturally sure beats that obnoxious alarm clock.
____ August 22 If you haven't done so in awhile, clean your makeup brushes to remove any built-up cosmetics or oils.
____ August 23 Bring out the artist in yourself by painting a picture. If you feel you don't have enough artistic talent, do a paint-by-numbers.
____ August 24 Split up your grocery shopping with your spouse or an older son or daughter. One person is responsible for the non-perishable items like toilet paper, paper towels and canned goods. The other person is responsible for perishable items like fruits and vegetables, dairy items and deli meats.
____ August 25 Keep a container of disinfectant wipes in the kitchen to quickly clean countertops, highchair trays and the sink.
____ August 26 Determine what you truly need to carry around each day in your purse. For a week, make a list of everything you actually use. Whatever you don't use, gets removed. No sense carrying around more than you need.
____ August 27 Go around your house and pick up anything out of place. Return it to its rightful home.
____ August 28 Make more room in your garage by getting bikes off the floor and onto wall-mounted bike racks.
____ August 29 Hold a magazine swap at your house with a few friends. Everyone brings a few magazines they are finished with and swaps those with other magazines that may be interesting.
____ August 30 Remove everything from the top of your coffee table. Clean it off. Then only return those items that actually belong there.
____ August 31 Sweep any debris from your front porch, walkway and driveway.
