August is here and that means the return to school for your young ones. Shorter autumn days bring a hectic round of sports, activities and events and calendars fill with cryptic notes. The holiday stress will follow and a new schedule will interrupt your relaxing summer. Get organized now with these tips so you can have a great school year!

Ease the Family into a School Year Schedule

The first day of school is no time for a drastic adjustment of household sleep schedules. Instead, ease children back into a school year routine gradually. During the last two weeks of summer, re-introduce a school year bedtime. Begin waking late sleepers earlier and earlier, closer to the hour they’ll need to rise when school begins.

Don’t neglect mealtimes! Younger children, in particular, need to adapt to new meal routines before the school day demands it of them. Plan meals and snacks to accustom little ones to rituals of the school day before the school year begins.

Create a Calendar that Everyone Can Use

Each school year floats on a sea of schedules. School functions. Lunch menus. Scout meetings and music lessons. What do you do when you’re drowning in paper?

You’ll need a family event calendar to track after-school activities, school programs and volunteer work. Add specialized calendars and schedules, and you have it: a one-stop shop for family time management.

Form is less important than function. A paper calendar with large squares lets you enter information easily. Pre-printed white board calendars are easy to revise when necessary. Color-coding entries by family member helps keep busy lives straight.

Paper planner fans dedicate a planner section to serve as the main calendar, while tech-savvy people store the info in a smart phone or tablet and sync with multiple computers. Choose a calendar format that works for your family.

Post the family event calendar in a public place near an area that gets a lot of use (like the kitchen or living room). Use magnets to attach the calendar to the refrigerator, or tack it to a bulletin board. Add other branches to the calendar as well: school lunch menus, class assignment sheets, sports practice schedules. When the teacher calls for field trip volunteers, you’ll know at a glance whether you’re free to join the group on the bus that day.

Plan Before You Shop

August is the second-biggest sales month for clothing retailers. Back to school clothing sales begin as early as July! Are you prepared to run the school clothes gauntlet? An informed shopper is a savvy shopper, so prepare before you shop.

Take an afternoon and assess each child’s clothing needs. Empty drawers and closets of outgrown or worn-out clothing, and either store or donate the discards. Develop a wardrobe needs list for each child. Check for possible hand-me-downs from older siblings as you make your list. If you discuss the needs list and the family budget with your children before you shop, you’ll avoid in-the-store tantrums.

Similarly, ask the school for classroom supply lists before shopping for school supplies. Do shop early! With back-to-school sales beginning in mid-July, tardy shoppers have a tough time locating needed supplies among September’s Halloween costumes and Christmas decorations.

The school year always brings a large amount of stress with it. By utilizing these tips, you’ll be sure to ease into coming months without as many headaches as you’ve had last year. By planning ahead, you’ll make back-to-school time far more easier and you’ll enjoy it more too!

How do you pick one quality certified electrician out from a crowd?  You might ask for recommendations from friends and family. It’s also wise to check out the company on Angie’s List and the Better Business Bureau. Then you can read the testimonials and find out what other customers have experienced.

While all these techniques are helpful, one of the best ways to find a trustworthy Dallas electrician is to discover what certification and insurance they have compared to what is actually required to get the job done. Far too many homeowners forget to look into certifications and credentials, and end up hiring a Dallas electrician without the proper licenses. Here’s what to look for to ensure you’ve found a certified electrician.

ElectricMan is a family -owned and operated company with certified electricians. They offer complete residential and commercial repair and service for the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. The company is lead by a fully licensed and insured master electrician with several all-star journeyman-licensed employees and training apprentices under his watchful eye. You will find quality reviews on Angie’s List, and they also have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

To work with certified, licensed professionals on your next electrical project, please contact a certified electrician at ElectricMan today. ElectricMan is your trusted, local Dallas electrician with 27 years of experience. Visit the ElectricMan website for more information, and also find us on Facebook and Twitter.

Bryant Electric Service was recently inundated with calls the morning after a strong wind/thunderstorm blew through Austin.  This happens every time.  Although many calls were customers needing their power restored after tree limbs took down their overhead power line, there were also many calls wanting our service techs to come out to check their whole electrical system because of nearby lightning strikes damaging many of their home appliances and electronic devices.

With the enormous amount of electronics that are now being installed in almost every device that can be plugged into any power or phone/data outlet, it has become evident that having whole house power/data surge protection installed is imperative.

When lightning strikes it creates a huge static electrical field that, like the bolt itself, seeks the easiest path of least resistance to the ground.  The easiest path for this static current is your overhead electrical and phone/cable lines that run up and down your street and all of which connect directly to your house.  When this happens, it destroys the very delicate, low voltage instruments that are now installed in most appliances:  refrigerator, dishwasher, microwave, oven, coffee makers, washer/dryer, A/C and furnace, thermostat, garage door opener, sprinkler system control, etc.  These are all affected by power surges going throughout your electrical wiring system.  Then there are your TVs, computers, modem, hand-held charging devices, VCR, TV signal box, Bluetooth and your telephone, if you still have one, and these are all affected by the power surge through your phone/data cables.

If you are interested in receiving a cost estimate to have this protection installed in your house, please contact us at Bryant Electric Service and one of our dispatchers will be happy to help you.

Fun Fact: According to studies conducted by photobiologist Dr. John Nash Ott, overall academic achievement improved and hyperactivity problems dissipated when students were taught in classrooms containing full-spectrum lighting. *Full spectrum light fixtures emulate natural light from the sun. You can find many contemporary lighting options at Capitol Lighting that feature full spectrum lighting.

Supplying our children with the full spectrum light is more important to promoting their academic success than providing them with the greatest tutoring services in the world. Full-spectrum lighting should be standard in all rooms where children spend a considerable amount of time. Children’s bedrooms and study areas should be furnished with layered sources of full spectrum light, including dimmers, to accommodate their daily circadian rhythms. This promotes restful sleep, and allows children to perform at their best in school.

Full spectrum lighting from Capitol Lighting offers benefits for beyond the classroom, office spaces should be equipped with full spectrum lighting to promote maximum productivity and energy levels.

Visit a Capitol Lighting showroom to view contemporary lighting ideas in table lamps, floor lamps and overhead lighting. Capitol Lighting has the best selection of contemporary lighting ideas in the country. If there isn’t a showroom nearby, go to 1-800Lighting.com to view our vast selection. The experts at Capitol Lighting can offer you advice regarding placement of light fixtures, installation of different types of lights, and tips on types of lighting. Let their certified lighting professionals help your family reap the benefits of full-spectrum lighting for optimum health and mental acuity.