[Note: This week's article comes courtesy of my colleague Esther Roberts. Esther's recommendations can help busy families stay organized--and can keep the parents responsible for coordinating those families saner and less stressed. Enjoy Esther's suggestions, and Happy Mother's Day!--Emily]

I am a mom of 3 kids (7, 9, and 13). It was really hard when the kids were really young to keep it all together, so time management skills was really important. Some things that I started when they were young, and have continued to do:

1.) Limit the number of toys. The less they have, the more they actually play with them. If you don't have the heart to purge the toys, then ROTATE them! Remember, the less they have, the less that needs to be picked up.

2.) Start chores from an early age. The age of the child will determine the chore, but so will the size of the child. For example, my eldest was always big for his age. He was the size of a 9-year-old when he was 7, so I had him taking out the garbage when he was 7 and that I added recycling to his list when he turned 9 and was the size of an 11-year-old! Even an 18-month-old can carry their plate to the sink.

3.) Do drive-throughs whenever possible, especially when the kids are in the car. Here in Vallejo we have a drive through: Walgreens for prescriptions, drycleaners, a convenience store called the "drive thru dairy", banks, and so on. Sure beats hauling the kids in and out of stores and in and out of car seats. Drive-throughs are especially convenient when the kids are asleep in the car and you still have "to-do's" left on your list.

4.) Plan your errand runs. Think of all the things that you need to do and plot them in a circle, with home being both start and finish to your route. By not zigzagging on errands you will save a lot of time, gas, and patience!

5.) Save clothes by weight, not size. Since clothes fit differently by manufactures, and shrink along the way, if you saved something by the age on the garment, it may not fit by the time younger children are ready to wear it. So I always labeled the box by the weight the child was when they grew into it and grew out of it. This worked out great for clothes under size 5. After size 5, I labeled it by size, not weight. For some reason the clothes became more consistent in fit by then.

6.) Plan dental trips as a family time. This is something we started when our first child was born. My husband and I would trade off holding the kid in the waiting room while the other one of us was in the dental chair. Now that the kids are older, I leave one in the dental chair, one observing while the sibling is having his or her teeth cleaned, and mom goes shopping at Whole Foods across the street with the third child. Kills two birds with one stone! The dentist calls me on my cell phone when they are done. Remember, merge errands whenever possible!

7.) Limit activities; it will save your sanity. We tend to be an over-achieving society. Kids are now scheduled more heavily then adults with ballet, scouting, soccer, T-ball, piano, swimming, and karate. Choose one or two activities per year. It really becomes ridiculous when there are multiple children doing multiple activities. Children need to be children. There is something to be said for a child playing with friends in the backyard. Call them deprived, but my kids do Scouts year round and swimming in the summer and for added amusement, they beat each other up to keep things interesting.

8.) Clean up as you go along. Sounds like a basic thing, but if people actually washed and put away pots and pans as they were done using them there would be less cleanup after the meal time is over. Just wiping down counters and stove keeps it relatively neat until it is time to actually "clean" them.

9.) Develop routines. I can't stress this enough. Children need routines, but so do adults. My evening routine includes running the dishwasher at night before bed and unloading it first thing in the morning. When I am off on this routine, dishes pile up and it becomes hard to play catch-up.

Esther Roberts is a professional organizer serving the Vallejo, Benicia, and Fairfield areas in Northern California. To find out more about Esther's services, visit her Web site, www.estherroberts.com.