organization Archives | Cool Mom Picks

12 smart personalized label ideas for back to school, from a completely label-obsessed mom

by Liz Gumbinner | Back to School Shopping, Tips + Tricks

With back to school coming up, I’m sharing some of my favorite personalized label ideas to help keep you organized, keep you sane, save you money (whoo!) and even keep the peace. Hey, parents of more than one kid! You know what I’m talking about. We have...

This non-profit creates absolutely free, Instagram-worthy room makeovers for adopted kids and foster families

by Kate Etue | Art + Decor, Doing Good, Kids' Furniture

Several months ago I stumbled on the work of the non-profit group Bloom Family Designs on a friend and fellow adoptive-mom’s Instagram feed. This organization creates beautifully designed rooms for adopted and foster kids — at absolutely no cost to the families....

How organizing our homes is giving us some control we need, with Naeemah Ford Goldson | Spawned 225

by Cool Mom Staff | Podcast

With a lot of insanity in the world, it may feel weird to talk about organizing solutions right now. But that’s exactly the reason we’re talking about it. We have so little control in our own lives — in the world — and it’s disorienting...

Our picks for the best 2021 planners for every type of parent. Which one are you?

by Kate Etue | Storage + Organization

Each year, we put together the best planners for parents, and 2021 is no different. But after the year that was 2020, I have to admit I’ve hesitated longer than usual to take the plunge. What are we planning anyway? Will our calendars start to fill again? Do we...

Setting up a study space at home for distance learning or homeschool: How to make it one your kid will actually use

by Liz Gumbinner | Back to School Shopping, Kids' Furniture, School Gear, Storage + Organization, Tips + Tricks

Right now, so many parents are trying to figure out how to set up a study space at home for the kids because hey! 2020! Whether your kids are going to be doing distance learning with their school, or homeschooling — maybe for the first time — I can only...

Creating a homeschool schedule: 8 different ideas to help you figure out what will work best for you.

by Liz Gumbinner | Kids, Tips + Tricks

Hi! Total homeschooling newbie here, and now here I am, trying to create a homeschool schedule — or some semblance of one — to help keep us sane. Um, it’s not easy. For background, I am the parent who thought I could wing it with newborn nap...

Beyond canned foods and toilet paper: A family guide to unexpected items to stock up on in case of a quarantine

by Liz Gumbinner | Health, Fitness + Wellbeing, Storage + Organization, Tips + Tricks

Let’s be honest: We don’t each need 600 rolls of toilet paper on hand right now. Not that that’s stopping some people! But after a really stressful week of a COVID-19 scare involving a quarantined relative in D.C., it did put the situation in stark...

How do you know when it’s time to move? And how do you make it easier when you’re ready? | Spawned 189

by Cool Mom Staff | Podcast

We never thought that a book about moving would be so enjoyable. Just thought thought of moving gives lots of us cold sweats! And yet, Ali Wenzke, who’s been called the Marie Kondo of Moving has authored the extremely helpful, calming, and yes, enjoyable book,...

7 of the best free printable 2020 calendars to suit any taste. And yes, we said free!

by Kate Etue | DIY, Storage + Organization

2020 is already underway., and normally we’d have shared our annual list of our favorite printable calendars with you for the year. But with some of our kids back in school late this year, combined with and some of the recent stories on the news, we may be a...

The top 10 Cool Mom Picks posts of 2019

by Cool Mom Staff | Editors Best of the Year

We’re so thrilled to be entering our 14th year publishing Cool Mom Picks. We know! We can’t believe it either. Every year, we share our top 10 most visited posts on Cool Mom Picks. While our gift guides are often quite popular, these represent posts from...

Hi! We’re Kristen + Liz!

Kristen Chase + Liz Gumbinner of Cool Mom Picks

We started Cool Mom Picks in 2006 to help make life cooler, more meaningful, and more fun for parents of all kinds.

Trivia: It was called Cool Mom Sh*t for the first two days. (Yeah, we rethought that.)

We had no idea our site would grow to become a major lifestyle network, that we'd end up sharing our finds with the TODAY Show and Martha Stewart, that we'd be able to make a real difference for so many small businesses and women-run companies, or that we'd end up with an incredible community of the coolest readers on the planet. (If we do say so ourselves).

We still love what we do every single day. And we're so glad you're here.