Weekly family planner (free printable)

This free weekly family planner gives every child their own column and every day its own row, so the whole week sits on one page on the fridge door. It is the simplest way to stop the week living in your head: who has what club, whose kit needs washing, who is being picked up by whom.

Use it however suits your family. Most people fill it in on a Sunday evening: run down each child's columns, add the fixed things first (clubs, lessons, matches), then the moving parts (after-school pick-ups, play dates, the night someone needs their kit). Keep a pen on a string next to it and let everyone old enough add their own bits. By Monday morning there are no surprises, and the question "what do I need today?" has an answer on the wall.

It works best alongside a tidy term calendar, so trips, INSET days and non-uniform days do not ambush the week. If keeping paper up to date is the bit that slips, Cyril does the same job automatically from your school emails, but the printable is free, needs no app, and is a lovely low-tech place to start.