Having twin girls starting the 6th grade is, err, challenging. To be polite.

For each girl, there is a new school, a locker, new friends, boys, and for one of my girls — Lots and lots of homework.

In our house, homework is your own work. Not Mom’s, not Dad’s, or brother’s or sister’s. It must be yours. And one of the keys to homework is organization.

Organization, however, is one of things that can be taught at home. Yet, it is one of those things that is so easily forgotten when we feel overwhelmed.

As I helped my daughter get her binders bound and planners planned, I recalled my own miseries earlier in the day.

This afternoon I was looking up from the bottom of a mountain of work, starting to feel sorry for myself. Just like my daughter did tonight.

And just like I showed my daughter tonight, I started organizing myself this afternoon.

Sure enough, I felt a load lifting from my shoulders as I listed out the things I needed to do. Somehow the act of writing down everything made me feel better.

Organization is like a wonder drug. We feel so much better when we put things in place. It brings us a sense of accomplishment.

But like all drugs, moderation is the key. Too much, and we spend our entire lives organizing, with nothing accomplished. Too little, and we feel miserable.

Of course, the next question is why our house is such a mess.

That much organization would be considered drug abuse.

Helped all three kids on how to organize their homework, and how to not be satisfied with just getting by. All organization was done in moderation, of course.