How to Get Organized for Back to School

Although I do know that back to school time is lurking around the corner, we {thankfully!} still have almost three more weeks left of our summer vacation. In all honesty, I do not look forward to the start of school. AT ALL. I love the relaxed mornings of summer vacation, the laid back afternoons, and the homework-free evenings.But back to school is coming whether I like it or not and, over the next few weeks, we will slowly be working on getting back into “school mode” and preparing ourselves for the inevitable.   With a little prep work and a few organization projects here and there, you can get your home and family ready for those busy days ahead!  Here are a few ideas to get you started off on the right foot…

Gradually ease your children {and yourself!} back into school routines.
For our household, there is definitely a huge difference in schedules between summer vacation and school days.  Both our eating and sleep routines are much more laid back in the summer.  During the last week or two of summer break, begin waking late sleepers a little earlier each day and start getting ready for earlier bedtimes.  Start moving meal and snack times towards school routines as well.

Create a central command center.  
With back to school, comes an endless list of school functions, after school activities, playdates and daycare.  Create ONE location in your home, to store a family event calendar and any messages/notes that you may have.  Whether you have a separate schedule/folder for each family member or use one calendar with everything on it is up to you.  Try color coding entries by family member to make things visually easier to read.  The most important thing is that it is easily accessible and that everyone knows where it is located!!

{Source: Just Buzzed}

{Source: The 36th Avenue}

{Source: Clean and Scentsible}

{Source: Interior Design Room}

Every family is different as to how many activities they like to have their children in.  Make sure that you are not over-scheduling yourselves and ensure that your kids {and you!} will still have some down time every day. 🙂

Have an evening tidy up.
I know that we are all tired at the end of the day, but taking a little extra time the night before to get organized for the upcoming day will be well worth it.   Have the whole family spend 15 minutes tidying up the house before bed.  While the kiddos are cleaning their room, you can be putting away a load of laundry or finishing up the last of the dinner clean up. It is so much nicer to wake up to a {somewhat!} tidied house!  Try putting a timer on to make it a little more fun and to help keep you focused – you will be amazed what you can get done!

Have clothes picked out.
As a Mom of boys, my kiddos have never really been picky about what they wear.   That being said, they have come up with some rather interesting clothing choices that have needed some Mommy intervention.  Having clothes laid out the night before makes for quick dressing in the morning and ensures that there are no morning surprises {like no clean underwear!}  Take some time to organize their closets so that everything is easily accessible and has a designated spot!

{Source: Clean and Scentsible}

Establish a Morning Routine
Anyone who knows me at all can attest to the fact that I am definitely NOT a morning person.  I have a hard time getting myself going in the morning, let alone having to get my two boys up and ready as well.  Having a set routine helps to alleviate some of the morning stresses and gives my kids clear guidelines as to what is expected of them. Write out a clear schedule and use pictures for activities if your kids are younger and not yet reading.  Our morning routine is pretty simple: make the bed, get dressed, eat breakfast, clear dishes, brush teeth/wash face/do hair, get back packs ready, shoes and coats.  Keep it is basic as possible.  I really like how this one has before school, after school and bedtime routines all on one sheet.

{Source: Honest to Nod}

Come up with a breakfast plan.
They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day and little kiddos definitely need some healthy food to fuel those brains!  Make sure that you schedule plenty of time for breakfast {we need 30 minutes} so that your kids {and you!} will have enough time to eat.  On days that I work, we stick to a very simple breakfast of cereal and fruit so that the kids can get their own breakfasts.  I am trying to branch out our breakfast menu on the other two days that I am off and have been pinning things like crazy.  We shall see if it actually turns into a reality!  You can find a great round up of breakfast ideas that you can make ahead of time HERE or checkout my Pinterest breakfast board HERE.

{Source: The Pioneer Woman via Yummly}

Get lunches under control.
One of my least favorite tasks of back to school?  Making lunches!!!  This year I have vowed to get my kids more involved in packing their own lunches and will be sitting down with them to come up with a variety of lunch ideas.  This chart from Rage Against the Minivan is such a great idea to give the kids some direction for healthy eating when they are packing their own food!

I will also be working on organizing one of our kitchen cabinets into more of a “lunch station” where all of the lunch supplies can be kept together to make things a little quicker and easier to throw together.

{Source: Uncommon Designs}

Making lunches after dinner {when all of the food is already out} rather than in the morning is another time saver.  Even just getting part of the lunch ready in the evening can save you a precious 10 minutes of morning time!

And if you are still looking for lunch ideas other than a basic sandwich, check out my Back To School Pinterest board HERE for tons of ideas!

Establish after school expectations.
I think most kids need a little “down time” afterschool but there are a few things that I expect when the kids first come home from school: backpacks emptied {including lunches and putting their planner/notices on the counter for me to read}, shoes and coat put away, and backpacks hung up in their designated spot. {By the way, this is apparently a lot to ask as I have to remind them about these things almost every day!}  We do not have any screen time {video games or television} until after homework is completed.  To make things easier, have a designated spot for everything to go and make it accessible to your kids so that they can do this on their own.  

{Source: Scatter Shot}

{Source: Better Homes and Gardens}

Set up a homework station.  
A homework station does not have to be anything elaborate.  It is just simply a designated space somewhere in your home for your children to do their homework.  It could be a desk in their room, the kitchen table, or a space in your home office.  Involve your child in the process of picking out where they would like to do their homework – some children will be able to work in a busier kitchen setting and others will need a quieter space.  

{Source: via Pinterest – unable to find original source}

{Source: Apartment Therapy}

Make sure that you have some type of storage for all of the basic school supplies that may be needed.  If there is nothing built in, look for portable storage units that can easily be transported around the house.

 {Source: The Container Store}

Attach small towel bars to the sides of the desk for extra storage space.

{Source: Interior Design Room}

Have a regular reading routine.
Regardless of the age of your child, a regular reading routine is always a good idea.  Create a comfortable area for your child to read and ensure that books are easily accessible to smaller ones – the more they can see the books, the more they will want to read!  Even older children enjoy having books read to them so take some time each night to sit with your child and read together.  If they prefer to read on their own, grab your own book and join them in some silent reading!

 {source: House of Turquoise}

{Source: Clean and Scentsible}

Be prepared for the paperwork!
Back to school also brings a ton of paperwork – from school report cards, to school notices, to the endless stream of artwork.  Some of it you will want to keep and lots of it you can look at and then get rid of.  For school notices, try to fill them out and return them back to school as soon as possible so that you do not forget about it or lose it.  For school papers that you would like to keep, create a file for each school year to place these in {this might include report cards, school photos, or other keepsakes from that school year}  I keep mine in a 3 ring binder but a portable hanging file folder is another great option.

{Source: Dandee}

You can find lots of tips for storing and displaying artworkHERE.

  {Source: Clean and Scentsible}

Hopefully some of these ideas will work for you and will help to make your back to school experience a little less painful.  There will always be some bumps along the way so just continue to re-evaluate your routine and figure out what works best for you and your kiddos!  If you have any other suggestions, I would love to hear them!

Good luck with your back to school transition!!! 

Want to stay connected?  You can always find me here…

I linked up with Six Sister’s Stuff, Thrifty Decor Chick, Kitchen Fun with My Three Sons, Live Laugh Rowe, Stone Gable, Flamingo Toes, Jennifer Rizzo, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Love Grows Wild, Home Stories A to Z, Under the Table and Dreaming, Craft-O-Maniac, Uncommon Designs, Lil Luna, Tidy Mom, Craftberry Bush and The 36th Avenue.