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The slow days of summer break are quickly coming to a close. It's time for us busy moms to begin planning weekly wardrobes, coordinating schedules for all the extra-curricular activities, and figuring out how to make dinner while helping our children with homework. Anyone else already exhausted?!?!
As a professional organizer (and mom of 4), I understand the importance about making sure systems are in place to help make the day-to-day easier and more efficient!
Therefore, I've complied a list of tips that I have implemented in the past to make the school year easier, along with some strategies I hope to add on to make this the most organized year EVER!
Tip 1: Create a Homework Zone
Nothing is more frustrating than sitting down to complete homework with your child just to realize you left a key supply to complete the homework in another room. Focus stops and you have to go in search of said item.
Eliminate the stress of constantly searching for school supplies by creating a homework zone. Zones can be created using a shelf, a 3 - tier rolling cart, or a drawer like this one I created last year. It was complete with a space for the weekly homework to stay, pencils, crayons, scissors, glue, and sight word books.
Tip 2: Edit Wardrobes
AKA... declutter your clothing! Start now, before you go back to school shopping. You should go through clothing if drawers are overflowing and clothes are being shoved in the closet. You don't want to go buy a fresh wardrobe to mix in with past clothing. It will make the clothing situation overwhelming.
Donate clothes that your children have outgrown, contain stains, and anything that no longer serves a purpose for this coming school year.
For example, I recently did a closet cleanout for my children and here is a list of some of the items we donated: clothing my girls won't wear anymore, outfits my boys have outgrown (or really close to outgrowing), and soccer cleats and shoes that don't fit.
Take inventory of what is needed for the school year so when it is time to go back to school shopping, you aren't just grabbing anything you see in the store (or online). Decide on how many shorts, tops, pants, dresses, etc. are needed before heading to the store.
Print this shopping list below to organize all the back to school supplies you need to buy!
Tip 3: Create a Snack Zone
Whether the snack zone is in your pantry, fridge, or both create a designated area where children know to look for snacks.
Establish an expectation about when, how many, and how frequently they are able to get a snack.
Tip 4: Create a Lunch Zone
A lunch zone is important because this is where lunchboxes and lunchbox essential will be stored. This is where your children will know where to place their lunchboxes at the end of the school day (after they empty them of course).
Keep essentials in one location  to make it easier to pack their lunches each day. Essentials may include special containers, napkins, utensils, or anything else that may be used in their lunchboxes. Use a simple bin like this one to store the items.
Tip 5: Backpack Storage
A gamechanger for our family last year was adding command hooks in their bedroom so my children would know exactly where to hang their backpacks at the end of the day.
Backpacks no longer sat on the floor of the kitchen or living room until the next school day... Well kind of, there was still a great deal of reminding to hang up backpacks after they had been thrown on the floor somewhere.
If you have a mudroom or space in an entryway, hallway, or laundry room, that would also be a great place for backpack storage. Just assign a location for backpacks where your children are expected to return their bags once they are home from school.
Tip 6: Routines
Morning and afternoon routines are important for children. It creates structure and helps you keep a more organized home.
Examples of routines, depending on age, may include: homework time, screen time, dinner time, family time, bath time, bed time, outdoor time, extracurricular activities, or snack time. Set an expectation of when each should be done so your school year will run smoothly.
This blog could have easily been titled "Zones for Your Home" because almost every tip has referenced creating a zone of some sort.
But honestly, it is how professional organizers stay organized in their own homes. Being organized is about assigning every item in your home a place to "live." And by creating zones for children, it will help teach them the foundations of being organized.
I want to hear from you! Comment strategies that has helped you stay organized during the school year!
Hey! I'm Tiffany - a passionate, decluttering expert serving the Golden Isles. After having 4 children, I quickly learned how clutter causes so much stress in our lives and impacts our home in a negative way. And how having systems in place can help create a more stable home for our families.
That's why I am on a mission to help other families in Brunswick, Georgia and surrounding areas declutter and create systems that help their homes function with ease.
If you are interested in learning more about my hands-on decluttering and organizing services, click the link below.
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