Prepare and Organize for Back To School
6 simple steps to get your and your family ready for the fall.
It seems like only yesterday that I was writing about my tips for Spring cleaning, and yet somehow, it’s almost back to school season already. I know starting the new school year always feels daunting, especially for families with multiple school-aged kids! But, don’t worry. I’m here to help you prepare for the year ahead in 6 simple steps.
Tackle one at a time over the next couple of weeks, and you’ll feel calm, cool, and collected going into the fall!
Summer Stash
Once you start pulling out backpacks, school supplies, uniforms, and other back to school essentials, you’ll need to make space.
I always recommend working on the summer stash as a preparation for the back to school season. Gather the pool floats, beach towels, and other summer items on a high shelf in a less prominent closet. You’ll still be able to get to them if and when you need them, but you’ll be clearing valuable space for the important items you’ll need to access every day come fall.
2. Fall Fittings
Here’s one of my favorite tips for families: Don’t wait until winter to try on your kids’ winter clothes and coats!
If you think life feels busy now, just wait until school, sports, extracurricular activities, and holidays are back in full swing! Take time at the end of summer to prepare yourself, and when Thanksgiving comes around you’ll be grateful that you did.
Take an afternoon to pull out the kids’ coats and sweaters and have an end-of-summer try on party. What’s fitting snug? Chances are it will need to be replaced by winter. Get ahead of your shopping so you can rest easy when the weather cools down.
Bulky, out-of-season items like coats and sweaters are some of the hardest things to store.
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3. Stock Supplies
Pull out the school supply list. It’s time! But first, go through what you already have to decide what’s usable and what’s clutter.
Check each marker and throw away any that are out of ink. Ditch any dried out glue sticks. Maybe you’ll discover that you don’t need to buy as many of the items on the list as you thought!
Or, maybe you do want to buy the complete list of supplies to send to school with your kids. But, you might have enough left over supplies to create a well-stocked homework station, complete with everything needed. Next time Charlie forgets his colored pencils at school, you won’t need to make an 8pm run to the store!
4. Family Formation
Organizing “stuff” is one thing, but organizing people, calendars, and routines is a whole different ball game. Before the new school year gets away from you, set up a clear system for keeping up with all the moving parts for your family.
I recommend a large calendar and a bulletin board. The bulletin board is for flyers, invitations, and notices that have a specific end date. That way, you can pull all the old items down at the end of each month.
The calendar is for keeping everyone’s schedules organized. Think baseball games, tests, carpool schedules, and more. Bonus points for a color-coded system!
But at the end of the day, the only thing that really matters is that the calendar is clear and the whole family can see what’s going on.
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5. Routine Round Up
As you get closer to the first day of school, you’ll want to start to outline what the morning routine will look like. Everyone should be clear on their responsibilities.
In my experience, the more you can do the night before, the happier you’ll be. Make sandwiches the night before so that the kids can finish putting their lunches together in the morning on their own. Lay out clothes so it’s one less thing when the kids wake up. Go through backpacks for any paperwork requiring signatures, so it’s not forgotten or rushed on the way out the door.
6. Snack Station
One of the most underrated organizing tips for back to school is to work on your pantry and fridge. Move all of the individually packaged snacks, fruit, and other lunch favorites to the lowest shelves so that your kids can play an active role in packing (or at least completing) their lunch each day.
A little bit of time organizing can save you countless hours this school year.
You still have time to prepare for back to school and set yourself up for a great year!
Contact Transformare Organizing if you need support.