Back-to-School Organizing Tips for Parents and Students
Around the country, kids are heading back to school. The chaos of summer will soon give way to chaotic schedules for sports and after-school activities and all the clutter of homework. Our back-to-school organization tips can help you and students get off to a better start and have a great school year.
Our Favorite Back-to-School Organizing Tips
When it comes to organizing for the school year, our best tip is to focus on what works for you and your family. For some families, the dining room table is the perfect place for the kids to do homework, have a snack, and tell you about their day. For other families, a dedicated workspace for homework might be more effective. With all of these back-to-school organizing tips, we urge you to use them for inspiration but modify them to meet your needs. Of course, if you need help with any organizing project, we are here to help!
Get the Lowdown on School Supplies
Before you head to the store to get the supplies checked off your shopping list, gather up what you have left from the year before and what you bought on clearance last year and tucked away but forgot about. Once you’ve gone through your existing supplies, you can head to the store with a concise list of what each child needs to complete their list. We suggest avoiding the temptation to buy extra stuff now, because it will soon be on clearance, and you can save a ton for next year (or a mid-year replenish).
Homework Station
For most kids, a quiet workspace can make it easier to focus on getting homework done, but we know that sometimes busy families are cramming in homework and meals in and around sports practices, games, theater rehearsals and more. In this case, the dining room might make more sense. Either way, make sure there is a place where the kids can work effectively.
Entryway Closet or Foyer Organization
When the kids come home from school, it can save a lot of grief if they have an immediate space to take off shoes, hang up coats, and store backpacks for the next day. It can be as simple as a hook and a bin in the entryway for each child. Once the snowy wet mess begins, you’ll be glad you have a spot to catch everything.
Night-Before Rituals
One of the best back-to-school organizing tips we have has nothing to do with clutter. Instead, it helps alleviate that early-morning stress when everyone is trying to get out the door on time. Night-before rituals include the obvious things like bathing and brushing teeth, but it’s also the perfect time to make sure anything you need to sign to return to the teacher has been taken care of. You can also double-check that homework is done and back in the backpack. Finally, have the kids lay out their clothes for the next morning and put everything they need to take with them with it (except their cold lunch, which should be in the fridge).
Speaking of Cold Lunch
If your kids pack lunch for school, the last thing you want to do at early o’clock is pack and make lunches, especially if you cook them breakfast. We suggest making lunches the night before and having them ready to grab from the fridge on the way out the door. Whether you make sandwiches, put together a bento box, or pop in a Tupperware container full of leftovers from last night’s dinner it is so much easier to have it done and ready.
Keep Track of Important Dates
Steal some wall space for a whiteboard or big calendar so that you can keep track of important dates. We like a whiteboard because you can color code the appointments for each child or by type of activity. In addition to school activities and sports schedules, you can also add things like doctor appointments to the board so that you have a full view of what’s coming each week and month throughout the school year.
School Clothes
If you have not already done this, it’s a great time to clean out closets and sort through clothes. Get your kids involved in this project so that together, you can determine what they need to get started with the year. You don’t have to have everything they’ll need right this second. Focus on weather-appropriate clothes and shoes and make a list of what they’ll need to get through winter. Donate whatever they’ve outgrown (unless aa younger sibling is in line for hand-me-downs).
Routine
One of the best things you can do for back-to-school organizing is to get everyone in a routine. Once you have the kids helping do things like clean up their rooms and pick out their clothing at night, the days will go easier. Older kids can be charged with helping to keep the family calendar up to date, and everyone can do their part to keep helping.
Getting back to the routine of the school year is often a relief for families who enjoy the structure that it brings. But along with that structure can be a lot of additional obligations, so it can be really helpful to plan ahead and use some of these tips to make life easier.