This is my first year having a child in school. Although it’s only kindergarten, things can get pretty chaotic and disorganized thoughout the mornings. I’ll admit it, she’s already been late once because we couldn’t get our crap together. So I thought I’d put together a list of my 5 best back to school organization hacks.
We’re a few weeks into the school year and I think I’m finally getting some things figured out. After having one day where she was late I knew I needed to get this morning routine figured out. I have been trying some things out and I finally feel like it’s getting under control, and much more organized.
5 Back To School Organization Tips
Prep for the week.
This goes without saying, prepping always helps things run a little smoother. I have things I prep on Sunday to help make the week easier, but also have an evening checklist I run through. Sunday is spent looking over calendars to see what’s due, what lunches are being served, any special days (like hat, bike day…etc) and family meal prepping.
Then each night I prep her lunch, put papers to return in her back backpack and we pick out clothes to wear. Doing both a weekly and nightly prep has done wonders.
[Related: 10 Sports Bag Essentials For After School Sports]
Establish a morning AND evening routine.
This is important for everyone. It sets the tone every morning when they wake up, and in the evening. Our morning routine has been pretty much the same since the girls started pre-school. Wake up, eat breakfast while watching a show, get dresses (if they haven’t already) and then about 10 minutes of play time before leaving.
Evenings may look different every night depending on your after school activities. So just plan for those, and ensure your kids have time for homework, a little free time and then finish off with your bed time routine.
[Related Posts: Kid’s Bedtime Routine When You’re On Your Own]
Moms, and dads, stick to your routines too. Mine is very different from James’, but we always do the same thing to keep ourselves on track and schedule. Keeping your own routine is just as important has having one for your kids.
Meal Planning
Again prepping makes things EASY. Taking the time to make a meal plan and sticking to it is huge. It saves so much time and takes the guess work out. There’e no more wasting 30+ minutes to figure it out. Need help with this? Then check out this post
[Related: How To Save Time With Meal Planning + FREE Meal Planning Guide]
Folder System
Have a box with hanging folders in it. Each one for a different grade. This way you can organize all of the art work and papers they bring home. It’s nice because you’ll already have things organized by grade, and it keeps it off your kitchen counter and living room tables.
Create a Calendar
Whether you get a wall calendar, keep a planner or have an app…USE IT! This is the most important thing to have for everyone, especially once multiple kids have activities throughout the week. I can get scatter brained so I actually use a method of all 3 of them. I need my reminders everywhere to keep me up-to-date and on task.
There are so many other things you can do to stay organized for the school year, but this is just the essentials. After looking through Pinterest at all the articles similar to this one, I felt overwhelmed. There were so many tips, tricks hacks that I felt like a failure before starting because it was a lot of information.
So Mama’s, or dads, lets start super small with the basics. Once you get these down and in a routine, then maybe look at those other posts and start incorporating anything else you might want.
What are your back to school organization tips? I’d love to start building a list for Moms to reference to.
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