4 Easy Ways to Make Back-To-School Season a Breeze
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August 23rd, 2017
While the kids may wish summer fun could last forever, all good things must come to an end. But, the start of the school year doesn’t have to be a mad dash to reorder you and your family into an old routine. Say goodbye to hectic mornings and forgotten items with these four basic tips for back-to-school organization.
Everything needs a place.
In the first step to a peaceful transition back into school days, you might consider taking a little time to ensure that everything has a place to go when it isn’t in use. For some, this might mean redirecting all of the art supplies to a designated cabinet, or simply pre-arranging caches of pencils, pens, and colored pencils. Either way, no matter how much you have to put away, there are some helpful and easily obtained methods of organization that we recommend for the home:
- Tupperware bins
- Shoe organizers (for more compact items needed on the go)
- A Lazy Susan with cups assigned for writing utensils
- Open cubbies for binders and books
Break out the label maker!
When everything has its place, make sure everyone knows where to return supplies! Whether you have an actual label maker, or prefer to make your own, a friendly reminder can go a long way to keep everything organized and prevent losing important assignments or notes throughout the year.
If you want to make your own, we recommend using sturdy label stickers or cardstock and sharp colors for your pens or markers; just make sure the letters are easily read and won’t fade too much over the next months of wear and tear.
Hooked
“Where is…?” This is a question heard all too often over the course of a chaotic morning. Whether it’s a backpack, a jacket, or a raincoat, these items need their own place as much as any notebook or homework assignment. Invest in a few wall-friendly hooks and secure them in spots easily accessed on the go: next to the front or back door (depending on which one is most often used), in the mud room, or the hall closet. It doesn’t matter where you hang up baggage, as long as it makes it out the door and into the classroom. By hanging such things in plain sight, you and the kids have a built-in reminder of what needs to tag along for the day.
Save it for a rainy day.
Over the duration of the year, your family will accumulate all kinds of loose sheets of paper, half-used art supplies, and other odds and ends that you neither want to keep or throw away.
The solution? We recommend a filing system in your office at home or even in the kids’ rooms. The drawers are deep enough to hold larger items like art supplies just waiting to be finished off, but can also house documents like newsletters, book lists, field trip notifications: you name it! Just create a method and stick to it, and you should have no problem locating anything you need to reference as the term progresses.
We hope this helps relieve a few first day jitters, and if you find you need help with some long-term storage as summer turns to fall, contact us and we’d be glad to assist you!
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