Can you believe it’s almost time for back-to-school season? We’ve already started to prepare in little ways here and there but it always creeps up on us fast so I want to share 5 specific ways to prepare your home for back-to-school season!
Yes, we have to prepare our kids but having organized spaces will help everything else fall into place.
ONE: Mud Room/Entryway
Now is the perfect time to go through items and purge anything that no longer fit and put away any items that are not in season. Our rule of thumb is only to keep out 1-2 jackets and 1-2 pairs of shoes for each family member.
No matter how large or small your space may be, ensure each person has their own space/spot to put their things. They should know exactly where to put their things when they come in. This also means if you have small kids to put hooks down low so they can reach.
Create a drawer with supplies to make your morning easier. This includes things that kids may forget upstairs: toothbrush/toothpaste, hairbrush, bows, first aid supplies, deodorant, etc.
TWO: Closets
Take a quick inventory of what your child has so you can remove clothes they’ve outgrown and order items they need before school.
Label drawers so that kids can find clothes easily and help put things away.
Keep school clothes or uniforms down low so that they are easily accessible. Put together outfits so your child can easily grab then in the morning (or even set out the night before!)
Only keep out the items that are right for the current season – to start the school year keep short sleeves, skirts/shorts accessible and as the season changes remove those and replace with long sleeves/pants.
THREE: Fridge/Pantry
Take everything out of boxes and place into clear bins. This make it easier to see what you have and let you know when you’re running low on snacks.
Keep mom/dad-approved snacks low and easily accessible to kids.
Create a lunch packing zone that includes everything a child would need including Tupperware, lunchboxes, water bottles, utensils, and mom/dad-approved snacks so kids can help pack their own lunches.
FOUR: Homework Zone/Desks
If you do not have a designated homework area, create a homework caddy or cart with all of the items you need (pencils, paper, scissors, etc.) so that you can pull it out as needed and then you don’t always have to have all of the items out.
Now is the perfect time to clear out old items from your child’s desk. Purge broken or unwanted items and clean the desk. Once everything is out, organize items together by use and store them together in bins or containers inside the desk so your child can easily tell where items are and where to put them away when they are done.
FIVE: Paperwork and Artwork
Create a place for papers and a designated system so that your kids know exactly where to put papers you need to see after school when they unpack their backpacks. Check out our separate blog post all about kids papers!
Have a space for artwork. We recommend a document box that looks nice and is big enough for artwork that can sit on the counter so that you can easily store the papers you want to keep throughout the year. Here is a list of our favorite office products.
Take pictures of bigger pieces of art, projects, and trophies by using apps such as Artkive which can transform your kids’ artwork into photo books or large pieces of artwork.
