5 Organizing Tips for Back to School

The back to school whirlwind can cause chaos in even the most organized households. Between eating breakfast and packing book bags, making it out the door before the bus pulls away can be quite a challenge! This year, don't let yourself get stressed out. Here are the top 5 best time-saving organizing tips that will get you off to the right track at the beginning of school and will carry through the entire year.

1. Stick to a Routine

Kids do best when they stick to a schedule. That means going to bed, waking up and eating at roughly the same times each day. It also means sticking to a morning (and bedtime!) routine that has specific steps that kids take in the same order each day. For example, wake up, get dressed, eat breakfast, brush teeth, and pack book bag. Make a picture schedule for the routine and place it on your child's wall for them to follow each day.

2. Create a Family Calendar

Photo source: Pexels

Use a whiteboard to create a family calendar that will include all of your family's activities in one spot. The key is to put each and every activity for each and every person in the family so nothing gets left out and forgotten. Also include your family's meals for the week to keep everyone on the same page.

3. Reorganize Your Pantry

Photo source: Joanna Alderson/Flickr

Cut down on the lunch and after school snack hassle. Reorganize your pantry by placing bags of your kids' favorite snacks down low so they can help themselves to their own snacks. You can make the main part of their lunch (such as a sandwich, wrap, etc.) and they can easily add their own snacks to their lunchbox. Then, when they come home from school, simply grab their own snacks. Put cut-up fruit in the bottom drawers in your fridge so they can easily grab a healthy option as well.

4. Utilize Your Mudroom (or Make Your Own)

Your mudroom can act like a backpack station with all of the supplies your kids will need to bring with them to school, such as backpacks, lunch boxes, shoes, coats, and umbrellas. Keeping all of these essentials together in one place cuts down on last minute searches for missing items. If you don't have a mudroom, just make your own with a few hooks for backpacks and coats and a couple cubbies for shoes and other miscellaneous items.

5. Make a Homework Station

Photo source: Nick Amoscato/Flickr

Create a space in your home where your kids can do their homework. It doesn't need to be anything fancy, just a desk and chair in a quiet location in the home. Place all of the supplies they'll need at the station, such as pens, pencils (and sharpener!), paper, scissors, and glue, to help cut down on the constant questioning to you help them find their missing supplies.

Save yourself some stress and get off to the right start this school year with these organizing tips. Looking for more back to school help? Check out these easy tips.