As a parent, we have a lot to do to get our kids ready for back to school. We need to shop for back-to-school supplies, plan out lunches for our kids, and then figure out how to get through the endless piles of paperwork that come our way at the start of every school year. So if you are looking for clever ideas to help organize you and your family for back to school, I’m going to share my tips and tricks with you to organize your entire life for back-to-school season.
Let’s Get Back to School Ready!
Do a deep clean and declutter of your children’s bedrooms
Before the school year officially starts, take this time to go through your children’s bedrooms. Give their rooms a deep clean, and take the time to declutter their closets and remnants of school years’ past. This can give you some insight into what you need to buy for the upcoming year and help your kids get their rooms in tip-top shape for the upcoming year.
We refreshed bedding with this terrazo print 5 piece comforter set (you may remember this print from our bathroom refresh!) and faux fur backrest pillow for doing studying in style.
Stock up on school supplies
While you can get notebooks, glue sticks, and pencils for mere cents, stock up on everything you will need for the entire school year, this includes everything from Clorox wipes to extras you might need later in the year, kid inevitably fills up that kitty-printed notebook.
Create a school closet
Create an area of your home that you can transform into a place to store any school items. A closet is ideal because everything can be out of sight and out of mind when school is no longer in session. Add shelves or cubes to store your child’s items, and then add a place for signed papers or homework. This is a great place to keep your school supplies and poster materials for projects, so you can easily find everything you need for your child’s schoolwork.
Create a homework spot
Designate a portion of your child’s room or the home that can be transformed into a homework zone when it’s time to do homework. This will make it super easy for your kids to get their homework done, and you can have a caddy or pegboard full of pencils, rulers, and anything else they might need at the ready.
Walmart is not just for your every day essentials. We shopped at Walmart for certain decor pieces to help spruce up her room and get her excited for the new school year. Walmart’s new Wow & Now section in select stories and online makes it even easier to shop fun and trendy Home items. This pink and gold chair was perfect for her to sit and do homework at the desk. It adjusts higher and low enough for her feet to touch the floor.
Whether you’re getting your tween, teen or college student ready for school, Walmart’s Wow and Now section will send her back in style!
Stock your freezer with easy weeknight meals
During the school year, weeknights can get pretty busy. Dinner becomes something that we need to eat as fast as possible before we head to soccer or dance classes, so it’s a good idea to have a freezer with some easy weeknight meals you can throw in the oven at a moment’s notice.
Create a command center
Create a command center where everyone can know what’s going on that month, and even consider color-coding your calendar for each family member. Put in any lessons, family time activities, and essential school information on the calendar. Put a basket for papers that need to be signed, and make sure that all the paperwork your child needs is ready to go.
Pack up your child’s bags
Whether your children will be homeschooling or going to public school, prepare them for school now! Set up their desks with all of their supplies, fill their book bags full of everything they’ll need, and gather up anything you’ll need to prepare your kids for their back-to-school days.
Create a school storage system
One of the best and worst parts of sending your child to school is the mountain of paper they bring home! From artwork to lessons, it can be a lot to manage over a school year. To help make things easier, create a bin to store each child’s work over the year. Then, if you need to reference something, it will be easy to find, and if they don’t need it at the end of the year, you can quickly get rid of it.
Layout their clothes for a week
On Sunday night, prepare your kids for the week by having them lay out their clothes for the ENTIRE week! This will make mornings and meltdowns at a minimum because they’ll have an outfit already there for them each morning.
Set up a lunch box station
Make lunchtime so much easier by having your kids use a lunch box station. Put all the snacks and other lunch box items in baskets that your kids can quickly grab to build their lunch each morning. You can even have them do this the night before if you want to save even more time in the morning! You can premake sandwiches or wraps for the week to make lunch packing or lunch time go even smoother!
You don’t have to be a hot mess mom at the start of every school year! But, with these tips and tricks, you’ll be able to finally get organized this year and take the school year by storm!
