5 Tips For Organizing Your Home For The New School Year

Have you heard of the phrase “Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance”?

Well, if you have never heard of this phrase please do yourself a favor…say it out loud today, write it down, and then make your whole family repeat it.

With the rush of the new school year fast approaching, now is the time to plan ahead so that our families school year routine can be efficient and easy.

---

photo credit: Chris Campbell via photopin cc

Children need a very defined structure, not only in the classroom, but at home to succeed.  We as parents have to take a planning approach to get ready for not only our upcoming busy schedules, but our children's schedules as well.  

Work, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, caring for pets, caring for the home, laundry, homework, etc. can all be a little overwhelming (especially during this back-to-school month).  However, good calendar enforcement and some organization can help make the ease into the upcoming school year a breeze.

FAMILY CALENDAR

Where do your family members need to be and who can get them there?  Sounds like a simple question – but it is really an important one to ask yourself.  Traffic in Austin is bad enough!  But traffic is so much slower during the school year than it is in the summer so make the needed changes now to your route to school and work in the morning.  (That extra stop at Starbucks could cost you an hour of your valuable time during the school rush hour in a few weeks).

---

photo credit: bandita via photopin cc

Share a family calendar with your children so they also know the who, what, where and when of all the family members.  This information will help everyone plan accordingly.

Lunch? Are you sending money or putting money onto their accounts or do you need to plan a time when lunch is made so the morning rush isn’t hectic? Dinner?  Is a family member in charge of cooking dinner?  Is Soccer practice the same day and time as gymnastics? These are all questions that require some consideration before the kids sharpen the pencils and open the textbooks.  Set up a family calendar and place it either in the laundry room, garage, back door, or fridge (a place where all family members can check it regularly).  Or you can even share a Google Calendar with your entire family on your smart phone.

Too Busy To Clean?  Let Us Handle It For You!

BEDROOM ORGANIZATION

When was the last time you spent more than 30 minutes in your children’s rooms?  Take a moment and prep your child's room with them.

From the drawers, to the desk, to under the bed:  remove, replace or reuse is the concept in this organization process.  Take some time with your child to really look at the items in his/her room and decide if it can stay or go.  If it stays, find a place for it together.  This way, your child will know exactly where to find each item and where to put it back when he or she is finished with it.  Hopefully, this helps your child getting ready for school and homework time be more effective. Teach them that you are making room for more items because, as they grow, the contents of their bedroom will increase if you don’t declutter.

---

photo credit: Ada Be via photopin cc

KITCHEN

It’s time to organize the pantry and fridge to make it easy when the kids are preparing lunches or breakfast for the school year.  Assign certain shelves for snacks, breakfast, and lunch items.  Place food within reach and keep that placement consistent - so your family will easily see when you are out of cereal before they actually need to eat breakfast. 

And don't forget to take this time to throw out many of the old snacks that have been shoved to the back of your pantry from last year's lunchbox stash.  You don't want little hands to grab expired items.  Your kids may just know they like the taste but may not be paying attention to those all important "best by" dates.  You don't want to start the school year off with sick tummies!

---

photo credit: Jason Whittaker via photopin cc

LAUNDRY

Assign a certain day of the week to wash laundry and add it to the family calendar.  This will help prevent the emergency, “Mom I need my gym clothes washed!” scream the morning of gym class. (We have all been there - digging through the laundry basket hoping that the clothes are wearable for just one more day).  Teaching our children the responsibility of their own items (even if they are not washing them themselves) is very important in their maturity.

---

photo credit: JStheoriginal via photopin cc

CARS

We as parents don’t tend to jump in the back seat often.  So take the time to pull the car into the garage and jump in the back seat and discover all the hidden summer gems your children have lost.  You may find a shoe that could possibly save you a trip to the store to buy a new pair. 

I hope these tips help you get organized for the school year.  I’m sure on that first day there will be many tears and many squeals of excitement (from both kids and parents)!  But with a little planning, at least at home you can make the smooth transition back into the school year.  So, get ready to have a productive start to the school year with Prior Proper Personalized Planning.

Do you have a routine or certain plans that your family has found extremely beneficial at the beginning of each school year?  Please let me hear from you in the comments section below.