3 Tips to Make Back-To-School Time Easier
In this post: Learn 3 quick tips to make the back-to-school transition easier for your family. Get ready to rock the new school year!
As summer wraps up, it’s time to start thinking about buying school supplies and going back to school. Summer is pretty relaxed for our family while the kids’ sports teams and activities take a break, so it’s easy to get out of a routine.
Going back to school can be a rude shock to the system when ALL of the activities start back up, homework is a word we use again, and we have to start setting alarm clocks.
I am going to share a few things I do to get organized and make back-to-school time an easier transition for our family.
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How to Get Organized for Back-To-School Time
1) Take some time to declutter your drop zone before school starts.
Whether you have a mudroom, an entryway, or the garage, make sure you have a space for the kids to put their stuff when they come home from school. It’s a lot easier to have this space set up before school starts and ALL . THE . THINGS start coming home.
If you don’t have a place to organize their papers, consider getting some files or folders to contain them.
I have a folder for each kid to keep the informational papers handy (field trip, event info, spelling lists, etc.), but I also have a larger file bin for each kid organized by grade for the special papers I want to keep for them.
You can also read this post about organizing paper clutter to help set up a system..
If you already have files for the kids’ papers, recycle anything that might be in it from last school year, so it’s ready to go before they start bringing home more papers.
Have a place for the kids to hang their backpacks and store their jackets, and make sure to declutter any items from last year that don’t fit anymore.
2) Set up a family calendar that everyone can access.
Even my younger kids like to see what is going on each day after school, so having a calendar they can see makes things easier for everyone.
I am a die hard Google Calendar girl, but paper or dry erase calendars work just as well. The main thing is having it in a place where the family can see the schedule.
I use an Amazon Echo Show 15 to display the events from our Google Calendar in the kitchen. Everyone’s events show on it, and everyone can see it.
One benefit of using a digital calendar is if your family’s activities use an app for the schedule, they can usually pull in automatically, so you don’t have to work so hard to keep it up to date.
3) Stash some meals in the freezer before school starts.
Back-to-school time usually means back to activities. Those hours between after school and dinner can be hectic. Throw in sports and activities, and sometimes I’m tempted to tell everyone to fend for themselves for dinner (okay, sometimes it’s more than temptation….I do tell them that!).
But if you have some time before the crazy schedules start, set aside a few hours to prep some meals. I love prepping crock pot meals in gallon-size freezer bags, so I can just dump them in the crock pot or instant pot on our busy days. Here is a list of 30 freezer crock pot meals to give you some ideas!
I also love the Cook Once, Eat All Week cookbook to make meal prep during the week easier. I just spend a little time on Sunday prepping, and I have food ready for the rest of the week!
Give Yourself Grace
I hope these tips are helpful as you prep for the busy school season. Don’t forget to give yourself grace.
You can do all the prep in the world to try to have a smooth transition to school, and there will still be busy and chaotic days! That’s life, and it’s okay! You are doing a great job!
You Might Also Like:
- How to Simplify Meal Planning
- How to Create a Daily Routine
- Where to Start Decluttering When You’re Stressed by the Mess
