Back to School Organizing Tips

Let’s get organized before school starts!

Maybe you have a little kindergartener starting school for the first time, four kids attending different schools across town, homeschool co-ops to coordinate, or a student heading off to college!

No matter where you are in the back-to-school season, these tips are sure to help bring some order to your routines!

Three spaces everyone should give a little attention to before school starts:

1. CLOSETS

   1. Getting ready in the mornings can be a very stressful part of school days! Create a system that simplifies choosing what to wear AND keeps everything tidy.

   2. Bring this season’s clothes to the front.

   3. Sort clothes into bins for easy-to-grab options.

   4. Add labels for foolproof finding (and putting back!)

2. PANTRY/KITCHEN

   1. “What’s for breakfast?” - “I don’t like what you packed in my lunch!” - “We don’t have anything to eat around here!”

   2. Toss expired items.

   3. Keep snacks and easy breakfast options in kid-friendly locations.

   4. Set this space up for success and let your kids help!

3. VEHICLE

   1. If you drop your kids off at school, this is the last place they spend time with you before their school day begins! You don’t want those last few moments together to be negatively impacted by the chaos in your car

   2. Create a system that works for you. Have your kids take their trash inside each time they get out at home.

   3. Keep a container of commonly needed items in the console (hairbrush, tissues, stain remover, etc.).

In each of these places follow these simple steps:

• take everything out

• sort into categories

  • keep

  • donate

  • trash

  • sell

  • relocate

• determine whether you need any organizing supplies to help maintain your newly organized space. (I can help with this if you need ideas!)

• clean the space while it’s empty

• put it all back in a way that makes the most sense to you and your family

My most important tip is to start out by thinking back to the end of last school year. What part of your morning or evening routine stressed you out the most? Which parts overwhelmed your children? Start there! If you feel chaos in a certain area, your kids do too - they just may not know how to verbalize it. Let’s get it organized and regain control of your space! Don’t let your stuff stress you out!

If you need help creating a system or routine, I offer those services in person AND through phone and FaceTime consultations!

Lastly, if you need a way to keep up with all of your child’s keepsakes from each school year, consider a Milestone Bin from Shepard Organizing Solutions! You can find details on those HERE!

✨ Happy Organizing,

Paige