Well, I blinked and it’s mid-August, which means it’s time for all things Back To School! I love the start of a new school year, both for the promise of fall just around the corner and because school supply lists have always brought me some serious, inexplicable joy. Whether your kiddos have been back in the swing of things for a few weeks already or don’t head back until after Labor Day, here are a few tips to help make this year’s transition a bit smoother:

1. Establish a shared family calendar and command center.

If I had to pick one Must Do to maintain school year sanity, it would be establishing a family calendar and command center. The shift from lazier summer days to all of the events and appointments and paper (so. much. paper.) that come with the beginning of the school year can be a doozy, so it’s important to make sure that everyone in the family has an easy way to stay on the same page.

Calendar-wise, what works well in our house is a combination of paper and digital: a a color-coded (family, work, school, birthdays, etc.) Google calendar that both my husband and I can access and update and a bulletin board in our command center/homework area with a more high-level family calendar (with only big events like weekends out of town listed) and classroom calendars provided by our boys’ teachers. Some people may swear by their planner or prefer a large chalkboard or dry erase board on the wall, while some may be strictly digital (Cozi is another great calendar app that I love), but the most important thing to keep in mind is that everyone should be able to, at a glance, know exactly what’s going on that day or that week.

Your command center setup will also depend on your family’s specific schedules and priorities, but may include things like:

List of meals for the week
Chore charts
Daily schedules/checklists (more on this below!)
Sports or activity schedules
Mail
Emergency contact info

Our homework station/command center is also where we drop any artwork or school projects that may end up in long-term keepsake storage. You can check out my post about our system here, but the Cliff Notes version of my personal stance on paper is to 1) manage it daily or weekly (repeat after me: no more piles!) and 2) to be ruthless in your criteria for what ends up in the Keep category.

The Joyful Sort - Professional Organizer - Columbus, OH - Blog - Back To School Organization

2. Drop (zone) it like it’s hot.

Whether it’s an entire mud room, a wall near the front door, or in the garage, having a specific spot for items like backpacks, coats, and shoes helps keep clutter from creeping into other high-traffic areas of your home such as the kitchen or bedrooms. Keep the setup as simple as possible with things like hooks and open-top baskets so that kiddos are more likely to maintain, and don’t be afraid to also include items that may seem slightly out of place if it will help streamline your out-the-door routine. We keep a basket in our mud room labeled “Stuff” for things like umbrellas and a lint roller, as well as any transitional items such as store returns. I’ve also incorporated things like socks, hair ties, and toothbrushes/toothpaste in similar drop zones for clients.

3. Minimize clothes woes by keeping things simple.

Please tell me that I’m not the only one that fights the sock fight every morning! Clothes can be tricky for a lot of kids and ultimately cause many a morning meltdown, but it never hurts to try and get ahead of the game:

Carve out some time a few weeks before you think the temperature will start to change for quick inventory and try-on session and keep a running list of needed items on your phone to stock up during sales
Keep a bin handy for any outgrown items and donate any that aren’t ultimately handed down to younger siblings or friends.
Store every-day clothing in easily accessible spots such as low dresser drawers or in a hanging closet organizer so that kiddos can take the reins when it’s time to get ready for the day
Spend a few minutes on Sunday picking out outfits for the week ahead and divvy them out using labeled dividers or baskets

4. Encourage independence in the kitchen.

Meal prep is a task that can easily fall to the wayside when things get hectic, but luckily also one at which kids are really great with helping out. Setting up kid-friendly (keep everything at an accessible height for them and use materials that aren’t sharp or breakable) cabinets or drawers for things like breakfast foods, lunch prep, snacks, water bottles, and lunch boxes is a great way to get children involved. As with any kids’ space, I recommend using clear bins or containers so that it’s easy to see exactly where everything belongs, as well as keep tabs on stock levels for things like snacks.

5. Wake up, be awesome, repeat.

Even if it sometimes feel like they’re fighting it tooth and nail, kids thrive on routine. Chances are that your child’s teacher has a daily schedule posted somewhere in their classroom so that students know exactly what’s expected of them and when, and I recommend taking the same approach at home, both before and after school. Visual cues such as checklists and audio cues such as timers set to a favorite song can help keep things moving without feeling like you’re being a nonstop nag.

Still struggling to get out the door in the morning without feeling frazzled? Take a look at your after-school and evening routines to see what you can realistically work in to better prep the day before. Our morning routine is super simple - get dressed, brush teeth, eat breakfast, feed pets - because I’ve intentionally put more weight on our after-school and evening routines and getting things ready to go ahead of time. Backpacks are emptied and incoming paper is sorted immediately after school, lunches are packed for the next day after dinner, and we always do a quick calendar review as well to make sure that we don’t need to add something like library books to backpacks before hanging them up in our mud room drop zone.