Well it’s that time of year again when we are all feeling relaxed and sun kissed from our lovely summer holiday, yet the kids are back to school next week and it’s the last thing on our minds! It can be a stressful time for everyone and you don’t want to be rushing the night before trying to find everything in a mad panic. Getting organised now will save you time, stress AND money. Here are my 5 top tips that I think will really help you to get back into the swing of school life!
MEAL PLAN 
Meal planning before you do the weeks shopping will make all the difference to your week I promise! Write it up in an obvious place (ie: the fridge) for everyone to see. Make some of the family favs and try a few newbies here and there. No more “What’s for dinner mum?!” or screaming off to the supermarket at the last minute.
SCHOOL UNIFORMS
Start getting out the kid’s uniforms NOW…….!! Don’t leave it until the night before, whatever you do. Make sure everything fits, is clean and all the items are there and in tact. I find it is a good idea to have a separate place for school uniforms – either a designated drawer, shelf, basket, you get the idea. It saves time and stress in the mornings when you have so much to do already.
DIARY/CALENDARS AND WEEKLY/MONTHLY PLANNERS
Do you have your 2015 diary/calendar/planner yet? If you don’t have them yet, go and get what you need today! You will need it for all of the kid’s activities, appointments and timetables. Keep a weekly/monthly planner in view for everyone to see – it’s also a great idea to create one each for the kids so they can be responsible for knowing where they are meant to be and what they need to take.
SYSTEM FOR INCOMING INFORMATION
If you don’t already have a system for the constant incoming of information, art, certificates and photos, now is the time to set one up! Warehouse Stationery have great plastic boxes that are designed to fit suspension files – set this up so that each file represents a year or a couple of years (ie: Years 1-3) and pop their special school books at the end of each year/term in there. You can also have a separate suspension file for certificates and photo’s or just pop them in with their books. Special artwork can go into large art folders (also found at Warehouse Stationary) after they have been loved on the wall or fridge. A cork/whiteboard is a must for keeping birthday invites, school trips and important current information. Having it in a visible space means that it acts as a reminder to everyone. Then once the event has happened, remember to take it down.
CREATE A HOMEWORK STATION
Creating a place in your home where the kids can do their homework makes everyone’s life easier. Where do your kids like to do their homework? The kitchen bench? Dining table? Office? Living room? Wherever it is, you can create either a portable homework station, which could be a trolley, tray or even a basket, which you can bring out when needed then store it away when not. Or a more permanent solution, which could inside be a nearby cabinet, side table or empty corner. Stock your homework station with pens and pencils, rulers, calculators, rubbers, glue, scissors, paper etc, and an “In” and “Out” tray works well too. No more trying to find what they need in order to get the job done!
I hope you find these tips helpful – your comments are welcome 🙂 All the best for the school year ahead!
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