Back to School without the stress: Organisation hacks for busy families

The dreaded back to school period is almost upon us and so I wanted to share how we can get back to school without the stress and share my top 3 organisation hacks for busy families.

Weekly outfit plan

1)     Outfit plan for the week – so rather than having a panic every morning for the kids to get dressed and not being able to locate what they need we start by labelling hangers with the days of the week. Then spend 15 minutes prepping for the week on a Sunday evening there will be no more panic on the rushed mornings. Kids of all school going ages can help pull together outfits – whether they wear a uniform or not by having the week’s clothes hanging ready to go in the wardrobe takes away some of the morning stress.

Homework station

2)     Homework station – We have had a homework station in our house since the kids started school and let me tell you it is a game changer. We have implemented in so many of our clients’ homes also. All of the stationary that they need is held in one box; pencils, crayons, ruler, markers, coins for maths, spare copybooks and they are ready to focus on homework and get it done. Then we can get onto the fun stuff in the afternoon!

3)     Activity station – Our kids all have a million afterschool sports and activities - from football to dance, gymnastics to swimming and each needs different equipment. So, by utilising a clear drawer storage system and labelling one drawer per activity – also including the schedule and location if you are feeling extra organised – it helps to ensure everything has a place and that the kids know and can access the storage. This was it allows them to start taking responsibility for both packing up their bags to take to the activity and putting those items back in the relevant drawers once the activity has ended. Put back, not down is one of my top maintenance rules to keeping your home organised so introduce this concept early and often to your kids.

So, these are the top 3 tips but there are so many ways you can implement easy, organised systems for the whole family. I cannot say enough label, label, label!! Use different coloured tapes if a colour code system would work better for your non-readers. You can pick up label makers in most large electronics or technology stores. They sometimes even pop up in some well known middle aisles!

Make stations where it is a homework station, or a hair station, an art station – whatever systems will help your day run more smoothly. Think of your morning pain point and how one or some of the above systems could help solve it for you.

Name tag labels

Label maker

Hair station

Let me know how you get one getting prepped for back to school and if there are any questions pop them in the comments below or reach out to me via email hazel@thehomereset.ie or through my Instagram page - https://www.instagram.com/thehomereset.ie/