5 Ways to Get Your House Ready for School

During the last week, I’ve seen several pictures on my Instagram feed of kids wearing backpacks, headed off for their first day of school.  So I know that a few of you have already started your school year, and many of the rest of you are anticipating it in the coming weeks.  If you have kiddos in school, the beginning of the school year is a time to put your best foot forward.  The kids are hoping that sharp pencils, shiny shoes, and that new backpack will be the key to their success….and we parents might be hoping that a big bulletin board, a nice file box, and a new calendar will be the things that help us keep up with the kids, this year!

It’s true, when it comes to keeping track of carpools, lunch menus, field trip forms, homework, backpacks, and shoes…..things can get overwhelming!  Every child you have just multiplies what there is to keep track of, so it’s definitely a family effort to get everyone out the door in the mornings.  (Or to get everyone into learning mode, if you are homeschooling!)  Making sure your house is organized in a way that contributes to helping everyone being able to get ready independently is a huge step towards eliminating some of the stress of the morning rush.  I hope these 5 Ways to Get Your House Ready for School will give you some ideas that will help your family during the upcoming school year.

1. Clothing

I don’t know about you, but it seems like a good chunk of the morning at our house is dedicated to finding the items of clothing everyone needs.  This idea from A Thoughtful Place for organizing outfits for each day of the week looks like a good way to save time in the morning!  (And I found even more great ideas for helping kids get ready in the morning at Tatertots & Jello.)

2.  Lunches

If your kids take lunch from home, making sure everyone has a nutritious meal packed and ready to go is a big job!  I like the way A Bowl Full of Lemons created a dedicated spot in her kitchen for lunch supplies.  No room in your kitchen cabinets?  MomAdvice shows you how to make a lunch station using plastic storage drawers.

3.  Backpacks

Backpacks, backpacks, backpacks…..anyone else have a child who dumps their backpack at the front door and makes a trail of paper, shoes, and pencils through the house?  Ha!  Well, here’s a cute idea from I Should Be Mopping the Floor for corralling some of the chaos with a chalkboard backpack station.  (Love that chalkboard for writing memos!)  Do your kids come in and out through the garage?  Check out this garage-friendly backpack station at I’m an Organizing Junkie.

4.  Homework

Having a dedicated spot for homework and school supplies is pretty essential to the success of the learning that takes place after school.  This pretty computer cabinet by Centsational Girl is organized and ready to go–and take my word for it, Craigslist is full of computer armoires.  For a more portable homework station, click over to Today’s Creative Blog.

5.  Chores

The 36th Avenue has figured out a great way to help the kids keep track of what they need to do each day.  This command station on the side of the refrigerator includes a way to keep school supplies handy, too!

These are just a few of the many ideas I’ve seen out there in the blogosphere to help families make their houses contribute to school success.  Now I want to hear from you:  what have you done that makes mornings easier at your house?

This is a repost from August 2014 but still has great ideas. Organization never goes out of style.