5 Organization Tips for Back to School

The start of the school year brings a new schedule, additional activities, and budding demands on everyone’s time. Forget New Year’s Eve: the start of the school year is when parents often make resolutions to get organized! Getting ready for back to school may cause some stress in your life, but you don’t have to let school send your family life into chaos. Use these back to school organization ideas and tips to handle the transition with ease.

1. Create a homework station. Not long after school starts, homework follows. Get ready now by setting up a homework station. If your child has a desk, make sure it’s stocked with supplies and is in a quiet place ideal for focus. If your kids will be using the kitchen table or another centrally located space, create a caddy with school supplies that can be pulled out and placed on the table at homework time. Consider creating dividers out of cardboard boxes if you have multiple kids at the table. It’s a great way to minimize distractions during homework time. A homework station doesn’t need to be fancy, but it’s important to have a designated time and place for school work to stay organized and on top of assignments.

2. Set up backpack hooks or cubbies. Who hasn’t had their kids toss their coat and backpack on the floor the minute they come through the door after school? If you want to be organized, you have to stop that habit before it starts. Before the school year begins, figure out where backpacks and coats are going to go. Is there a place you can put hooks on the wall to hang them near the door? Or a cupboard or closet they can set them in? Make a plan now to avoid having backpacks cluttering up your entryway for the next nine months.

3. Create a morning routine checklist. School mornings are a hectic time of day in most households, and if you want to start your school days off with minimum stress, plan out a morning routine ahead of time. What time will everyone get up? Do you need a shower schedule? What’s the plan for breakfast? Will your kids lay out clothes the night before or choose clothes in the morning? Start talking about this now so that the first day of school doesn’t fall apart before it begins. If your child has trouble getting moving or staying focused in the morning, consider a visual schedule or checklist for them to complete.

4. Set up a parent inbox. One of my favorite back to school organization ideas is setting up an inbox for parents. This is the place for your kids to put any permission slips you need to sign, notes from their teacher, or homework they want you to check over. This can also really help with organization of papers like school lunch menus, PTA reminders, or anything else school related that you don’t want to lose track of.

5. Get your child a planner. And make sure they use it! Most students think they don’t need to use an academic planner because they can just remember homework, projects, and upcoming tests, but that will only work until it doesn’t. Student planners are extremely useful organization tools to help us manage our daily activities and achieve our goals. It’s like having an external brain to remember things.

Allison Green
Boston Tutoring Services