September is swiftly approaching and busier times, such as the back-to-school season, can quickly spiral into what feels like chaos. This naturally happens when it comes to any drastic change in a schedule, and having children, especially young ones, means a lot of schedule adjusting.
Making sure the kids get up on time every morning, the lunches are packed every night, and there are no first-day-of-school meltdowns may not be our areas of expertise, but we can help make your space feel lighter and more organized ahead of time to take some of that back-to-school stress away.
Here are 3 cleaning and organizing tips that will help make the beginning of school a little easier:
1. Declutter Closets
Some mornings don’t go as planned—something that’s only made more difficult with an overflowing closet and stuffed-to-the-brim drawers that are impossible to sift through. Cleaning out you and the kids’ closets and drawers helps you start off on the right foot. That way, if you’re running late and have to fly out the door, finding a last minute outfit to throw on is a lot easier.
2. Downsize & Donate Toys
A new school year brings a shift in concentration toward learning, focus, and extracurricular activities. This makes it the perfect opportunity to pass along toys, games, and other items your children have outgrown to a family in need. Giving these belongings a second life not only supports local communities, but it also reduces landfill waste. When sorting through play areas, designate a clear area for items that are clean, gently used, and in good working condition. You can coordinate with local thrift stores, shelters, or community organizations to drop off approved items, or even partner with established regional pickup programs to responsibly clear out these belongings before the busy school year begins.
3. Organize Backpacks
Organizing backpacks, pencil cases, and lunch bags before the first day of school helps set a precedent for the rest of the school year. An organized backpack can eliminate issues down the road, such as missing flyers for upcoming school events, moldy food buried at the bottom of the bag, and the elusive report card that never made it home. So, start the year off by designating different parts of the backpack for different functions (agenda, lunchbag, pencil case, take-home materials, etc). Everything has a place and there’s a place for everything. It will save you the headache later!
Hopefully these back-to-school organizing tips will help you this upcoming school year. Here’s to getting September off to a great start—good luck, everyone!
