As Summer draws to an end many parents find themselves frantically trying to prepare their homes for the onslaught of school-related clutter. You know, the almost-daily deluge of school papers, crafts, and projects that find their way into your home from August-June? Wouldn’t it be nice if you could start the school year armed with an arsenal of back to school organization solutions that are not only easy to maintain but are also inexpensive to achieve? Guess what, now you can!
By the way, these helpful tips for back to school organizing aren’t limited to families with kids in public school. Nope. Homeschooling moms can use them too!
Back to School Organization Solutions
Many times, the school year sneaks up on us before we’ve even had a chance to declutter from last year. As a result, the current year’s school clutter winds up getting lost in a sea of macaroni art and abandoned paper machè volcanoes. Without an organizational system in place, our children may find it difficult to get ready on time in the morning, locate the necessary supplies for a project, or even {gasp} complete their homework.
The good news is, we can set our children up for academic success simply by organizing our homes! {How I wish it really was that easy}. Well, we can at least create an environment that is conducive to learning. The rest is up to them.
The way I see it, there are five main problem areas when it comes to back to school organizing.
- Shoes, backpacks, and jackets get tossed on the floor as soon as kids get home from school.
- Clothing is not organized in a manner that helps kids get ready quickly in the morning.
- Children lack a well-supplied, distraction-free area to do their homework.
- Papers and projects are brought home from school and piled on whatever flat surface is available.
- Mom doesn’t have a system in place to deal with school clutter, after-school activities, and meal planning.
1. HAVE A DEDICATED PLACE FOR SHOES, BACKPACKS, AND JACKETS
Setting up a dedicated place in your home for your kids’ shoes, backpacks, sport’s equipment, and jackets, is key to getting your home organized for the duration of the school year. Otherwise, your entryway or mudroom will inevitably become a magnet for clutter.
If you already have a separate entrance to your home via a mudroom/garage, setting up a kid’s command center will be a piece of cake. That is…maybe you can eat some cake while you check out these awesome makeovers!
If your home lacks a mudroom or an attached garage, you can still set up a space for backpack storage in a closet or along a wall next to where people enter your home. The easiest way to do this would be to get a couple of coat racks, like these:
Grab an entryway bench like this one:
Maybe a few baskets for storage:
Whitmor Rattique Small Storage Tote (Amazon)
And you’re good to go.
If you’d like a more in-depth project, check out these entryway storage options:
2. ORGANIZE KIDS’ CLOTHES
Unfortunately, a well-organized entryway is worthless if your child can’t get out the door on time in the morning. That’s why it’s imperative you have a system in place for clothes organization. Piles of clean/dirty clothes randomly distributed around your child’s room won’t cut it when your kid is still in his pj’s 5 minutes before the bus is due to arrive. Additionally, we set our children up for frustration if their closets and drawers are jam-packed with clothing choices. Consider decluttering your child’s wardrobe down to only the essentials in order to simplify getting ready in the morning.
Once you’ve decluttered the clothes, you can then organize them so that deciding what to wear each day a breeze. The easiest way to do this is to get yourself one of these:
At the beginning of the week, help your child sort their outfits for the upcoming week. Place each outfit in its corresponding cubby and viola! You’ll never again have to hear the words, “Mom! I can’t find anything to wear!”
3. SET UP A HOMEWORK STATION
Does your child have a designated, distraction-free area they can retreat to when it’s time to do their homework? If not, you could inadvertently be setting them up for failure.
The good news is, setting up a homework station doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg. If you scour Craigslist, yard sales, or your local Facebook groups you’ll likely find plenty of desks on sale for next to nothing. Once you’ve found the perfect sized desk, stock it with pens, pencils, highlighters, paper, etc. so your child isn’t getting up every 5 minutes looking for supplies.
You can use the following homework stations for inspiration.
If you don’t have extra space in your home {or budget} to create an “official” homework station no problem! You can create a portable homework station for your child instead. Here are a few space and budget-saving alternatives.
4. CONTROL PAPER CLUTTER
School paper clutter is such a problem that I’ve written several posts about how to declutter and organize it. Whether you homeschool or have kids in public school, mountains of paper can add up fast if you aren’t vigilant about keeping up with it. {And let’s face it, who is?}
To get school papers under control, I recommend two things.
1.) An “in” basket {like this one} where your child places completed school work or papers he/she brings home from school-DAILY.
2.) An “action” file system which you organize and maintain on a regular basis. The action file can be as simple as a portable file box with hanging file folders labeled in a way that makes sense to you.
At the end of the school year, sort through school papers and projects. Keep those that make you and your child happy. Take pictures of and trash the rest.
Related Posts:
- How to Organize Kids’ School Papers And Art Projects
- Organizing Paperwork: The Best Ways To Organize Paper Clutter
- 4 Simple Steps To Declutter Paper Once and For All
5. SET UP A FAMILY COMMAND CENTER
If you’ve made it this far in the post without your head exploding from all of the great ideas for back to school organization I’ve mentioned, you deserve some “eye candy” before you go!
In case you don’t currently have a command center in your home, I highly encourage you to set one up. Having an area containing everything you need to make you and your child’s day run more smoothly is essential to getting out the door quickly each and every day.
Whew…So, what do you think about these back to school organization tips? Are you inspired yet? You can use these fabulous ideas to organize all five problem areas for school clutter!
Read More:
« How To Organize Kids' School Papers And Art Projects In 4 Simple Steps
» 35 Home Organization Ideas That Can Be Done In 5 Minutes Or Less
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