Home Organization – Keep Your School Days Smooth
Home organization is the most important thing you can do to help your days go more smoothly if you have kids, especially when those kids are in school. Between rushing the kids off to school trying to get homework finished and getting the kiddos into bed on time, home organization makes a huge job a little less chaotic.
Home Organization Steps to Make it All Easier
Having kids is chaotic enough, so anything we as parents can do to make the environment a little less chaotic is a good thing. Theh key to making things run more smoothly is home organization.
Breakfast
Next to getting the kids out the door, breakfast time is one of the most hectic parts of the morning. You can stay organized by serving the kids easy and healthy breakfasts like packaged oatmeal, whole grain English muffins, or microwaveable breakfast options. All of these will make sure the kids get a good breakfast that’s also fast.
A School Station
I mentioned getting the kids off to school, and it’s one area where home organization is so important. You can cut the rush and the stress by having a school station set up next to the door. A cabinet area to store shoes, book bags, and any other related school items will allow you to get the kids – and all of their stuff – off to school in a jiff. My friend Margarita Ibbott over at DownshiftingPro calls it the launch pad. Some people have a mud room that’s dedicated as the space for books, backpacks and shoes.
Clothes and Lunches
To lessen the chaos of the morning, get one thing out of the way the night before. Planning ahead is what home organization for school is all about.
If you can, make school lunches the night before. If you send chips, veggies, or fruit to school with your kids, put those items in little resealable bags the night before. That way in the morning, all you have to do is throw together a sandwich and you’re done. I actually typically make sure the kids do their lunches the night before school to avoid the morning chaos.
For clothing, pick outfits and lay them out the night before. That includes socks, hats, and any other accessories. That way, the kids can get up, make the bed, and get into their school clothes lickity split. No more, “Mo-OOOOMMMM, have you seen my – whatever.”
A Homework Station
As important as home organization is to getting the kids to school, it’s equally important for after school. It’s far easier to do homework in a well organized environment, so consider making a homework station. It doesn’t have to be a fancy desk with lots of shelves. It can be any place that’s specifically designated for homework. That way, it’s always nice and neat and ready to go. The simplest homework station is just a table with a comfy chair and a small desk organizer with pencils, crayons, and other homework necessities.
Scheduling
Home organization is more than just having everything in its place. It’s also about time management. Scheduling is one of the best ways to implement a plan of home organization for school. If its possible, make specific times for dinner, homework, play time, bath time, and bed time. If you’re running on a well oiled schedule, your home will run like a well oiled machine.
Home Organization – Manage Your Home and Your Time
With a little planning, home organization is easier than you think, and it makes those school days so much easier. All you really need is a plan of action and some consistency, and your home will be a humming school machine in no time.
What tips do you have for organizing your home for school?
18 Comments
Sarah Bailey
I totally need to try some of these ideas myself – I am awful at keeping things running smoothly. x
CATHERINE s
These are great tips. I know when we homeschooled sticking to our schedule helped a lot.
Robin (Masshole Mommy)
We do as much the night before as possible. It makes life SO much easier.
Heather D. (@GirlGoneMom)
Great tips. I’m not the best at being organized or doing things in advance.
Liz Mays
I think a lot of kids and parents could benefit from the homework station. A little scheduling goes a long way as well.
aimee fauci
I leave it all up to my girls. They are so different and they each have their homework and after school routine that seems to work. I am pretty lucky.
Jeanine
It’s been a really big mess here lately with keeping everything organized and stuff. So this will be so helpful for me at this point. I need a real homework station in my place.
Onica (mommy factor )
I don’ t had a tips to you, but thank you so much for giving us an smart idea about home organization, I think this is the problem of all moms like me.
Lois Alter Mark
These are great ideas. Staying organized can definitely be a challenge but it makes such a difference in how everything runs – and everyone’s mood!
Kelly Hutchinson
What a great list to get my house organized! We home school, so the homework/school work station sounds like a great idea.
Pam
A school station could’ve definitely been put to use in our house when the kids lived at home. It was hard keeping everything organized!
Pam
Keeping your home organized is so important. Everything just runs so much more smoothly when you do so. These are good solid tips.
Ourfamilyworld
These are very helpful tips. We prepare most of the kids’ stuff the night before.
Lisa Rios
I agree, home organization is so important when you have couple of kids going to school & it can become a hectic task if you don’t plan & organize well. Time management plays a vital role & I always have a time table to keep myself alert on tasks that needs to be done for the day.
Annemarie LeBlanc
I try to be organized as best as I can, however, with two grown up sons, keeping everything organized is close to impossible. Thanks for sharing these tips!
Elizabeth L
My kids do not go to school yet but I am sure I will do many of your ideas. I want to make sure we are organized in order to help the day go smoothly.
Marielle Altenor
Great ideas! I love the homework station idea best. All my son school school for the week gets picked out on Sunday.
Toughcookiemommy
It’s so important to be organized during the school year. It definitely helps to keep everyone on track.