Parents Need to Make These Changes to Your Space Before The New School Year

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When you hear the words, “back to school,” your mind automatically thinks of purchasing school supplies and the most fashionable clothes for your kids. However, as parents, preparing yourself and your space for back to school is just as important because it's very easy for your space to become cluttered without any systems or structure. Have you ever experienced walking through the door and stepping over backpacks or being bombarded with important schoolwork that you need to manage? Well, here are a few things you should consider implementing within your space to ensure it’s orderly and maintained for the upcoming school year.

Snack Attack

I had the opportunity to organize a former client’s pantry and problem-solved for one of her challenges which was not having a specific space to store snacks for her son. You can view the outcome here. But this was an issue for her because the pantry would be orderly but after her son rummaged through the pantry to locate a snack, the pantry would be in disarray. So, I created a space within the pantry just for her son to locate his snacks. Problem-solved!

An organized, labeled basket storing chips.

By creating a specific space to store snacks for the kids, this will allow your space to remain orderly because the kids can easily grab a snack without creating a potential mess. This also helps you to monitor how many snacks you feel comfortable with them consuming. I also recommend using labeled bins or baskets for kids to quickly locate their snacks. If you have more than one child then use separate the snack bins which can eliminate any conflicts. ​So, the next time your kids ask you for a snack, you can point them directly to their designated snack bin.

Drop Zone

Your kids will be carrying school bags, backpacks, totes, and whatever else they may use to transport school items. But those very bags can be tossed and thrown around in any space of the house once the kids return home from school. In order to prevent a pile-up of back-packs or bags, I suggest creating a designated drop-zone for them to be stored. By creating a designated space, you are promoting a clutter-free space and teaching your kids the importance of being organized. The drop-zone will come in handy to easily grab the bag when in a possible rush, as opposed to searching all over the home which could waste more time. Now the kids can store their school bags and then head to the pantry to grab their snack!

White basket serving as a drop-zone to store bags

Important Paperwork

Between schoolwork and mailings from the school sharing updates, it's more than likely you will become bombarded with a high volume of paperwork. I think the best solution for that, is to stay ahead of the problem before the amount of paperwork becomes out of control. Read here how helpful Bigso Boxes can be when it comes to concealing and managing paper clutter. So, I suggest using durable, storage boxes which not only contain the items in an organized manner but they also keep your space looking very nice! Be sure to assess each document that you receive and then group similar documents together. For instance, all progress reports should be stored together inside of its own storage box. As a parent, it's important to be aware of how your child is performing and whenever you're ready to review or want to even save it - then you know exactly where the progress reports can be retrieved. Don't fret the next time, your handed a piece of paper because you will have a storage system in place to manage all the incoming paperwork!

As a parent, you have to manage a lot such as meetings, extracurricular activities, preparing lunches and more. By implementing these tips before the start of the school year, this allows you to stay ahead of the issue instead of operating from a space of panic. If your kid is of age then it's also beneficial for them to learn accountability and responsibility and that being organized has the ability to set them up for success. As the the saying goes, the best learning first starts at home.

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