Back to School Organization Ideas for Your Family

Get ready for the first day of the new school year with these great back to school organization ideas for your whole family!  We've got you covered from lunch to paperwork!

It is that time of year again, and you need to get your family organized for another school year!  What does organization look like?  What can you do to make things a little more easy, make things flow a little more smoothly?  I always feel more at peace when I am organized and know what to expect!  Planning out meals is one way to help your family get organized for back to school.  Here are some other ways you can get ready for back to school and back to possible hectic chaos!

Related: Don’t Stress Over Back to School! Get Organized with these Tips!

Back to School Organization Ideas for Your Family

Weekly Menu:

Save yourself some stress during the week and create a weekly menu for dinners.  Spend a night before the kids go back to school and create a menu that you can rotate.  I love Pinterest for ideas!  You can print out blank calendars or use a dry erase board.  If you are feeling crafty, you can type up the meals on paper, but them out, laminate them, and create a board that you can post them on, using clothespins to hold the meals.  Check out what I mean here.    The ‘fun’ part is that everyone knows what to expect.  Also, with the hectic happenings at school such as sports and after school stuff, you won’t be bogged down with trying to figure out what to eat, and you will be saving money by not just grabbing something on the go!  Some meals you can even make ahead of time, for those nights you are going to be too busy to actually put it together.

School lunch:

Along the same lines, you can make putting together your kids lunch very easy, get them involved and make sure they are getting what they need nutritionally.  Haul out your fridge and make some room for plastic bins.  In these bins are going to be things like fruit, veggie, meat, dairy just to give you an idea.  You can even place a number on the bin to let them know (and remind yourself) how many of each one they need to take.  I am going to do this with my daughter, because she is such a picky eater!  The kids get involved and know what they are getting, hopefully there will be no more trading at the lunch table!

Related: Back to School Lunch Ideas Beyond the Boring PB&J Sandwich

File folders:

That sounds so boring.  What I mean is that you can’t keep everything your child brings home from school.  I know this from experience.  So for the things you want to keep, and of course those awards and other special things from school, get a file bin, and file folders.  One per child, per year.  On the front, place a picture of your child from that school year.  Inside, place all the important and sentimental things from school.  If you have more than one child you may want more than one bin, depending on how old they are and how many more years of school they have.

Toss the paper:

Don’t like paper?  Maybe you didn’t like my suggestion directly above this one.  That’s ok, I am not offended.  There is an alternative!  You can take photos of your child’s artwork and then create a book at www.Shutterfly.com or you could use Wal-mart, CVS or Walgreens.  I do this a lot with my daughter.  Don’t get me wrong, there are some things I just keep, something about coming across my own artwork and school things oh-so-many years later is special.  However, I am a photo lover and not such a big fan of paper, so I take pics of her work, and (plan) to create books.

Morning routine chart:

This just might be the lifesaver you were looking for!  It can get pretty hectic in the morning, especially if you have more than one small human to get off to school, not to mention maybe even yourself if you work out of the home.  Kids like it when they know what to expect (why do you think kindergarten teachers have the daily schedule posted?)  Just be sure to put it in the order you want it done, or you might have your littles brushing their teeth and putting on their shoes before they eat breakfast!

My daughter is going to be in the first grade, I vow to be more organized this year!  Part of that is to get a new calendar when she gets her back-to-school things.  Starting fresh just like everyone else (instead of in January).  When you are organized yourself, it is easier to have the rest of your family organized as well.

What are some of your favorite back to school organization ideas?  Post your suggestions below in the comments!

 

15 thoughts on “Back to School Organization Ideas for Your Family”

  1. No kids here so I don’t have to worry about that but my life can get rather chaotic what with my appointments, my Mom’s appointments etc etc etc. Although I am different then most–I just don’t plan and my day book is written in PENCIL!!

  2. Reading your post brought back memories of when my kids were on a tight schedule to make sure everything school related was taken care of. You offered wonderful tips and ideas for parents with school age kids.

  3. As a teacher, this is a busy time for me just like the students! A weekly menu is a MUST, and on my list of goals for this school year!

  4. I can’t imagine a refrigerator in a house with a young child or student not covered in artwork! I guess if you don’t like the cluttered look file folders or pictures would work.

  5. I need to create a chart for my son. I think it would help him so much. We do meal plan and it’s almost necessary to create that plan each week!

  6. We have a morning routine chart and it has worked wonders for our family. Our boys know exactly what they have to do when they get up and how much extra time they will have to play around if they stick to it. It really beats yelling and rushing around the house trying to catch up!

  7. Hi Tabatha,

    Love these ideas! I remember the hectic mornings tyring to get out the door on time without forgetting anything :). Being organized certainly helps things run smoother.

    The one thing that helped was making sure the kids had their clothes ready the night before and backpacks ready to go in the morning….although someone always realized they forgot to put something in it on our way to school. Ah, memories :).

    Thanks for the ideas! Passing this along.

    Cori

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