It’s that time of the year again! You’re getting the kids up, getting them ready and rushing them out the door ready for school. It can be super hectic. So here are a few tips to help you feel organised and ready for the school year ahead while also keeping your sanity intact!
Clean House, Clean mind.
Having a tidy house is a great way to help calm the chaos. Doing some jobs like doing the dishes, vacuuming the main living areas, and doing a quick 10-minute pick up of things that may be out of place can help you feel calmer in your home. Another great way to get some jobs done is to set a timer for 30 minute to do whatever cleaning you can in that time. Once the timer goes off just finish what you’re doing and call it a day. You’ll be so surprised at how much you can get done and it’ll feel less overwhelming if your day is already feeling full. Just remember that you don’t have to have a home like the ones you see on Instagram, having kids means your clean space may not be clean for long and that’s ok and so normal! What matters is having a space that feels good for you.
Create a morning routine
Making a morning routine that suits you and your family can help the mornings go a lot smoother and avoid that hectic rush out the door to get the kids to school on time. But let’s be honest it still feels like a rush on the best days. Once you’ve found a routine best for your family write it on a board and display it so the whole family can see. Things you can include are a regular wake up time for the kids, an earlier wake up time for you to have some alone time before the start of the day and to enjoy a hot coffee! Introduce an alarm clock for the sleepy heads that hate getting out of bed in the morning. Having an allocated bathroom time for everyone to help get everyone ready quicker and avoid fights about who got there first can save you a lot of time and help keep a more peaceful environment. It can take time to make a routine that works well for everyone so go easy on yourself if it doesn’t happen quickly.
Introduce the pouch system
School bags can get messy very quickly! The pouch system is just using pouches or containers to keep everything in the bag separate making it easier to grab out whatever you want instead of dumping out to find things or reaching in and finding a rotten piece of fruit at the bottom. We’ve all been there! Have a separate pouch for pencils, workbooks, and food. Including a wet pouch can also be really helpful in case any clothes get wet during their school day, you can now say goodbye to all those soggy workbooks!
Meal Plan
Having a simple meal plan gives you one less thing to think about in an already busy week. Plan out meals that you know your family loves and that are quick and easy for you to prepare. This will make it quicker for you in the evenings after you’ve had a long day. It can also save you from buying too many groceries which will in the end save you money, win win! You can even go a step further by prepping some of the food for week like making and freezing some pancakes for breakfast so that in the morning all you have to do is pull them out, heat them and add your favourite topping. Having some vegetables that are cut in advance will save you time in the evening so all you have to do is cook them on the day, frozen vegetables from the shop are also great for this. Preparing a few meals or snacks in advance can also be a great activity for kids to get involved and learn more about the food they’re eating.
DIY Mudroom
Create a space near the entry of your house to store school bags, jackets and shoes. Store everything in one place so you don’t have to search around the house for everything when you’re trying to rush out the door on the mornings that you’re already running late. A DIY mudroom can be made easily and is super cheap! All you need is some coat hooks which you can buy for less than $3 a piece, you can use these for both your coats and school bags. Shoes can then just be placed neatly on the ground underneath them. You make this space as simple or as creative as you’d like!
Let us know what things you like to do to make your life easier and more organised during the busy school year.
