Back to school organization

Well its now the end of August and that means back to school! Here are some ideas to get everyone on track and ready for the school year!

 

Multiple bags - With gym class and sports this means stinky sweaty clothes! To help make sure that the boys bring their gym clothes home we have small drawstring bags that keep their clothes for gym and sports separate from their school bag. It is still small enough that they can put it into their duffel bag but....it helps keep the smell out and you can just empty it straight into the washer! 

 

 

Reminders - Our Amazon Echo Dot and Google Home are life savers for this! You can just set reminders for the kids on what needs to be done, what time they have to leave, don't forget to bring.... Those kinda things! We also have a don't forget board that the kids (and parents) can write things on so everyone is reminded! It is on our command center which is in the kitchen...so you would think everyone would see it...but if they don't that is why the Dot & Google are to the rescue! 

 

Menu - I try and plan next month's menu about the 15th or 20th of each month...this way when things get crazy I am not rushing to finish it! 

 

 

 

 

Clothes for the week - So this worked for all the boys but as they have gotten older the teenage grunge has been setting in. It still works for our 10-year-old. He loves having things ready in the morning so all he has to do is pick the clothes for that day and put them on! This also helps with matching and making sure they are putting on clean underwear!

 

 

 Homework/Supply Station -Now the boys have desks in their rooms, so we don't have a "homework area" but I have an area where all the extra school supplies go. That way when there is a project, they need more pencils, crayons, markers, & things like that they know where to go! I started this after the kids would bring all their left-over stuff home on the last day of school. Why throw this away?? You paid money and they only used 1/2 the damn supplies. So, before school shopping I will look through and see what we already have (that is new) and get what we don't! The leftover things that are used stay in the extra school supplies box, so they have it for projects at home!  

 

School Paper Boxes - So we have 2 school paper boxes. One for the papers that we really need to read, sign & return. One for the papers that are just completed work and is not an emergency to read. I usually go through this box on Sunday nights.  

 

 

 

Set a quiet time - This is a time that the parents love, and kids need but HATE! With all the technology out there, it is really hard to get your kids off the Wi-Fi and ready for the next day. We had major problems with this and it seemed like no matter what we did they still found a way to be on some sort of device. That is until I found this! Linksys Router!! This has been a life saver....you set what time you want their device to shut down...and BOOM no more Wi-Fi! We don't even argue with the kids anymore! If this wasn't cool enough.... it gets better! Let's say that they aren't doing their homework, they are in trouble with school, or did something at home to get into trouble.... you can remotely shut their Wi-Fi off! Example: I am at work... I get a message that there is fighting, or someone is not doing chores, or even a call from the school.... I can get on my phone or computer AT WORK and shut it off! I also have to add this feature in.... I don't know about your kids but mine are ALWAYS watching You-tube. So, when we have to start getting back into using our brains and not on the tablets all the time... You can also block websites... like you-tube!