Back-To-School Organizing Tips
It’s back-to-school week and with the endless list of things parents have to do: shopping for supplies and outfits, filling out forms and adding schedule changes to calendars, figuring out who needs to be where and when – we put together a few tips and hacks to simplify process.
On-the-Go Supplies and Snacks
Good Housekeeping has a collection of hacks for the school year, like keeping extra essentials in to-go kits in the car, separated by type: tech needs with spare chargers and batteries, homework helpers with extra pens, pencils, glue, scissors, a calculator, and a first aid kit.
The Krazy Coupon Lady favors a car organizer filled with everything your child might need to finish getting ready on a busy morning, from hairbrushes, combs and hair gel, to baby wipes, and breakfast options like protein bars, raisins, multi-grain crackers and bottles of water.
Blogger Erin at Suburban Simplicity has an elaborate back-to-school guide with tips about everything you’ve thought about and a few back-to-school essentials you missed, like trendy backpacks, headphones, water bottles and creative art supplies.
Family Calendars
Download a family calendar app (like the Cozi Family Organizer) to keep everyone’s schedules straight — and color-coded. You can enter shared reminders and editable shopping lists, so you’ll never forget when you’re the designated drive or when it’s your turn to bring snacks to an event.
For high school students who are balancing school and social activities, Time Center has strategies for teens to help manage their time and to-dos with effective ways to manage time, study, and manage stress. The site includes helpful PDFs for study skills, time management and goal-setting.
Keeping Track of Gear
The school lost-and-founds are filled with forgotten and misplaced items like water bottles, hoodies, lunch totes and sneakers. Names markered can rub off and stick-on labels can peel, but these stretchy, durable, personalized bands by Thoughtful Colors make it easy to keep track of a water bottle. And Mommy Poppins has a collection of the best name labels for clothes, lunch and sports gear and school supplies.
To Bed and To School: On Time
Real Simple interviewed dozens of mothers about tricks for getting kids to go to bed on time and get to school on time. Some are hilarious, but others are practical do-ahead things like boiling eggs for the week on Sunday night and organizing and Ziplock®-bagging outfits during laundry time so kids can find and dress with all the (matching) items they need.
Child health experts weighed in further on how to get kids to go to bed at night. According to the National Sleep Foundation, two-thirds of parents report having to deal with some type of sleep-related challenge with their kids at least a few times a week. These solutions can help you cope with kids who can’t seem to go to bed, stay in bed or get to sleep – including shifting bedtimes, using blackout shades and white noise machines and using the OK to Wake alarm clock that glows green when it’s time to get out of the sack!
Douglas County Schools Near Crystal Valley
The Douglas County Schools near the master-planned community of Crystal Valley regularly receive high marks and rave reviews. So do the new homes from Richmond American Homes, Kauffman Homes, Century Communities and D.R. Horton — designed with today’s busy lifestyles in mind. Set in natural surroundings with easy access to nearby amenities, find the new home of your dreams here in either a ranch and two-story model, priced from the $300s.
