This week I’m taking a look at back to school organizing.  Once again I got some help from my account manager Kim. Kim recently went shopping for back-to-school supplies with her two daughters.

1. Carrying supplies

The big focus for Kim’s back to school shopping trip was backpacks. Kim recommends that backpacks should have at least two compartments. Besides holding books and notebooks, your child must have room have room for laptop and lunch. However, don’t get a bag that’s TOO big.  Then it gets overwhelming and gets left behind.

If you saw my travel video then you might remember the Cocoon Grid-it. It works great for organizing small items in a school backpack too.

2.Daily backpack routine

School materials, like everything that comes into your home, need to circulate. Remember circulation prevents accumulation. Let’s take a look at that backpack.

First off, be sure there is an easy unloading plan for lunch containers. If for example you expect your kids to clean everything that they unload then the step gets slightly harder.Then unloading becomes a step that is likely to get skipped all together.

Next, establish a reliable spot in your child’s study area for the back pack to go. Also make sure there an easy plan to unload the homework. This may seem unnecessary, but consider the complications. If you are putting everything in the same place, then it is likely to advance to the same place: nowhere. Of course not all homework should be organized the same. Finished homework should have one home and finished art should have another. Only homework to be done gets the coveted position of the open desk surface.

Next vital step? Get finished homework into the backpack.

Then the backpack must get to a leaving area. Maybe that area is the mudroom, or a launchpad by the door, or the kitchen, where the backpack is loaded with lunch. The location will be different in every home, but the principle is the same: Get the backpack to the place where it is least likely to be forgotten!

 

3.Morning Time Management

My final tip is about morning time management, when getting your kids out the door on time. My advice: Get the Time-timer. I’ve mentioned this product before in my time management video, but The Time Timer is especially great for organizing when getting off to school in the morning.  A digital or traditional clock just doesn’t communicate 45 minutes before the bus arrives as well as the Time-Timer.

Place this somewhere central in your home, maybe the kitchen. Then when the timer goes off there’s no more excuses. Time to go to school!

Next week I’ll continue with back to school organizing by looking at organizing your homework.