Home Improvement Guide

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Posted on: September 24, 2007

Making The Grade

Keep your home - and your children - in back-to-school order throughout the academic year with these organization tips from the experts

By Mary Fons
CTW Features

Step by Step: Maintain back-to-school organization year-round with tips and tricks. Image courtesy iStockphoto

Just when you finally get into the groove of summer, your child’s school-supply list comes in the mail, signaling the end of the dog days and the beginning of one of the most hectic times of the year: the back-to-school season. But don’t freak out. It’s never too late to take a few steps toward a smoother transition – or at least hold the hurricane at bay.

Standolyn Robertson, founder and owner of Things In Place, an organizing consulting company in Massachusetts, says, “Back to school is our ‘other’ new year. [It’s] a time to set goals and start things off with good intentions to be productive. The school year can be overwhelming – having a plan in place can make the difference between a chaotic, stressful semester and an orderly, peaceful semester.”

Just a little preparation goes a long way, says Robertson, who suggests that one of the first things you should do is establish a family-wide calendar. “Set up a master calendar, one that will be posted in common area for everyone to see. Incorporate lessons, practices and other extra curricular activities.” By putting everyone’s schedule in one place, it will be easier for everyone (especially you) to see the bigger picture.

Karli Bertocchi, founder the Chicago area’s Organized With Style, agrees wholeheartedly, but reminds parents and kids to be consistent. “Mark down everything – I can’t emphasize this enough. Every school event, including car pools, parent meetings, parent-supplied snack days, needs to be highly visible and referred to frequently by all members of the family. It will save many a teary child waiting anxiously past their pick-up time.”

The most meticulously detailed calendar in the world won’t be much good if the rest of the house is in chaos, however. Both Robertson and Bertocchi suggest clearing space for all the new accessories that are about to make their arrival. Robertson calls this “a launch pad.”

“Designate an area for backpacks by the door to keep all the essentials kids will need before they leave. This could be a basket or a cubby or a hook,” says Bertocchi, who also recommends establishing a simple filing system before the unavoidable onslaught of paper.

“Develop a paperwork system for kids. Whether it’s a bin or an accordion folder, develop a system for kids to collect and organize quizzes, essays, and artwork. Go through the pile periodically to save the best artwork and/or academic achievements.”

And if all your best intentions fail and the house is 100-percent chaos the first week back? Robertson says, “Don't panic. Organizing with kids is very different than organizing without kids. The goal is to make something happen, not make it perfect. Figure out what's not working and tweak it until it works for your family. Approach it like any other project: Figure out what's not working and fix it.”

10 Tips From the Experts

1. Organize the closets.

“Don’t shop for new clothes until you’ve done an inventory of what’s there. Then think about what your student will wear in the first few weeks of school when the weather is still warm, and fill in the gaps,” says Karli Bertocchi, founder of Organized With Style.

2. Designate a “launch pad.”

“If students don't have a specific place to store their backpacks, then you can't very well get upset when they are on the floor in the living room,” says Standolyn Robertson, founder and owner of Things In Place.

3. Create a paperwork system.

Accordion folders, drawers in an old bureau, etc., all help keep paper mess to a minimum.

4. Create a calendar hub.

Don’t forget to update daily!

5. Organize toys and sporting equipment.

“Make room for school sports and new activities by storing summer equipment such as beach balls, lawn slides, etc.,” Bertocchi suggests.

6. Be food-ready.

“Kids come home famished – if the only thing available is high-sugary snacks, you’ll be scraping them off the ceiling when it’s time to get them to sleep,” Bertocchi says. “Grapes, cheese cubes, whole wheat crackers, milk, raisins, nuts are all good staples.”

7. Develop a lunch strategy.

“Make it easy to prepare. Keep food for preparing lunch in the house, and put non-perishables in the lunch boxes the night before,” Robertson says.

8. Plan a backpack attack strategy.

“Have a ‘to school’ folder and a ‘to home’ folder, and store them [and the backpack itself] in the same place every night,” suggests Robertson. Do a backpack cleaning at least once a week, preferably on Sunday night.

9. Develop an “everyone ready to go?” strategy.

Create a leave-the-house checklist. “Lay out outfits the night before so there are no more morning fights. Invest in a programmable coffee pot,” Robertson says.

10. Lock it in.

“If your child has a locker, put together a Ziploc bag with some essentials that they can keep with them, such as band aids, a comb or brush, lip balm, etc.,” says Bertocchi.