Hi everyone,
It’s that time of the year again – back to school!
I used to love getting organised for school. Every year I’d get a new pencil case and I’d love to organise all my school supplies, write out my timetable and sort out a study routine. Doing the study now I didn’t like so much! But I loved getting organised for it!!
In fact, it’s the only thing I miss about school, especially the pencil case – I’ve no reason to buy one anymore!
It can take a while for everyone to settle back into the hum-drum of getting up and going to school/ college. And it’s in the first few days or weeks that it might be an idea to have a look at the routines and organisation around family life.
If you feel like you’re trying to catch up on yourself from the minute you open your eyes, then it’s time to get organised!
One of the best ways to get yourself and the family organised, is preparation the night before. It can really give you a head start and can make all the difference to our time, our stress levels and whether our day begins well or not! And who would want the day to start off on a bad note if we could avoid it right?!
And avoid it you shall, if you incorporate some of these tips each evening…
1. Lay out clothes and uniforms:
Put whatever clothes, suits and uniforms you need on hangers in everyones respective rooms the night before. This includes underwear, jewellery and anything else that you need to ‘dress’ yourself and the kids. It’s also at this time that you iron anything that needs ironing.
Doing this saves vital minutes in the morning. If you’re missing one sock or can’t find a tie, it’s better to know about it the evening before when you have the time to do something about it, then during the mad pre-school rush.
2. Set the breakfast table:
Another thing that can save time in the morning is having the table set. Obviously, the milk and any perishables can’t be put out. But everything else can. And if the table isn’t being used for homework, then you could even set the breakfast table during the clear up after dinner.
Doing that in the evening, is one less thing for the morning.
3. Prepare lunches:
Aside from perishable items, lunches can be made up the evening before. The lunchboxes can be cleaned and the usual staples – drinks, fruit, crackers, nuts, chocolate etc. can be set out. The next morning you’ll only have to add the sandwiches, salads, or soups of the day! Again, you might think of doing this while preparing dinner. You’ll have all the prepartion supplies out already anyway and if you’re chopping vegetables, do a few more as snacks in their lunchbox. It’s all about saving time!
4. Prepare the bags:
As far as I’m concerned, homework isn’t done until the following days bag is packed too!
If you only incorporate one thing into your evening routine, getting bags ready the night before is a must!
Get school bags packed, including any P.E. gear, art supplies, musical instruments etc that is needed for tomorrow’s classes and line ’em up at the hallway door.
At this point, you can also prepare anything they might need for after school activities. Even if they are getting home between school and their activity I still recommend getting all this ready now. There’s less chance of stress arising if everything is organised in advance.
Then tomorrow morning you only have to add the lunchbox!
5. Last few bits & pieces:
And finally, make sure to remember all the little things that you don’t want to forget…especially the things the kids might hope you’ll forget about!
- Check homework
- Sign notes
- Have bus/ train tickets
- Money and keys
- Bicycle helmets, reflectors, hats, scarves and gloves!
Bring everything together with the school bags and line them up, ready to go in the morning!
Saving precious time in the mornings is what everyone needs and loves to achieve. Give these few tricks a go TONIGHT and hopefully it’ll help ease the morning madness and you can start the day on a better note!
Happy Organising!
