- Designate a Family Center. This is the most important time saving tool for back to school. A family center is a designated area of your home where you keep your family calendar, important school papers, and any after school activity schedules. Each family member should have a folder for anything that needs to be signed or reviewed. My sons' folders contain weekly spelling lists, site words, class lists, and other papers that may need to be referenced later in the school year. If you don't have the space for a desktop file holder, then try a wall mounted magazine holder. Our family center is also a drop zone for backpacks (thanks to a coat rack from IKEA) and electronics (laptop, phones, and even the boys' DS games).
- Start Preparing the Night Before. Make a checklist of anything you can do the night before including gathering books and homework, finishing projects, picking out clothes, leaving shoes and backpacks by the door, making lunches, and even setting the table for breakfast. In our house, my husband even puts the belt around my 5-year-old son's pants so all we have to do in the morning is help him with the buckle. It may sound like a lot of work, but if you take care of the predictable items ahead of time it won't be such a big deal when something unexpected happens. This goes for you too. Make sure everything you need is ready to go so you're not scrambling to find your keys or your phone in the morning.
- Get an Early Start. You have to stay ahead of your kids, so that means you need to be ready before they even wake up. I'm talking fully dressed, hair and makeup done, walk out the door ready. That way if one of the kids finds a stray homework sheet that has to be turned in today you're not blow drying your hair while trying to explain how to multiply fractions. If everything goes smoothly, then you may have a few extra minutes to play a quick game with your kids or knock out a few chores.
- Keep Breakfast Simple. Whether you go all out preparing a hot breakfast or just pour a bowl of cereal in the morning it's important to keep this meal simple. Prep as much food ahead as you can and keep choices limited to two "main dish" options. Instead of asking "What do you want for breakfast?" try asking "Do you want cereal or a waffle?"
- Set Time Reminders. Kids are pretty good at tuning out the sound of our voices, so you may need to find another way to encourage them to keep moving in the morning. You can use the kitchen timer or the alarm on your phone to signal when they need to be finished with breakfast or when it's time to walk out the door. My kids like to watch TV in the morning, so we use commercial breaks as cues that they need to move on to the next step in their routine. They wake up at 7 a.m. and we leave at 8 a.m., so by the first commercial break (approx. 7:15) they are sitting down to eat. That gives them 15 minutes until the next break to finish breakfast. A change in shows (around 7:30) signals it's time to get dressed (which I let them do in front of the TV). By the 7:45 commercial break it is time to brush hair and teeth, put on shoes and grab backpacks. That leaves them 10 minutes to either finish their show or do something fun.
With a little planning and organization your morning routine can be stress free and you will soon be living everyday Ultimately Organized!
