Get Your Home Ready For "Back to School"

Are you ready for back to school time?

I compiled a large Back to School Shopping Guide for moms, and wrote 20 tips how moms can survive the back to school time on my blog if you are having some BTS stress. Don't worry, you are not alone. Most of us have stress of some sort this time of the year. To make the school year easier for you and your child, here are some tips on how to get your home ready for the school year. Many of these are simple tips, but they can really help you to have a less stressful school year.

1. Organize your closets.
Make it easy for your child to find clothes in the morning (or the evening before) by organizing her/his closet in such a way that your child can reach the clothing and accessories. What we did with my daughter last fall is we put together about 10 different outfits including top, bottom and accessories already hanging in her closet. In reality she liked like 4 of them and wore them again and again, but I made sure there was always an outfit ready for her if her favorites were not clean and we were in a hurry.

2. Get a chalkboard, erase board or a pin board
For family messages and important dates - create a place to write down notes for the family (or for you) to see. I always try to keep everything in my head and for some reason many important things have gone by because I simply forgot.

3. Family Calendar
No explanation needed.

4. Organize your Entryway
Make your and your kids' life easier by creating a nice entry for your home.
I recommend:
- a bench to sit down on and put your shoes on and take them off
- shoe rack for all school shoes
- Shelving for storage boxes for small accessories like hats and gloves
- Hooks to hang umbrellas and raincoats.

5. Family Paper Center
Create a designated area in your home for all papers that your child will bring home from school. Get folders for papers and items to keep and another folder for short-term papers that are only needed in the short term.

6. Homework Zone
Designate a homework zone for your child. It can be in his/her room, or in an office, living room or anywhere else in the house, but ideally it is a calm place where your child can do his/her homework or read. No TV, computer or other screens should be on while your student is studying; create a place where there are no distractions.

7. Create a Snack Bar
No, really. We have a fruit bowl  filled with kids' favorite fruits and a large tin box on our kitchen counter filled with granola bars and other easy snacks that kids can add to their lunch boxes or eat after school. This makes my life so much easier - kids know where to find a healthy snack, I don't have to make anything, and it saves everyone's time and energy. And the kids get their energy re-charged easier with a convenient snack bar.

Photos: Pottery Barn