Tag: fall back to school

Getting Organized for the School Year Ahead

Posted on by Jordank

Schools across the country are reopening their doors this month, and no matter where you live, it will be back-to-school time in a matter of weeks. Parents know that organization is often the key to effectiveness at school, at home and in the career world, and there’s no better time to encourage your kids to develop good organizational skills.

Young children are bound to be a bit scattered, but you can inspire them to stay organized by making it fun to put things in their proper places. Populate your home with interactive chore boards, chalkboard bins, colorful clocks and other accessories to help kids manage time and clutter, Parents.com says. Designated reading nooks and homework “organizers” can also make learning more fun.

Middle school may be a bigger challenge. “Middle school often comes as a shock to the system, and it’s the wise parent who is prepared and ready to guide their kid through the transition from the relative stability and security of grade school to the somewhat chaotic environment found in many of our middle schools,” Ruth A. Peters, Ph.D. wrote on the Today blog.

A daily assignment sheet will help provide a framework for keeping track of academic activities, she says; the middle-schooler should record homework assignments and test dates in a day planner or notebook in every class. Establish set study times to encourage good habits, and load backpacks the night before to prevent morning headaches.

Maintaining order in the home helps, says GreatSchools; bins, folders and filing cabinets aren’t just for adult offices. Use a bulletin board and sticky notes to furnish reminders of the most pressing projects, and install a shelf, bin or cabinet dedicated to each kid’s school day near the front door for grab-and-go convenience.

By the time children get to high school, they’ll even have more books, sports equipment, musical instruments and junk to keep track of — and if they can’t yet manage their stuff and schedules themselves, the Spruce says, it’s time for them to start. Day planners, binders, weekly meetings, whiteboards and clear expectations are a few of the tools you can use to help your child conquer the chaos.

As you get ready for the school year, don’t forget to check out the local thrift store. Many are supplied by donations to ClothingDonations.org, and can help you save money on clothing and supplies while helping fund veterans’ programs. And if you happen to be cleaning out the things your kids haven’t worn or used lately as you send them back to school, schedule a pickup or find a dropoff location for your used goods.

With a little planning and organization, you and your kids can reduce the stress of the back-to-school season. And that, hopefully, will help them succeed in school!

Declutter Before Back to School

Posted on by Jordank

Most young people will return to school in just a few weeks. In many regions, school starts as early as mid-August, and that means there’s no time like the present to not only shop for the new clothes, textbooks and gadgets they’ll need for the upcoming school year, but also make room for those items by cleaning out some of the old stuff they won’t.

If your kids are still young, that’s great — you can help them form a foundation of habits that they can use throughout life. “Four-year-olds aren’t super-great declutterers, but they can certainly look through a pile of their drawings and pick out their favorites, or try out a pile of markers to figure out which ones are dried up,” says the Frugal Girl blog.

Help young children sort things into categories, and make “keep” and “get rid of” piles within each. Resist the urge to conduct the decision-making yourself; like everyone else, kids get attached to their stuff, and may be hurt if you make a call without their input. Instead, gently urge them to save only their favorites in each category (clothing, books, toys, etc.).

When they complete each segment of the task, box up the lightly-used stuff and contact ClothingDonations.org for a pickup. To keep things orderly, invest in some plastic bins to keep like items together, and reinforce the advantages of decluttering by pointing out how neat, clean and spacious their shelves and rooms become.

If your kids are already in their teenage years, the battle may be more difficult, says The Non-Consumer Advocate. Again, you should involve them in the decluttering process; it is not OK to arbitrarily clean and toss. Do, however, set concrete limits on how many of a particular item can be kept: X number of T-shirts or X number of games.

If you’re sending a child to college for the first time, you have a golden opportunity to declutter your home. You might have plans to repurpose his or her room, and even if you don’t, there’s likely a ton of stuff they won’t need during the transition into adulthood that you can store, sell, donate or throw away before they go.

As they pack for school, again: Create piles of items to keep, donate and trash. Almost any item of clothing your child doesn’t want to take to college is fair game for a donation, as are toys and games they’ve outgrown. Take this opportunity to have your child create his or her own bin of special memories, says the SpareFoot Blog, and store it in a safe place.

When your child moves out of the house for good, they can take that bin with them — and you can reclaim the space!

Don’t Let Sports Season Derail Your Home’s Organization!

Posted on by Jordank

Now that it’s mid-September, the dust is finally settling as the new school year is well underway. Students are getting into the routine of waking up early, absorbing knowledge at school and then returning home to finish homework. For many students, though, the routine may be interrupted by the start of something else: sports season.

This means that parents’ routines are changed too, as they spend time at work and then run home to schlepp their kids to practices and games. With all this running around, it’s easy to let home care and organization fall by the wayside. Before you know it, football cleats and cross-country jerseys are being left around the house, cluttering the very home you spent the spring and summer organizing.

But, just because your kids are out trying to win a game or a race, doesn’t mean your home organization has to lose! Having some rules in place before the start of any sports season will help keep your home neat and clutter-free.

A good idea is to have a designated laundry basket, just for your children’s jerseys, uniforms and practice clothing. Make sure after every practice they put those sweaty (and probably smelly!) clothes right in the basket. This way, they won’t be left to stink up bedrooms, and their clothes will be washed and ready when they need them next.

Another idea is to have a checklist of items you want your child to take care of. Being busy with school and sports doesn’t mean they don’t have to help out around the home. Dividing the chores will make everyone’s life easier, and it’ll keep you from getting stressed out!

Also, at the beginning of each season, have your kids try on the previous season’s athletic wear and equipment. If they’ve outgrown gym shorts, sweatshirts or cleats, contact ClothingDonations.org! Place the clothing or equipment that’s too small or too short (such as hockey sticks, golf clubs or youth basketballs) in a bag marked “for donation, ” and fill out our online pickup form. We’ll come and pick up your donation, so you don’t have to make an additional trip when hurrying off to the next practice. It’s a win for everyone!