Well, it’s happened! Summer has come to a close and school is back in session. If you’re anything like us, getting back into the swing of thing can be hard, so we put together some of our favorite tips to help smooth the transition.

Clothing Organization!

There’s nothing like the clothing tornado that can happen in the morning when the kids don’t know what they want to wear. Start this school year off right by helping your kids make sure their dressers and closets are organized. Getting kids in the habit of picking out clothes the night before will help them stay organized and help eliminate some of that early morning frenzy.

Create a Folder System

If you have little ones, there’s probably lots of release forms and paperwork for you to sign. If your kids are older, permission slips and sports forms can easily get lost in the shuffle. Designate a section of the a high traffic area of your home like a wall near the fridge or somewhere else that works with your current home set up and hang a folder with each kid’s name on it. When they get home from school, papers that need to be signed can go on the folder, get signed and then grabbed in the morning as they’re heading off to school! By giving important papers a place to live, it’s much less likely they get forgotten once you get into the swing of things .

This Clock!

We love this clock we found on Pinterest. Visual aids are great for kids of all ages to keep them on track and color coding it is designed to keep the kids’ activities organized and kids on track with minimal reminders. The new year seemed like the perfect opportunity to create a back-to-school routine, right? Give this clock a shot! For step by step instructions on how to make one, click here.

Meal Plan  ??

If you haven’t already figured out the joy of meal planning, hop on this train! Meal planning for the week as you do a weekly grocery shop will save you time throughout the week so that you (and your kids) will get to spend more time together after school instead of being stuck in the kitchen trying to figure out what on earth to make for dinner. *Bonus Tip* – Kids can use this trick for planning out their lunches too!

Ease Into The New School Year

Moving from the carefree days of summer to a stricter, more organized day to day routine is hard! Don’t feel bad about scheduling in “black out days” to your kids schedule to help them relax and ease back into their new schedule. If sports or music programs make this difficult, try to schedule one night a week that you can sit down as a family and just have a movie night, turn off the phones, and reset.