Back to school tips

[dizzycooks]

I would love to exchange some tips for making mornings run smoothly! Or managing the paper trail that multiple kids in school provides. Or how to keep evenings from feeling like chaos has completely taken over.

[abs]

Don't get a hurricane or 30 inches of rain. It will mess school up for weeks. That's about all I got right now.

[nicolewi]

I need all the organization tips over here. I can share one, though, that I got on here or on the Bump or something. I was on the verge of ordering a super expensive Pottery Barn wall system but couldn't quite pull the trigger. Someone recommended this:
smile.amazon.com/Smead-Cascading-Organizer-Pockets-92060/dp/B00H0FJLZS/ref=sr_1_1?s=office-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1503951225&sr=1-1

I got that instead, just to have something, and it's great. It gives me a place to put all the papers. Now, half the time I forget to put them in there, and I'm still hunting for things, but if you use it all the time, it works great. Even I manage to put things in it at least some of the time. It gives me a "home" for the basic "how to reach the teacher" info and school schedule, lunch info, DD's speech flashcards, permission slips, soccer schedules, etc. It's a cheap but effective solution.

[dizzycooks]

nicolewi I've got a binder and each girl has a section. It has a folder and pocket in addition to the three hole punch areas. So far I've kept medical records, bus schedules and school calendars and schedules in their sections. I imagine I'll use that a lot more this year. I am also a firm believer in tossing things asap and dealing with them immediately. The two checks and forms for pta and spirit wear are bugging me bc they are just on my counter until open house later this week.

[cjcouple]

Plan/prep as much as possible night before. Have designated honework and school spots, keep a calendar and combine all school, sport calendar into one, etc.

For paperwork, i downloaded Evernote App. You can put a date on paperwork and take a pic. It actually reads content and you can search documents anytime. I haven't started it yet but read about it on another site.

[cjcouple]

Aug 28, 2017 15:30:42 GMT -5 dizzycooks said:

nicolewi I've got a binder and each girl has a section. It has a folder and pocket in addition to the three hole punch areas. So far I've kept medical records, bus schedules and school calendars and schedules in their sections. I imagine I'll use that a lot more this year. I am also a firm believer in tossing things asap and dealing with them immediately. The two checks and forms for pta and spirit wear are bugging me bc they are just on my counter until open house later this week.

I have a mail box on my wall for that stuff. Its not this but gives you idea

www.target.com/p/galvanized-metal-envelope-mail-holder-threshold-153/-/A-14971969?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&CPNG=PLA_Home+Decor+Shopping&adgroup=SC_Home+Decor&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=s&device=m&location=9003303&gclid=Cj0KCQjw_o7NBRDgARIsAKvAgt0iW659fMz1JKqnKy3umh2OC0-tOHjc0caozR3YDBP9QNachDSrMfkaAsQ5EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[RoryGilmore]

Kids have a hanging divider thing in their closet. Clothes get picked for the week on Sunday. I don't bring any paper into the house that I don't truly need. Forms get filled out immediately and go back in the backpack. Artwork to keep gets filed in each kids file box. Everything else goes into a school folder to keep for reference (schedule, lunch menu, etc.). Lunches get prepped the night before so they are mostly grab and go. If I stay on top of everything, the system works. If I start to let go of the system, it spirals out of control quickly!

[mamaalysson]

Clothes are picked out the night before. Both kids have a bin next to their closet for this purpose. DD will put in everything including hair ties.

I make lunches while the kids are eating breakfast, and they both get pretty much the same thing. DD says she wants to start making her own lunch, so we will see how that works.

Backpacks are packed the night before.

I put all the school calendar info in my iCal as soon as we get it and recycle the paper version. The school lunch menu is online so the paper version gets recycled. I put whatever notices that come home in my phone if I can, or if I need to keep it, I have a cork board in the kitchen for that stuff. Papers that need to be signed and returned get signed and returned ASAP.

All the kid paper...oy. In our dining room, I have given each kid a string they can hang cool artwork from (their "art gallery"). I rotate what is up there so it doesn't get too cluttered. They have similar strings in their playroom on which they can hang whatever they want and make as crowded as they want - I don't have to look at it. When they bring home school work, I take the "good" stuff for the dining room, and they decide what else is important enough to keep and what gets recycled. If the papers they wanted to keep end up on the floor or cluttering up the dining room table, I recycle them.