My girls and I spent the first part of the week day in and out cleaning and organizing their space to get ready for the school year. There is so much more to getting ready than just fulfilling the school supply lists and buying new clothes and shoes! I was determined to complete everything on my wish list without spending any money and we succeeded.
1. An organized closet. Kids need to be able to see their clothes easily so they can put together their outfits every day and find things quickly. We are hoping to eliminate some of this stress by laying out our outfits the night before, but it
starts here. We hang all shirts, skirts, dresses and coats/jackets. Pajamas, pants, tights, leggings, underwear, socks, hats, scarves and gloves go in the drawers. Shoes go on the closet floor (I have wire shoe racks coming in the mail
from Home Depot, the only thing I bought and have been needing to get for a long time anyway). As a side note, toys go in bins, less frequently used and needing-supervision-toys go up, all other go under their bed. If it sounds like I cram alot into their closet and drawers, I don't. Kids don't need 50 of everything. Some of the best advice I ever got was from a friend who has 5 kids, 4 now teenagers, who told me a major way to simplify life, space, and laundry is to only have 8 shirts, and 4 pants per kid. We have a set for warm weather and cold weather and it has greatly reduced wasted time, money and effort caring for all that extra that we don't need. I only buy what I know they like and will wear. I had them go through everything- rack, drawers and bins- and get rid of anything they don't use or want, then put everything else away nice and organized. Another side note- on top of their dresser is the only space I had to give them a "shelf"- they each have a side and space to put their knick knacks and treasures and they appreciate having their "own space" to display and keep their special things.
2. Tidy homework station. Again, they each have their own space. Boards and clips I made to hang their art and whatnot and plastic drawers to keep their supplies.
3. A place for their backpacks. I'm pretty sure most moms dislike when everyone comes home and dumps their stuff everywhere and throw their backpacks on the floor. We had hooks in the hallway, but even with anchors, they were falling out and destroying the wall (I don't know WHAT they keep in their packs to make them so heavy!) So I took them down and patched the wall. I found some heavy duty over the door plastic hooks I had that weren't being used and the girls helped me decide where to put them. We decided to hang them over the foot of their beds because they are easy to reach and it holds them well.
4. Organized bathroom drawers. This might not be as big of a deal for boys, but for my girls, HAIR is probably the number one reason we are late to school! I asked my girls to empty the bathroom drawers and go through everything, getting rid of old or unused hair stuff. I let them organize it however they wanted with what we had. They decided they each wanted their own drawer and to divide everything up between the two of them. They also decided they would pick out their hair stuff and decide how they are going to wear it the night before along with their outfits in hopes of saving time in the morning and getting to school on time. I was so proud of them for coming up with this idea on their own and will definitely be encouraging them to follow through!
Bonus #5. Chore Charts Lastly, I printed up these free chore charts found {
here}, to help keep us all on track!
Happy back to school season, everyone. Have a great weekend!
