Best Ways to Keep Your Kids School Stuff Organized During the Year

The barbeque coals are cold, and Labor Day has passed, which means one thing.

Back to School.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in fall 2021, about 49.5 million students were enrolled in public schools from prekindergarten to grade.

And the fall of 2022 may even bump up those numbers. That’s an awful lot of books, backpacks, and pens, which means the dreaded school supply list is sent home.

But that’s not all. There’s waking the kids up, making lunches, finding shoes, getting everyone to school and to after-school activities, supervising homework, and more, but those things alone can leave parents exhausted.

Here are five quick tips to help keep your kid’s school stuff organized this year and help keep you from getting burnt out.

#1 Start with a checklist…or two

Familyeducation.com has two excellent morning and afternoon routine checklists you can download for free here and here. 

Each list contains to-dos for both kids and parents. They include things like organizing backpacks (kids) and checking backpacks, and signing permission slips (parents).

#2 Set up a homework station

Letting your kids do homework anywhere and all over the house is a big no-no. Instead, find a space that you can set up for home learning. Like their own home office, if you will. 

Even if it’s the kitchen table, make it the place where homework is done, either with a bar cart filled with homework essentials, color-coded bins, or a tray with their desk accessories.

#3 Organize closets and dresser drawers

One idea would be to create a hanger for each day of the school week.

Let your kids decide at the beginning of the week which outfits they want to wear to school. Hang each one on the corresponding hangar, and they’ll be ready to go.

No more staring at the clothes in the morning fog.

#4 Start teaching kids how to be organized at an early age

As the household administrator, you should learn to delegate. You can start with a weekly planner that kids refer to nightly to help them stay on track and start the habit of planning ahead.

For example, before they do their homework, have them check their planner and figure out what will be needed for the next day and what they will need for each week.

There are planners that are perfect even for elementary school kids. Hey, you may even learn of thing or two when it comes to your organizational skills!

#5 Is space too cramped to keep organized? Maybe it’s time for a bigger home.          

Many things change with time, and your lifestyle and hobbies may have changed since you purchased your current home.

If your family is growing and you have more people in it than bedrooms, you’ve probably outgrown your home. If your living areas feel cluttered even when they’re organized, it could be time to purchase a bigger home.

If that’s the case, Embrace Home Loans stands ready to help. We have many programs specifically for those who have reached a point to trade up you may choose to buy outside of conforming loan price ranges.

This amount is currently $417,000 in most states and $625,000 in some counties where home prices are much higher than the national average. At one time, Jumbo loans had interest rates that were much higher than conventional loans.

Here’s some great news for you. Ask us about our new program that can even LOWER your rates on such loans. Of course, there are qualifying terms, and the program is not available in all states.

This may even make home-buying more affordable vs renting if that’s where you are now.

Take a look at all our innovative and extremely flexible lending programs. You’re sure to find something that fits your specific needs.