Back to school organization for your household

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The fall season is here! For many households, now’s the time to prepare for the new pace of life. Back to school and back to the office routines bring a whole lot of stress to the household. If you and your child are heading back to the office and school after several months of remote working from home, you may find it overwhelming at first. How can you manage to run your household when your routine is changing again? The truth is that for a lot of people, remote working has introduced new time management habits. So, you will need some time to find the best routines when you need to commute again. Here are some organizational tips that can save you a lot of time and stress.

Clear the garden and outdoor

Commuting is exhausting, especially after a long period spent at home. So, you want to make sure you can tackle some essential maintenance jobs rapidly before they affect your home. As the first leaves will soon fall and turn our garden into a beautiful red and orange carpet, you need to arrange for fall gutter cleaning soon. Gorilla Property Services has many locations across the country. Indeed, there is nothing worse than a clogged-up gutter on a rainy day. As fall is renowned for being a wet season, you can’t afford to wait for long. Clogged-up gutters can increase the risks of water infiltration through the walls and the roof. It’s going to be messy, costly, and stressful to arrange for repairs. But you can keep up with the autumnal challenges by outsourcing essential jobs to professionals, from gutter emptying to garden checks.

Have a plan for college students 

College students are packing or have just packed to head to the campus for the first time. It is an exciting time for them, but it can be daunting too. A lot of college students are unprepared for household challenges. It can be helpful to arrange a simple schedule of chores with them. For instance, you can decide how to care for their dirty laundry, especially if they don’t have easy access to washing machines. Similarly, nothing beats a healthy family meal.  Students might not take the time to cook. They might not have a great place for cooking. For example, you can arrange for pre-made dishes they can pick up on weekends and bring back to the campus. Decide what meals they enjoyed at home and make a quick and easy recipe book of their favourite meals.

Make your lunch boxes go further

For the first time in months, you have to think about lunch boxes. Planning and packing lunchboxes can take a lot of time. Without appropriate organization, you might even end up wasting a lot of money. Some households prefer to map out the lunches for the week to get ahead with grocery shopping on a budget. Others love to prepare individual ingredients separately, so they can pack a lunch box in a few seconds. You can even create a lunch packing station in your fridge and pantry, storing specific items to make lunches rapidly.

Keep everyone’s schedule visible

Last but not least, pop everybody’s schedules in a visible area at home. Pinned on a corkboard in the entryway or attached to the front of the fridge with a magnet, a shared calendar on your phones, you’ve got many options! Sharing schedules will save you planning time, so you know when everybody is free.

Going back to back to work and school after spending many months at home on a summer schedule can be daunting. You find yourself running out of time to maintain your household! But hopefully, these simple tips can help save you time and hassle in the long term.

If you need help developing routines to organize your household book a complimentary appointment with me.  

Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices,  virtually. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situation. She uses her love of physical activity to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you to manage your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.

Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca

Click here to learn more about her online course Create an Organized Home.

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