It’s hard to believe summer break is over! Check out this post for some of my favorite ways to get ready for school!

Not the tidiest of drawers but not the messiest either
My seven year old has learned to “marie kondo” fold (sort of) and these drawer dividers really help!

You can see the whole process in this post here!

Get Ready for School and Declutter!

This year is huge for us! We finally have all three kids at the same school! What?! That means the same drop off time too. Woo-hoo! Game Changer for sure. With that comes all the feels though. My baby is going to kindergarten. It JUST CAN’T BE. I’m still in denial I think. I’ve also started looking at adoption places a lot closer. Jk Jk! That’s what our puppy is for- ha!

Pick specific times annually to stay on top of it all

When you have three kids, or even 1 or 2, in other words… IF YOU HAVE KIDS, you will notice that well, life gets…. cluttered. Both mentally (too many places to be and things to remember,) and physically- when’s the last time you saw the floor of your mini van? ha! I find that having specific times of the year set aside to declutter really helps. For us, this is before school starts, after the New Year and the holiday crazy, and before summer starts.

Realistic expectations are key!

One of the top things I strive to do to get ready for school is a good declutter sesh! If you decide to start before the kids head back to school just remember not to put pressure on yourself to get it all done right away. It will be much easier to finish once they’re actually out of the house for a few hours each day. Try just picking one area of your home or category per week to focus on. If you’re working full time most of this will have to wait until the weekend or even once the kids are asleep.

I love using clear hanging shoe organizers on the back of any door I can find!

I also use them for art supplies in the office and toy storage in the play closet.

Grace people grace!

Remember, it’s important to give yourself lots of grace! My priority right now is to embrace these last few days of summer break, take a deep breath and be intentional with my kids. So I’m not suggesting you put organizing so high on your priority list that it takes away time from making memories with your littles. These years fly by! I have only begun this process myself, and I predict it will take me at least a month to finish!

My organizing goals-

We like to sort through all the toys, hello the holidays will be here before we know it! It’s also a great time to update the book collection (make sure to return those library books, yikes!), sort through the kid clothes to see what still fits or is worth throwing out (since I have all girls we just keep passing down, passing down), and finish documenting all the art work from the school year. This brings me to another very important topic. The artwork!

Get Ready for School and document their artwork!

This app creates beautiful books like the ones you see here

Image via Twitter

Find a method that works for YOU and YOUR personality!

Different folks have different strokes when it comes to saving their kids art. Some are ruthless editors of their childrens’ creations, and have no problem throwing out all those scribbles. Others have kept EVERY SINGLE THING their kid has ever created. Yikes. There are mamas who have a folder system and use huge binders to tuck each piece of art into plastic sleeves. And there are those who just shove it all into a keepsake box. For me, I use an app that I love called Artkive.

The Artkive app has saved me countless hours and mom guilt over throwing out their precious preciousness to oblivion. I can snap a pic with my phone, categorize by kid, grade and age, give it a caption, edit it in the app and eventually print out a book for them. Another big bonus- I can throw away any art that I don’t want to keep! Wahoo! And no, this is not a sponsored post. I just love this app. This summer I even had my oldest daughter take pics of some of the art. She labeled everything for me right in the app. I think she might have actually enjoyed herself too- AMAZING!

Cute ways to organize:

Baskets, baskets, baskets!

Baskets are awesome. Talk about making storage beautiful. And there are so many, even too many to chose from these days! So I’ve rounded up a few here that I LOVE! We like to use big baskets for stuffed animals, blankets and bulky shoes. Normally, I like to hang a clear shoe organizer over their wardrobe and closet doors so they can grab-n-go easily, but shoes like uggs, boots and even slippers I prefer to throw in a basket.

We store bulky shoes in this cute morrocan wedding blanket style basket from WorldMarket!

 

I actually bought this fuschia pink basket from a vendor at Costco who was selling African goods, but you can find similar ones here

How cute is this two toned seagrass basket from WorldMarket?

find it here

 

I heart macrame so much, and I am obsessed with these baskets from Urban Outfitters. Urban is actually one of my go-to spots for home decor. People don’t realize UO is like the little cousin to Anthropologie. Similar cool retro modern style, but for a fraction of the price! I source a lot of my art from there too!

 

Get ready for school with this cute basket from Amazon!

 

I love this rope basket from Target and the leather handles really add a nice touch.

 

Macrame on a basket? yes please!

find it @WorldMarket

We love this basket on the right with the black fringe- find a similar one here

The straw basket/tote on the left is used as a dirty clothes hamper.

 

File Storage:

Another way to get ready for school is to clean out the paper. Let’s get real here folks- once those kiddos start school it gets really hard to stay on top of all the paper! Some folks like clear storage files, others prefer portable file boxes they can move from room to room. Regardless of what you choose I think we can all agree that it should be beautiful. I’m happier when things come in pretty packages- especially those every day mundane things. It just makes me smile a bit even when I have to do boring tasks. 😉

Here is a roundup of some of my favorite file storage finds:

How cute is this turquoise number? It comes in a variety of colors too!

 

I didn’t even know the words glam, modern, feminine, chic could describe a filing cabinet but these definitely do!

 

simple, natural, modern= perfection

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How cute is this guy?!

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I love the idea of these- Cute, Classy and Portable

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This would be pretty anywhere in your home

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Some people really dig clear storage.

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Another clear storage idea.

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I think its pretty cool how this looks like furniture!

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One of my favorite ways to get for school is to buy new shoes for the kids!

I’ve scoured the internet to find you my top picks (and most likely your kids top picks too!) They’re all linked below!

You’re welcome!

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 // 6 //

7 // 8 // 9 // 10 // 11 // 12

 

Get Organized with the right planner!

There are so many planners out there, and I have done my research believe me! If you’re a digital kind of person I get that. I actually couldn’t live without my phone, and I love using my phone calendar because it literally is always in my pocket or purse– whereas my planner isn’t. So I do a hybrid of both.

Some might think this is too time consuming. Maybe it is, but if you’re obsessed with paper goods like I am, then chances are you think its more fun than time consuming. Plus, I like to see my month at a glance, and I can’t really do that on my phone. I use the Fancy Pants Start Planner and I love it! This leather bound binder version was a splurge but totally worth it!

click the link here

It was definitely a splurge, but I love being able to snap everything into a binder. This planner has a goal section, budget worksheets for each month, cleaning and grocery checklists, projects pages complete with action steps and even sections for organizing your vacations and holidays! I love how its all in one place. Again this is not a sponsored post, I just really love this planner. It’s worth checking out!

That’s it guys! That’s all I have for you in this post! I wanted to add more but gosh darn it, I’m exhausted now. 🙂 Time to go start organizing those papers I guess. ha! Have a great week and start to your school year!

Drop a comment in the box below, and let me know if any of these tips helped you!