Don't forget these four products when back-to-school shopping

It’s that time of year, and back-to-school shopping is in full swing! Whether your kids are back in school already or headed there in a couple days, it’s never too late (or too early!) to set both you and them up for a successful year.

How? Through organizing hacks, of course!

I’ve sourced four of the best products you can buy to make back-to-school a breeze, saving both you and your kids time and sanity. While these might not typically make it on your back-to-school shopping list, they’re certainly worth adding this year! Let’s dive in.

1) 3-compartment food containers

One of the best back-to-school organization tips I can give any mom out there is to buy food containers with compartments, and “assign” a food category to each one. For example, for the product I linked, the large section can be for a sandwich, one small section can be for fruits or veggies, and the other small section can be for chips or dessert. This small organizing hack ensures your kids are getting a balanced meal and makes packing lunches super efficient.

Take it one step further by pre-approving some snacks your kids can have in their lunches and keeping those selections within their reach in the fridge or pantry. The children can then help you pack their lunch every night because they know what they’re allowed to fill each compartment with, and they can easily access it! This fosters responsibility and independence, and it saves you a little time as well.

2) 5-section sweater organizer

Another back-to-school organization tip I recommend is to lay out your kids’ outfits for the week. Check the forecast every Sunday, and choose clothes accordingly. This makes it so that no one has to think through what to wear in the morning, saving you some major time. Hey, even if you can even get an extra 5 minutes of sleep, it’s worth it, right?

The best way to do this, in my opinion, is through a 5-compartment hanging sweater organizer. Label each compartment with a day of the week, and place that day’s outfit in its specific compartment. All your kiddo has to do is grab whatever is in there that morning, get dressed, and go!

3) Over-the-door organizer

Do you ever get overwhelmed by the number of papers your kids bring home? There can be so many things to shuffle through, it’s hard to keep track of them all! That’s why I recommend adding an over-the-door organizer to your back-to-school shopping list.

An inexpensive over-the-door organizer can make a big impact on your day-to-day efficiency. Put one of these wherever your kids do homework or keep their backpacks, whether that’s their bedroom, a home office, the mudroom, etc. Label each section to categorize their papers, such as “Active Projects” for anything they’re currently working on but don’t need to bring to and from the classroom, “Bring to School” for anything that needs to be turned in, “For Mom to Sign” for any sort of permission slips, and whatever else might be relevant to you and your family. Everyone knows exactly what they need to tend to or bring with them!

4) Magnetic whiteboard

A calendar or meal planner slapped on your refrigerator can seem cliché – but there’s a reason so many people have them. They WORK!

If you don’t have a magnetic whiteboard of some sort, do yourself a favor and get one now. It’s one of my favorite organizing hacks.

For a calendar, assign a marker color to everyone in your family and write out their commitments and activities in that color. This makes it so that all you have to do is take a quick glance at the day/week/month in question and you know exactly what’s on the docket.

Same goes for a meal planner – assign each meal type (breakfast, lunch, dinner) a color and plan away. You’ll be way more resourceful at the grocery store, you’ll save money because you’re only buying what you need, and you’ll save yourself time every day of trying to figure out what to cook (seriously – why didn’t anyone tell me this is one of the hardest parts of being an adult?!).

I hope you implement some of these back-to-school organization tips, and when you do, be sure to send me an email at [email protected] so I can hear all about how they’re working for you!

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