As the new school year beckons it can be hard to get back to a regular routine. The key is planning ahead.
Ireland’s top professional organisers, Kim and Lyn from A Sorted Affair, have put their heads together to offer some game changing tips for parents to take the stress out of getting your little ones back into their routine.
Uniform/clothes
Take an hour out of your weekend to make sure the items you need for Monday to Wednesday (at least ) are washed and dry. Kim and Lyn recommend having everything you need, including underwear and socks, in one, easy-to-grab location.
Lyn likes to use tall drawers for her family and labels them by day. Each drawer contains everything they need for that day including after school activities. These drawers are readily available in most local stores.
Food
Organise the fridge. It’s a simple tip but very effective and one of the biggest time savers. Put all the lunch box items together and in grab-and-go containers. That way you can lift it out of the fridge, get what you need, and then pop them straight back in ready for the next day.
Create a breakfast station. Depending on the age group, setting up an accessible spot for bowls, spoons, cups and cutlery for the children to either make their own or assist in the breakfast routine is not only a great habit to start but another time saver.
Have a lunch or snack station. Fill a low-down press, drawer or even a basket with snacks and lunchtime items such as dried food, lunchboxes, and water bottles. Children of all ages can get involved in the lunch time prep, even if the little ones are just taking out the boxes and bottles to be filled and leaving the sandwich making to the bigger ones. If you have a particularly busy morning ahead, prepping these the day before can be a great time-saver.
Labels
This one seems obvious but labels are especially handy at this time of year. Use them to label uniforms, bags, lunch boxes, football boots, school jumpers, and everything else. Children misplacing items is out of your control, but labelling anything that leaves the house means you have a better chance of getting it back.
Home time
The biggest tip is to create new household habits, especially when coming home from school.
You will get the moans and groans from the kids, but very quickly these new habits will become second nature, leaving you less stressed and with more time to focus on what matters.
Coats, shoes and bags are stored in one zone. When coming in from school, coats and bags are stored on a designated hook. Shoes are in designated drawer or basket — no more being half an hour late because one shoe is missing.
After school, lunch boxes and drinks bottles are cleaned out and returned to their storage spot in the kitchen. In the morning allow the children to help pick and pack their own lunch.
Taking a uniform off when getting home from school can save you time and money. Less wear means fewer washes, and less wear and tear making your uniforms go the extra mile. Routine and responsibility are great for encouraging young minds, so allowing them to help in the weekly uniform prep and maintenance is great for their confidence and your sanity.
