New year, new routine: back to school made easy
If you’re anything like me, your brain is already racing thinking about the back-to-school routine.
Balancing kids with life can be tough, but a little preparation and organisation go a long way in taking the edge off.
Here are nine essential tips to ensure mornings aren’t a battle, the house keeps moving and the kids get out the door on time.
1. Weekly food prep
Whether it’s packed lunches or pre-ordered canteen options, look at the week ahead every Sunday.
This ensures you have enough food at home and reduces the chance of last-minute panic.
Food batching is great however not for everyone, especially when your little ones change their minds about their favourite foods daily.
2. Uniform organisation
Planning the night before always helps with the early-morning school rush. It saves the chaos of the kids running around with only one sock or having to dig around in the laundry basket.
Preparing my young son’s uniform the night before ensures he has all the clothes he needs to dress himself with ease, giving him a sense of independence and reducing my morning workload.
3. Pre-packed school bag
How many times have you found a school excursion note at the bottom of the kids’ school bags… or worse, a mouldy squashed banana?
This can be easily avoided by emptying and pre-packing school bags each afternoon.
That way, nothing is missed, goes mouldy, and you can literally drop in their lunchboxes the next morning.
4. Label everything
Hats, jumpers, lunchboxes… kids somehow manage to mix everything up. Labelling saves tears, money, and the daily trip to the lost-property box.
5. Sunscreen by the toothbrushes
Keeping sunscreen next to the toothpaste is a hack that has saved me many times. It becomes part of the routine instead of something you remember halfway through the drive.
6. Morning station setup
Create a little ‘launch pad’ near the door which includes hats, shoes, bags, library bags, and water bottles all in one place. It stops the last-minute scramble for that missing school hat or forgotten water bottle.
7. Five-minute morning tidy
Once the kids are dressed and fed breakfast, do a super-quick sweep of the kitchen and grab lunchboxes out the fridge. It’s small but stops the mess from snowballing and ‘afternoon you’ will thank ‘morning you’ for the forward thinking!
8. Afternoon reset
When you get home, place uniforms straight into the wash, put lunchboxes on the bench, and check their bags right away. A 10-minute “reset” stops everything piling up and makes tomorrow a breeze.
9. The family calendar that works
Whether it’s a wall calendar or a shared phone app, keeping all excursions, sports days, library days, and school events in one spot is a sanity saver. Put all events in your diary as soon as the notes come home, otherwise they disappear into the black hole of school paperwork.
Starting the school year doesn’t have to be stressful. With a few small tweaks and a little preparation, you can transform chaotic mornings into smooth, calm starts for the whole family.