Five Tips for Back to School Organization

It's hard to believe that we've been back at school for a month at this point!!  With the pool officially closed I guess I can't deny the fact that summer is over any more (even if it is in the 90s here this week!!).  I don't claim to be the most organized individual, by any means, but I've found these tips work well for me.  I tend to start the week rearing to go only to fizzle out by Wednesday or Thursday.  These tips help circumvent that fizzle.



One
Pack lunches for the entire week on Sunday - Sometimes I do simple things like sliced ham and cheese rolled with a fruit and a veggie, other times I do more complex things like roasted salmon. This week I made sausage with quinoa, stay tuned.  It really just depends.  You can find some of my ideas here.  But by doing it all on Sunday means I won't have to scramble to find something that morning, nor do I have to do it every. single. night.  It really doesn't take any longer to pack 5 than it does to pack one. This year I'm using the Sistema Lunch Cube and it's amazing.

Two

Meal Plan and Prep - While I don't meal plan to the point of specific meals for specific days, I do keep a list of ingredients and meals we can have throughout the week.  Using our DIY chalkboard menu Hubby chooses what sounds good for that night (or I smile sweetly if something sounds particularly good to me).  This year I'm prepping all veggies when I get home from the grocery and I can't stress how wonderful and easy that's been!  I'm working on a freezer cooking post coming soon, too, which streamlines the process even more.

This pic was while I still thought I could plan day by day.
I've since learned that just doesn't work in our little hive.

Three
Outfit planning - While I'm no fashion plate, I do have to wear clothes :).  I select five outfits for the week and hang them at the front of my closet.  Again, there's likely no order to them (unless there's some sort of Spirit Day at school) but just knowing they are ready to go makes mornings so much easier, and ensures no panicked loads of laundry in the middle of the night.

Four
Rise and Shine Coffee - This sounds pretty basic, but prepping the coffee the night before gets everything running smoothly from the first sound of the alarm.  Oddly enough I don't use the timer though.  The one morning I did I woke up to find a spider floating in the coffeepot.  Not gonna lie, it kinda freaked me out and Hubby may or may not have had to convince me not to buy a new one.  I just couldn't get past not knowing how it got in there....but I digress....



Five
Weekly Fridge Calendar - Things can get a little crazy around our little hive and while I'm pretty neurotic about my personal planner (think color coding, washi tape, etc) sometimes we just need something straightforward and simple to outline the week.  I whipped up this printable version a few years ago, laminated it, and use dry erase markers to update before each week starts.



What are your favorite organizational tips??  I'd really love to have any tricks you'd be willing to share.  I'm always looking to make the work week easier!!  Maybe I'll finally have mastered it by the time I retire :).

Don't forget to check out the Labor Day Sale goodies I shared over the weekend.  Most of the items are on sale through the end of the week!

Happy Organizing!