It’s finally here. Whether you were counting down or dreading the day, your kiddos are back in school. You’re probably just getting back into those old, familiar routines: the mad morning rush, and the evening scramble to get dinner on the table and finish homework. While we know more about plumbing than just about anything else, we’ve scoured the interwebs to bring you the best hacks for making the transition from the lazy days of summer to the crammed, fast-paced school days just a little bit easier.
Hack #1: Lunch pockets
You’re likely familiar with the shoe caddies that hang on the back of a door. The typical shoe caddy holds 15 pairs of shoes. That’s 30 pockets – perfect for a month’s worth of school lunch supplies! When you do your big box shopping at Costco or Sam’s, stock up on non-perishables like pretzels, potato chips, Hostess desserts, single serve peanut butter or Nutella packs, Cheez-its, Goldfish, etc. All your kiddos need to do is grab the contents from the next day’s pocket, and add a sandwich, fruit or veggie and drink from the fridge. Easy peasy!
Hack #2: Speaking of the fridge
Designate a drawer or store perishable lunch supplies in a labeled container. Add snack-sized Ziploc bags of their favorite fruit or veggie (carrot sticks or chips, grapes, strawberries, etc.), cheese sticks, lunch meat, sandwiches and water bottles or juice boxes.
Hack #3: Speaking of juice boxes
Those can be stored in the freezer. That way, they can serve as an ice pack to keep lunch cold. The juice box will thaw by lunchtime.
Hack #4: Speaking of the freezer
If your kiddos love PB&J as much as we did (still do), you can make a few dozen in advance and freeze them in separate sandwich bags. They’ll stay fresh for up to 6 weeks, serve as an ice pack and will thaw by lunchtime. Your kids will never know the difference!
Hack #5: Magic apples
Apples are a favorite fruit, but most younger kids prefer to eat them sliced. The problem is they start to turn brown before lunchtime, which makes them less appealing. If you have an apple lover who won’t eat a whole apple (or can’t because of braces), try this: Slice an apple as you normally would, and then reconstruct it, holding it together in its original shape with a rubber band. This will keep the juices in and prevent slices from turning brown. Bonus: Your kids’ friends will be amazed!
Hack #6: Stick it
Skewers just make food look cool, and more fun to eat! Try buying a package of wooden skewers and add a colorful combination of fruit, cheese, turkey or other lunchmeat. You can even add small slices of pita bread, or crackers with holes in the middle (try Ritz).
Hack #7: Backpack station
Create a designated space just inside the front or garage door for your kids to store their backpacks after school. A sturdy hook or two can hold backpacks and coats. Include a hanging envelope or mail slot for any paperwork parents need to see, and an after-school checklist to help kiddos remember the essentials. (Unpack school bag, set out papers for Mom and Dad, homework, set table, choose tomorrow’s outfit, read).
Hack #8: Speaking of tomorrow’s outfit
Purchase a hanging sweater organizer. Use duct tape to add a letter to the inside, back wall of each section (M= Monday, etc.). Have your kids check the weather and choose an outfit for each day of the coming week and add it to the corresponding bins. Not in the mood to wear that outfit come Tuesday morning? No big deal – grab Thursday’s instead. The point is to spend less time choosing and matching clothing.
Hack #9: Backseat driver
How many times have you been halfway to the kids’ school when a sudden outburst from the backseat has you making an illegal U-turn to grab a forgotten item? More times than you can count, probably. Purchase a cheap backseat organizer (Amazon has several) and fill it with a stash of your kids’ most forgotten items… snacks, water bottles, pens and pencils, etc. If it’s their lunch or homework they keep forgetting, it might be time to tell them your car can’t make U-turns anymore. Going without and having to eat a school-prepared sandwich or skip recess to do last night’s homework will help them quickly tame their forgetfulness.
Hack #10: Hungry hour
You know the drill. Your kids get home from school and they’re STARVING! If you’re at work, your phone rings daily within seconds of the bus dropping them off at home. “What can I have for a snack?” If you’re at home, they’ll hound you until you stop what you’re doing and fix them something. Stop the whining and feed their faces with an after-school snack drawer. Cram it with enough not-too-sugary snacks for each child to have one snack each day of the week. Breakfast bars, Teddy Grahams, bananas, trail mix… anything that wasn’t in their lunch that day! Keep them from having four helpings a day by reminding them that when the week’s snacks are gone, they’re gone. No refills until the following Monday.
Hack #11: Homework station
There are so many distractions for kids these days. Sending them off to their respective rooms to get homework done might result in making a series of Music.ly videos, facetiming with an out-of-town friend, or binge watching their favorite TV shows. Create a homework station in a quiet nook of your home, and stash it with anything they might need from a calculator and pencils to loose-leaf paper, index cards, crayons and scissors. If you’ve got multiple kids who want to use the same space, include a timer or hourglass so they know how much time they have to work in peace.
Hack #12: Dinner, wherever
Look, there aren’t too many June Cleaver-style dinners anymore, amiright? But that doesn’t mean you have to forgo any and all time spent together. Creating a super simple tradition focused around dinnertime can help you create memories that will outlast yesterday’s meatloaf. Playing a quick game of “High/Low” can help you learn about your kids’ day (and vice versa), and can be played anywhere, whether you’re at a restaurant, eating on the run from a drive-thru or even standing around the concession stand at junior’s softball game. (High/Low: take turns sharing the best and worst things that happened to each of you that day).
Hack #13: Sheet wrangler
Struggling to keep track of where that pillowcase went, or how the fitted sheet and pillowcase never seem to match? Try using one of the pillowcases from a sheet set to store the rest of the set in (try saying that 3 times, fast!). No more mismatched sheets or missing pillowcases! And the linen closet will look a whole lot more organized, too!
Hack #14: Key confusion
Not sure which key belongs to whom, or which door it unlocks? Paint the top of all your house keys with spray paint – each family member gets to pick their own color. If your family uses two or more doors, paint a dot or stripe of one color for the front door, and another for the garage or back door.
Get proactive this school year and keep your kiddos prepared for a great year! And while you’re at it, be proactive about your home care, too! If you haven’t had your drains cleaned in over a year, don’t forget to schedule your preventative maintenance! This can help ensure your drains remain clear and in perfect working condition so that your well-oiled home routine (and bank account) doesn’t come to a screeching halt!
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