Back To School: Tips to Organize Your Home

Back to school time brings backpacks by the back door, papers flying in from kids, and upcoming activities, back to school night and more.  Create a command center and landing strip that helps you control the information and stuff.

  • Establish a command center with a slot of your kids’ papers and the mail.  The slots can be a wall pocket, basket or cube, labelled with their names and your name.  If you use a desk, the command center can be a desktop sorter with hanging files also labelled with names.
  • Choose a spot for your kids’ backpacks.  Hooks should hold up to 40 pounds since backpacks are heavy! One hook per backpack please, also labelled with their names.  Baskets and bins are also great options.  Keeping items corralled is the key. 
  • Post your family calendar, a dry erase board and a bulletin board in this area.   The calendar is to keep all the upcoming dates.  The bulletin board and dry erase boards are for reminders, invitations, and appointments.  Chalkboards are popular too.  Don’t forget a pencil attached by a string just so it is handy too. 
  • Your family chore chart can be added too. 
  • Host a family meeting and talk about where the backpacks and papers go each day.  Empty the papers out and put in the mom or dad’s slot, hang backpack back after homework, parent replaces paper each evening, and everyone is ready for the next day.

Do you have a family command center idea to share? What works for you? 

Need more ideas?  Visit my pinterest board Back to School.  http://pinterest.com/EllenDelap/back-to-school/

5 replies

Trackbacks & Pingbacks

  1. […] Resources – This is the time of year when back to school tips and suggestions are abundant. Many of my organizing colleagues have great wisdom to share. Some of my favorite tips and posts are Lorie Marrero’s video about using a binder for organizing school papers and more, Leslie Josel’s Student Organizing Pinterest board, Clare Kumar’s 5 Tips for a Better Back to School, Helena Alkhas’ school paper organizing system, and Ellen Delap’s Back to School Tips to Organize Your Home. […]

  2. […] organized home has 4 important components for living an easy, organized life.  These areas are zones that help you accomplish the basics: […]

  3. […] organized home has 4 important components for living an easy, organized life.  These areas are zones that help you accomplish the basics: […]

  4. […] Resources – This is the time of year when back to school tips and suggestions are abundant. Many of my organizing colleagues have great wisdom to share. Some of my favorite tips and posts are Lorie Marrero’s video about using a binder for organizing school papers and more, Leslie Josel’s Student Organizing Pinterest board, Clare Kumar’s 5 Tips for a Better Back to School, Helena Alkhas’ school paper organizing system, and Ellen Delap’s Back to School Tips to Organize Your Home. […]

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.