Back-to-School Organization

It’s hard to believe that in just a little over a week my kids will be heading back to school. In some ways this summer has flown by. In other ways it seems like a very long time ago when we went on vacation.

As our family is gearing up for back-to-school time, I’ve gotten a spurt of organizing energy that I hope will help make this school year easier to navigate. We have been in our home for almost a year now, so I’ve spent some time over the summer trying to get each room functioning as I want it to. One room in particular is vital to our school year… the laundry room.

This space in our laundry room was meant for an extra refrigerator or freezer. Since we didn’t have one, I thought this would be a great out of the way place to hang backpacks, keep shoes, and store bags for different activities. I ordered the shoe rack from Pottery Barn. It offers a stylish yet functional way to keep up with our stuff.

These wall pockets were also purchased from Pottery Barn. We use these to corral all papers that come in our house. One thing about using this system…you must keep them cleaned out or they don’t do you any good! For example, I finally went through mine last night and discovered some mail that came while I was out of town in APRIL! In that mail was an invitation to a baby shower that I had told the sweet mama I never received. Oops! So, this year I vow to do better about keeping it cleared out.

I use the wall pocket designated for my husband to put the newspaper and mail in that I think he needs to see. The kids put anything I need to see or sign from school into my pocket. Papers that need to be returned to school go back in their wall pockets. They are then responsible for checking their pockets to see if there is anything that needs to go back to school.

The magnetic board I have above the wall pockets is helpful to hold the school lunch menu and other items we may need to refer to at a glance. While it is no longer available, you can find a similar item at Creative Memories where I purchased this one.

To get a space like this organized for your family, you don’t have to have tons of money. There are many quality alternatives such as plastic wall pockets and less expensive benches. In fact, you may already have something in your home that you could re-purpose to suit your needs.

While getting this space ready, I finally got the rest of my laundry room cleaned up and organized.

I now feel a sense of peace when I walk into this room. With a little discipline and effort, we will use this room to make our school year the best ever!