How to Organize Kids’ School Stuff at Home!
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This is exactly how to organize kids’ school stuff at home to eliminate clutter!
If you have a kid in school, you know how overwhelming all the papers, art work, and reminders can become! It really seems like they send home everything.. Piece of paper with a single stick figure? Send it home!
Let me help save you the headache! Today, I’m sharing how to organize your kids’ school stuff at home before it slowly starts taking up every inch of your house!
This post is all about how to organize kids’ school stuff at home!
Easy Ideas for How to Organize Kids’ School Stuff at Home!
1. Set up a routine
Routines are almost always the first step to getting organized!
When does the most amount of school stuff come back home? At the end of the day, of course!
Set up an after school routine with your kids that keeps them accountable for what they do and where they put their stuff when they come home. We have a free school routine printable you can grab and edit to your needs!
Make sure your kids know where to take off their shoes, put their backpack, put their school agenda/folder, etc.
2. Ask your kids to sort through their own papers
Admittedly, this step only works if your kids are a little older.
If you’re like me, you feel a bit guilty every time you have to hide a piece of school work in the trash. You simply can’t save everything but it still feels sorta mean.
About mid way through the last school year (second grade)I tried this! After I would sort through her folder and get any important paper or notices, I started to give my daughter the stack of left over papers. I told her to only keep what she absolutely was proud of or worked hard on.
It totally worked!
She was surprisingly really good at parting from random scratch pieces of paper and only keeping the special stuff. I guess it goes to show, we’re definitely more emotional and attached to their stuff than they ever are!
3. Kids’ school paper storage ideas
Over the past two years I’ve found that this accordion style folder is awesome for storing and organizing school papers and is way more sleek than a bulky bin!
At the end of the school I make a scrapbook of my kids school work so during the year I store all of the stuff in this. One year I organized it by month and the next I organized it by type of work. For example: spelling/writing papers, math papers, artwork, seasonal artwork/papers, awards.
If you’re super selective over what to save, this could even sort papers by school year and cover all of k-5th or so!
4. Create a backpack station
Hands down – this is my favorite (and probably only) DIY project I’ve ever done!
This is a school organization ? HACK ? that has saved my sanity over the last year and a half!
You can see exactly how I set up this backpack station here but in short, this is the one and only spot for backpacks, lunch bags and school shoes.
Theres no excuse for leaving a backpack or stray shoe on the floor to be tripped over when there’s an entire station for everything to go!
Even if you don’t create an entire backpack station, just having a designated spot for everything is extremely helpful on its own. Make sure everyone knows where their belonging go!
5. Organize kids’ school sports equipment
If your kids are in after school sports, this will be a game changer!
We’re all about giving things homes. After all, this is the key to getting and staying organized all school year!
Avoid smelly sports equipment taking over the hallway or bedroom floor with a simple organizer like this. Keep it in the garage, backyard or laundry room!
6. Homework supplies
Dedicate a small space for basic homework supplies.
I noticed that some nights, completing homework would cause quite a mess. My kid would be grabbing crayons from over here, erasers from over there, pencils from here, etc. There’s an easy solution to this!
Grab a desk organizer or small caddy and keep it stocked with basic homework supplies. This should include things like pencils, basic crayons, erasers, scissors, a glue stick, highlighters, etc.
7. Add reminders to a family calendar
Lastly, get a family calendar ?
There’s really no need to hang on to those school event, due date and announcement papers!
I know its tempting to just stick them to the fridge so everyone can see them but the easier way to do this is to just get a family calendar. You can even set up an entire family command center if you wanna get extra organized with it!
We have this large acrylic family calendar right on the wall in front of the door we use the most. You can’t miss it! We add anything and everything to this calendar to keep everyone on the same page. It’s super convenient and an easy way to free yourself from an over crowded fridge!
