Are your kids back in school and you’re feeling a little crazed and disorganized? Help your kids get ready for school and get organized at home so it’s not a stressful year.
Getting ready for school and the kid’s out the door can be a mad dash to get out of the house and the afternoons are a rush to get to all the kids’ activities. This is how it is for me and I realized I need to figure out how to get ready for school and organized so we didn’t all lose our minds.
I got organized by creating checklists with everything they needed to bring to school and after school activities. Then I set out to plan easy after school snacks and weeknight dinners so it would be one less thing to worry about during those hectic afternoons.
These little changes have made a huge difference in the stress level in our house and I am hoping they’ll help you, too. Are you ready to learn how to be organized and grab your freebie printable checklists?
If your kids are doing remote learning or e-learning get helpful tips on educational resources, room set up ideas, and supplies on our Homeschool Resource Page.
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Get Organized with Free Printable Checklists
With the chaos of family life, it’s hard to remember everything the kids need to pack in their school bags and for after school activities. I created these checklists to make it easier to remember what the kids need to pack.
Each of my kids is responsible for checking the list before they leave to make sure they haven’t forgotten anything. Not having to remember everything in my head has been a game-changer for us.
I am attaching three free printables I use for my home. You will find one simple before school checklist and one that has more detail – decide which will work best for your family.
You will also see the free activity printable for all after school activities. I also left blank lines so you can customize it to your family’s needs. I suggest you hang these up where the kids pack their backpacks.
Click on the picture below for your free download.
School Checklist
After School Activity Checklist
Organize Your Pantry for Easy School Lunches & Snacks
The next step in the morning is getting lunches and snacks packed for school. To make this easier, I organized my pantry and refrigerator so the kids can help pack their own school lunch and grab their own school snack.
This also made it easier for the kids to get their own after school snack, too.
Check out these simple pantry organization ideas to encourage your kids to be more self-sufficient. It was a quick change that made a huge difference in our day.
Declutter Your Home
To help reduce more stress when your home, work on decluttering and organizing rooms in your house.
Start with your kitchen and office space to get you organized and feeling good. Then move onto the kid’s bedrooms and playroom. Set up a mudroom area for kids to leave backpacks and shoes when they get home.
I know it can feel overwhelming to get started but if you take just one room or closet at a time it’s not so bad.
Get my tips on How to Declutter Your Home Without Stress and find where to begin. Plus get my free printable Decluttering Checklist.
Delicious & Quick After School Snacks
When the kids come home starving after school, be ready with these easy and delicious after school snacks. I have two quick snack recipes my kids love and as a bonus, they are also healthy!
Both are no-bake recipes so whip them up the night before and you’ll be set for the next day. The first recipe is for my Peanut Butter Energy Balls and the second is for my Apple Slice Cookies (not really a cookie). Check them both out and see if your kids will love them, too.
Easy Weeknight Dinners
I have found after school activities make it a lot harder to have a healthy family meal each night. You really have very little time to cook and squeeze in meals between activities. This rushing to get food on the table was stressing me out and I was making way too many frozen pizzas and chicken nuggets.
So, I decided I needed some quick and easy weeknight dinners for when we are in a hurry. Here are some of my go-to meal ideas that I hope will also help you out.
Rotisserie Chicken Dinners
What could be faster than picking up a rotisserie chicken for dinner? The chicken is already cooked which is a huge time saver and there are so many ways to make it into a delicious meal.
Check out these 10 Simple & Quick Rotisserie Chicken Dinners and get inspired for your next meal.
25 Easy Family Dinner Ideas
Are you and your family in a dinner rut? Then use this list of 25 Easy Family Dinner Ideas to keep things fresh each night. You’ll find a variety of quick meals that your kids will actually eat!
Sheet Pan Dinners
I love a good sheet pan dinner! You just throw everything on a sheet pan into the oven and you are free to do other things while your meal cooks. Plus, it’s only one pan to clean at the end of the night.
Our favorite Sheet Pan Dinner has sausage, potatoes, and veggies. Use this recipe as a base and adjust it to the tastes of your family.
Teriyaki Chicken Crockpot Dinner
This dump and go crockpot recipe for Teriyaki Chicken couldn’t be easier. Just throw all the ingredients into the crockpot, turn it on, and your meal will be ready for you at dinner time.
Find out two ways to serve this chicken in my Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken Recipe. Bonus, it makes enough leftovers for a second dinner that week.
How Kids Chores Can Help De-Stress Your Afternoons
At the end of the day, there are so many things to get done that it can be overwhelming. Get some help around the house on busy weeknights from your kids.
Kids can help set the table, pick up toys, empty the dishwasher, take out the trash, and complete other small tasks around the house. Having them help with simple tasks will teach the kids responsibility and help you out.
Get a list of Fun Age Appropriate Chores and a free printable Chore Chart.
Remote Learning and Homeschool Resources
With all the health concerns right now you might have decided to keep the kids home from school. If you did I have you covered there too.
Check out our Homeschool Resource page to get more ideas on creating a homeschool room at home, best school supplies, and our favorite educational websites and apps to help kids learn from home.
I hope this article inspired you to help the kids get ready for school and get organized for a stress-free year. Use the free printable checklists for a calm and easy morning and after school activities. Plus the quick meal ideas ad organizational tips for home. All of these together should help make your life a little easier and a lot less stressful.
Do you have something that helps you get organized for school? Please share it in the comments to help us all learn from each other.
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My kids will love these printable! My son loves to be organised and my daughter likes to do anything Mummy does (I write LOTS of lists!!!) I will definitely be trying some of the recipes too – thank you!
Great tips! We’re going to print out the check list. I always think it’s easier to stay organized when you’ve got a list you can check off together.
I printed the school checklist. It’s very helpful. I’m a working mom, with a day job. Some of the recipes really helped me improve my “cooking-fast” skills.
That’s wonderful! So glad I could help.