How To Ace Back-To-School in 3 Easy Steps

Is your home ready for the start of another school year? Regardless of the age of your kids, the fall season can get really busy, really fast. If you aren’t prepared, your home will become a source of stress that crescendos steadily until holiday time when you officially lose your mind. Why not invest a little time now to save Future You from such a fate? Don’t worry, you won’t be turning your whole house upside down! A simple focus on 3 key areas will do the trick. The tactics we’ll use to ace Back-To-School are decluttering and system setup. Now – let’s get ‘er done!

Step 1: The Drop Zone

The Drop Zone is where everyone dumps their stuff when they enter the house. In some homes it’s defined, in others it just happens. The things that usually reside in The Drop Zone are backpacks, coats and shoes (though other stuff like sports equipment can also find its way there.) In order to ace Back-To-School, you need a decluttered, well-functioning Drop Zone.

Take a few minutes to A) define your Drop Zone and B) clear it of the clutter that built up over the summer. Beach towels, goggles, camp bags, lifeguard whistles – get all of that stuff out of there so you have a clear space.Now set up your system. Are there enough hooks for backpacks and coats? Are there baskets or cubbies for shoes? Is there someplace for car keys (SO important in multiple-driver households)? Think about all the stuff that regularly comes in and out of the house and make sure every one of those categories has a designated home.

Step 2: The Mail

I do not recommend including mail in your Drop Zone. Mail is its own thing. It requires a good system and vigilance to keep it under control and it can get out of hand really quickly if it doesn’t have its own zone. In the summer there is just the mail from your box, during the school year there are also various paper-category items that enter the house through backpacks, making it even more unwieldy! When I poll people asking for the hardest areas in the home to keep under control, mail is inevitably number one every time. So if you are going to ace Back-To-School, you need a plan for your mail.

Before we address a plan, let’s take care of the pile that has been building up all summer. This exercise is helpful in 2 ways: 1) you’re decluttering your space and 2) it gets you thinking about categories – which will help your system. The first category is easy – the stuff that goes directly into the recycle bin. This is super-satisfying because it usually takes care of 75% of the huge pile. When that’s done the pile is smaller, great. Take that smaller pile and separate it into 3 categories: things that require action, things you need to keep around temporarily and things you need to file for the long term. 

Note: you should have hardly anything in the third category. You shouldn’t be keeping things like insurance statements, medical explanation of benefits or other monthly statements for the long term. That category is reserved for important family documents that are not available online.

The other 2 categories are the ones you need to keep on top of. They require action and vigilance since there is always more coming in. To reduce that influx, take a few minutes and sign up for paperless delivery wherever you can.

Now you need a system to house your categories. First define a spot that isn’t the Drop Zone. Then you’ll need an organizer to keep the categories separate. Think about not only what fits the spot you chose but also the design that feels the ‘friendliest’ to you. Pick the one you’ll be most likely to interact with – could be vertical, tray-style or even a magazine holder (which is what I use!) Different people are different and your mail system solution should feel right for you or you won’t use it! Here are some low-profile, highly-functional options.

Step 3: The Kitchen Counter

How does a clear kitchen counter help you ace Back-To-School? I know, this one seems off-topic but reminder, the kitchen is the heart of the home. It gets more traffic than any other room in the house. Clear kitchen counters are the silent keepers of calm in your home. When you walk into your kitchen and the counters are clear you feel good, it’s as simple as that. Kitchen counters have been the game-changer with almost every single one of my organizing clients. So do Future You a solid and get them in shape now, before the crazy starts.

Declutter first, always. Gather all of the stuff that doesn’t belong on the kitchen counter up and put it away where it belongs. Aside from the mail, kitchen counters are the biggest clutter pain point in the home. Things will look better immediately once you’ve taken this step!Next, scan your counters and identify one or two things that could go.  When I say go I don’t mean they leave the kitchen, they just leave the kitchen counter. Target something you don’t use every day and then find a home for it in one of your cabinets or drawers. This will require a bit of decluttering in those cabinets and drawers, but I bet you can find a few things that aren’t currently serving you to free up some room. If you want to free up some easy space, use this Kitchen Checklist to declutter your whole kitchen quickly!

Don’t Forget To Communicate

Congratulations! I bet you are feeling pretty good about the start of school right about now! One last (but very important) step. Time to share your refreshed areas and systems with the other members of the household. Because they are the current you’ll be swimming against once school starts. Don’t expect them to just figure it out, share instead what you are trying to accomplish so they can buy in. And NOW you’re ready for school to start – bring it on!