3 Things Every Mom Should Do at the Start of the School Year
Create Your Own Supply Closet
Late August and early September are the best times to find bargains on school supplies, like name-brand marker sets for a dollar and boxes of crayons for 25 cents. Gabrielle Blair, a designer and mother of six whose blog, Design Mom, has chronicled her family's moves from New York to Colorado to France, knows how crucial it is to have a well-stocked art bin no matter where she is.
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Blair likes to buy a year's supply of colored pencils and glue at the very end of summer. "You'll be so glad to pull out a fresh set of markers when February rolls around and you're making Valentines," she says. Art supplies make handy last-minute stocking stuffers and birthday gifts, too. Pick out something new for yourself while you're at it, like a fresh notebook or pen. Blair loves Michael Roger Decomposition Books, an updated-and 100% recycled-take on the classic black and white marbled composition notebooks.
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Toss Those Too-Short Overalls
Blair goes through her kids' wardrobes and gets rid of everything they've outgrown or never wear. Her thinking is if they have only good-looking, well-fitting options in their closets, getting dressed each morning will be a much happier experience for everyone. (Younger children will have an even easier time if you pair up matching outfits and store them on one hanger.)
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Donate items that aren't stained or torn to charity; even umbrellas, pillows and blankets in good condition can go to someone who needs them. Store out-of-season clothes or hand-me-downs from older siblings on the highest shelves of your child's closet. Here are more smart ideas for maximizing closet space, like placing shelves over doors and putting hooks on bare walls.
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Avoid a Paper Explosion
Even though Amanda Blake Soule, author of the crafty and creative blog Soule Mama, homeschools her five children throughout the year, September still signifies a beginning. So at the end of every August, she gathers all the artwork, stories and poems her children have created over the past year.
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They look it all over and stash a few pieces away for safekeeping. It can be tough to decide what to keep, but Soule usually holds onto things she knows her children were particularly proud of or worked especially hard on, and items she thinks her kids will love seeing in 20 years. She writes the child's name, age and year in pencil on the back, and saves them in this extra-large folder, one for each child.
KEEP READING: 3 More Things Every Mom Should Do at the Start of the School Year
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