Back To School Organizing
Wow, that flew by fast! The summer is officially over and kids are back to school. I always consider fall to be “the other January 1st” in the sense that it feels full of promise and new beginnings. Anything can happen in a new school year. There will be new friendships made by both parents and kids alike. Even though I am finished with back to school days, I still feel the excitement each fall. It’s my favorite time of the year!
So, what are some good organizing projects we can accomplish while the kids are in school? Let’s start with the low-hanging fruit - kids clothing. Nearly every single home we organize (if they have kids) has too small clothing in their kids drawers and closets. If they have a hand-me-down situation, this problem is easily solved by transferring those things to the younger sibling. If not, it’s time to either package those items up for later or donate them. It’s super tough to get rid of kids clothes when there are sentimental feelings around them. I can still picture a few items of clothing that my kids wore. I have pictures of them in the clothes - I don’t need the clothes. Besides, those things aren’t in style anymore! The next big problem we see is bigger kids who don’t do a good job keeping their clothes laundered or getting them put away. In my house, each person has a laundry basket and they bring it down filled with dirty clothes and take it back up with their clean laundry. I personally don’t have a problem with them not folding their clothes. I think putting clothes into drawers by category is plenty good enough. They wear the same things over and over again (we all do) so why would they need to fold it neatly into a drawer when it’s going right back on again?
Are there toys or games that your kids grew out of during the summer? Kids do a lot of growing up during the summer and sometimes they decide (rather abruptly perhaps) they don’t want to play with certain toys anymore. If you’ve talked it over with them and they are absolutely sure, it may be a project to tackle together. My youngest told me that she didn’t want all of her stuffed animals anymore. I felt super proud of her and she was indeed growing up. She kept some special ones and the rest went to donation. I know she was happy to get her room less cluttered and so was I. The benefit of going through those items together was huge. She got to make decisions and see the immediate results of a cleaner room.
Lastly, every parent has reams of paper from artwork of the past school years. Make it a goal to photograph these or keep only the special art. I kept art that showed how they were growing, like handprints and early writing. I kept anything with a photo attached. Worksheets and coloring pages went out into recycle a long time ago. Make a goal for yourself that you will only keep art or schoolwork that is meaningful and you will sink that pile down fast!
Not everyone has a kid around to help get organized. Use this time to get your own drawers organized. I go through my closet often, but sometimes completely forget about the drawers. Get rid of all those socks that have lost their elastic and holey underwear. Buy yourself some new ones - you deserve it! Go through old tee shirts or shorts. If you didn’t wear it this past summer, it can go to donation. Bathing suits that have lost their elastic or smell like pool water can go too. Spend some time curating the items you’d like to see when you open those drawers, instead of seeing the same boring socks from 11th grade.
Let me know if you decided to declutter your spaces or if you need a helping hand. We are always here for you virtually or can come to you if you are in the Dallas Fort Worth area. We’d love to bring peace to your home!
