Back to School Prep Made Easy!

Back to School Prep Made Easy!

“You’re off to great places, today is your day, your mountain is waiting so get on your way!”

Dr Seuss

The new school term certainly does roll around quickly, but a little planning can mean a lot less firefighting, so start early and follow these 5 steps to breezing the start of a new term…

1. Draw up a master list of everything required — uniform, shoes, bags etc., and get it all ordered/purchased
2. Label EVERYTHING with stick-on nametags, including shoes, lunch bags and water bottles. I’m a huge fan of My Nametags.
   – Simply put a surname and phone number. There’s no need to order separate sets of stickers for each child, and putting a number makes it easy for you to be contacted if someone else picks up your child’s item by mistake (this worked a treat for me when my son’s jumper was left at a school trip. It was accidentally taken home by a child from a different school!).
   – Place stickers so that children’s names aren’t immediately visible to strangers i.e. on rucksacks, lunch boxes, bottles or tags. Avoid personalised items for the same reason.
   – Stick one of the tags inside your own purse, so that you can be contacted if it gets lost
3. Update calendar with school holidays, key dates and extra curricular activities
4. Ensure the school is up to date with your contact details and children’s medical issues
5. Add phone numbers to your smartphone and diary (for school, breakfast club/after school club and childminder)

Kate Galbally is a productivity coach & professional organiser and the founder of Better Organised; decluttering and organising homes, businesses and lives in and around Milngavie, Glasgow. For more tips, advice and product recommendations, sign up for the Better Organised newsletter at www.betterorganised.uk