3 ways to stay organized during the school week
As a mom of three boys 12 and under, finding ways to stay organized during the school week can be a challenge.
Between sports, band, and additional extra curricular activities, I know all about having a busy household. Plus, I work from home full time. Needless to say, this organization is a must for this momma.
Figuring out how to get organized at home and establishing routines that worked for our family took some time. How to get organized for school starts with identifying the areas that need to most work. Think about where you spend the most of your time?
How do parents get organized for school?
- Consider what takes up the most time?
- Where is the most friction in your home during school time?
- What would help your family the most?
Whether you are choosing distance learning, school in a brick and mortar, or homeschool, being organized for the school week and creating routines that work is a must. After several trials and errors, here are three tips to get organized during the school week.
1. Hold weekly family meetings
Each Sunday, we hold a weekly family meeting. During our family meeting, we discuss upcoming events, goals for the week, chore assignments, and successes from the previous week. Now that our children are older, they are responsible for adding their important dates to the calendar during the family meeting. We also use this time to address what help we need and how we can help others.
2. Choose and iron clothes for the entire week
As a mom, I really try not to start the day fussing with my kids or rushing to make it to school. Having the fellas choose and iron their clothes for the week, over the weekend, saves plenty of time during the morning school routine. We don’t go through the morning battles of, “I don’t have anything clean” or “I don’t have anything to wear.” Just one change helps to make the morning run better.
3. Meal prep
During the weekend, I sit down to plan out our weekly dinner schedule. This helps me to create healthy meals for my family while avoiding the dreaded “What are we going to do for dinner?” question. Each week one of our sons is able to choose one meal that we will eat for dinner and then help cook that meal. Meal prepping saves me time (especially my crockpot meals). With the boys more involved in activities, it is important we are able to have family dinner and eat healthy meals. Meal prepping helps me to be able to do all of that for our family.
These are just three steps we do in our family to help improve organization. I would love to know what works for you and your family. Drop a comment below to share your tips for staying organized during the school week.
How do you stay organized during the school week?
Cheering you on,
RACHELMAYSCOTT
Love it. xoxo
Mamie L. Pack
RACHELMAYSCOTTAwww thank you Rachel!
lsima
I love these ideas!
Def going to use these as my boys get older!
Mamie L. Pack
lsimaOh, great!!!
Faith Ladson
I have ironed mine and our youngest son’s clothes for the week. I am working on meal planning.
Mamie L. Pack
Faith LadsonYeah!!!! That is awesome. Definitely could help with saving time.
Tiffany
These are great tips! I also have an evening check-in time with my teen to make sure homework is complete and we are on the same page about the next day’s schedule.
Mamie L. Pack
TiffanyI like that idea of the check-in time.
Kaila
Love this! These ideas are great but I love the mid week three idea as well! We stay organized throughout the week by having a huge calendar that everyone can see what is going on throughout the week!
Thank you!
Mamie L. Pack
KailaA big family calendar is definitely a must. Helps keep everyone informed and helps not to over plan.
Amy
Great post! Love the Mid-Week Three idea! Pinning this one 🙂
Mamie L. Pack
AmyOh, thank you! Glad you stopped by.
Mandy @ The Joyful Peach
My baby only goes to daycare, but picking out her clothes and meal planning already help us out so much!
ajj77
These tips are so helpful and necessary to stay organized during the week!
Mom Life Optimized
I’m so not an ironer. LOL! I am a meal prepped though, that’s a great piece of advice. It helps save money at the grocery store too.
Mamie L. Pack
Mom Life OptimizedYes it does, especially when you have a house full of boys. Every penny helps 😆
Nadia
These are great tips. Thank u!
Mamie L. Pack
NadiaThanks
Jasmine - LoveLifeLaughMotherhood
i can see myself using all these ideas very soon!
Mamie L. Pack
Jasmine – LoveLifeLaughMotherhoodWonderful! Any particular one you will start with?
Mum mum Ma
I love the meal prep idea. I do the same. It’s a real time saver. Great read.
Candice
All three tips are my life line during school season 🙂 I also use my crock pot on average 4 times a week because for some reason dinner time is like a train station here. Great post!!
Mamie L. Pack
CandiceThat crock pot is a mom win!!
Lauren Stewart
I’ve got to add the ironing to my plans!! I always always struggled with that one final thing 👶😂😂😂😂
Mamie L. Pack
Lauren StewartHey 2 out of three isn’t bad at all 😊
Jasmine
I really like these ideas but am slightly overwhelmed😜. Mostly because my kids are still a bit young to help out with it.
Mamie L. Pack
JasmineOh, been there. Find small ways to make your day more organized.
A Nation of Moms
That’s a great idea to choose clothes for the week. I am still trying to get myself organized and work on meal planning too. I definitely need to plan better!
Mamie L. Pack
A Nation of MomsMeal prep makes such a difference and saves so much time.
Chelsae
I don’t have little ones in school but I feel like these are great tips for every family to make the weekdays go smoother.
Mamie L. Pack
ChelsaeOh, thanks. They are helpful even for adults 😆
cakestokale
These are great tips. We homeschool and meal prepping for the week is a must! Makes the week so much easier.
Mamie L. Pack
cakestokaleYes, it does especially if you have multiple kids.
Ashleh
Meal prep is such a big one for me. My daughter is in preschool but my husband and I both work so having a set meal for each day saves so much time and frustration.
Mamie L. Pack
AshlehYay! Love hearing that.
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Laura-kim le Roux
We homeschool so I don’t need to iron clothes thankfully but I do find having family meetings really does help make the week run smoother.
goldwestvintage
I love how overly prepared you are! That’s so great and relieves so much stress. I love having outfits picked out the night before. It relieves so much stress.
Sara
I am already feeling exhausted about the thought of back to school week! Thank you for sharing your tips and tricks, I look forward to utilizing them next week.
Mhea
I’m having a hard time with meal prep and ironing clothes! But thanks for inspriing me to do it this time!
Mamie L. Pack
MheaIt helps save a lot of time and less fussing 😆
Misty H
Meal prepping is my key to staying organized, too!
Mamie L. Pack
Misty HSaves so much time.