Where did the Summer go?! Or rather, where did the last 13 years go?! I blinked and suddenly we have an 8th and 3rd grader!!
Monday marked the first day of school around here, so it’s been a crazy
few days trying to find our new rhythm. We all leave for school or work
at 7:30 each day, so having an organized morning routine is imperative
to getting out the door on time. Preferably with smiles on our faces.
We’ve worked hard over the years to organize the key spaces, and they have been life-saving. My kids share a single-vanity bathroom, so they take turns using the mirror and sink in the morning. Having their drawers and cabinets well-stocked and organized cuts down on the time.
Once everyone is dressed, they head to the kitchen for breakfast, and grab a snack for their backpack. I make sure the fridge and pantry have easy-to-find healthy options.
I quickly realized there wasn’t enough time in the mornings, so now I pack lunches the night before. Is this chore a nemesis for anyone else?! Dang, do I loathe packing lunches! I finally narrowed down some winning combinations, and that’s helped the process be a little less painful.
Last stop out, and first stop upon coming home, is the hallway turned Mudroom…having a designated spot to drop bags, backpacks, jackets and keys keeps us from spending precious moments searching. Not to mention, I don’t have to trip over bags strewn all over the house!
Once bags are hung up, I’m easily able to pull out necessary papers and file away in the Family Command Center.
These systems have been working for us for a few years, but I’m always watching to see if they need updating as our needs change. I’m sure a few tweaks will be necessary in the coming months. In the meantime, I can’t wait to start spoiling our new teachers. Here are a few of the simple gift ideas we’ve created in the past.
Is it back-to-school week in your house, too? What are you doing to prepare? I hope some of this comes in handy for you…have a great day, lovebugs! And thanks so much for your kind response to our new Entrance Hall reveal!
I love the teacher gifts! So sweet!
Our school starts on Tuesday. I think I am pretty much ready, except that I still need to put up some hooks in our mudroom, to hang the kids bags. I'm always tripping over them. And your snack bin looks like a great idea as well. š
Thank goodness for hooks…tripping over the kids stuff makes me CRAZY!!! Enjoy your final days of summer break!
I always packed our girls lunches at night as well…just put the non-perishables next to their lunch bags and had a designated spot for cold items on a shelf in the fridge. Worked best. And, you will cry when you pack that last lunch girlfriend!!! (actually my girls said they cried more, LOL)
I know I'll miss a lot of things, but right now, I can't imagine packing lunches is one of them! š
ok i need your help in our fridge!! haha it's a mess :X xo jillian – cornflake dreams
So, it might not look EXACTLY like that all the time š
Your kids are the cutest, and the spitting image of you.
Really??? You think so? Everyone always says they are Mr. SP twins…nice to know i'm in there somewhere, too!! xo
Great post Cassie! Your fridge looks amazing (how in the world do you keep it so organized?!) and the teacher's gifts are such great ideas.
Thanks Katie! The key to an organized fridge is for it to be mostly empty most of the time! š But really, I only shop for one week at a time, not a lot of extras in there!
Holy smokes. 8th and 3rd grade??? They are just the cutest things. Great tips too. I loathe making lunches.
I wish them to have a really good school year! I like your fridge and your yogurts š š but I really loved the teacher's gifts so much!!!! Here we still have 2 more weeks until the beginning of schools but we already bought new lunch bags and bottles for the girls. Many kisses!
LOVED every single bit of this post! And girl, were you a child bride and mom? You would have had to of been to have a 13 year old. š
It's sort of back to school week around here. Miss High School (sniffle) has freshman orientation and retreat this week (all half days so no worries about lunch packing). College Girl would start classes but she's going abroad so they start next week, she did have an exhibition that I attended on Tuesday. Amazing!! Both of my girls packed their own lunches from about 6th grade on..I missed it at first but you're right about it being a chore!! Your kids are too cute!
I keep small yogurts in the same type of container in the fridge, so helpful to keep them from getting scattered all over the fridge. Packing lunches and snacks the night before is a huge time saver as well. I stopped packing them two years ago though when my (then) youngest was in 1st grade. Kids took over that and also packing and unloading their backpacks. We have "inboxes" in the command center for each kid, so it is easy for them (and for me) to deal with all the papers.