How to Stock Your Home for Back to School

Back to school season is once again upon us. Whether you are a parent to kids returning to the classroom, or an adult who is going back to school for yourself, it's important to get into a routine to keep the school year running smoothly. One way to do that is to stock your home with the essentials that everyone will need before things get busy.

I'm going to cover the three most important areas of your home to keep stocked during the school year, and give you some quick and easy tips to help you and your family get into the back to school routine.

Because a lot of these suggestions are visual, I've created a Pinterest board called Back to School Ideas. Hop over there to see some more great examples of these ideas.

The School Day Drop Zone

The Drop Zone is the area right inside your door where everything gets dropped. It might be a mud room, a hallway, or in the living room. Chances are, even if you haven't formally created a Drop Zone, there is a spot that has been informally transformed into one because it's where everyone drops their stuff. While it may look cluttered now, there are a few things you can use to stock a drop zone, so it becomes one of the most functional areas of your home.

My friends with kids complain to me that they're always bringing home papers. There are papers that parents need to read, papers that parents need to sign and return, and papers that kids just want their parents to see. To make sure those papers get the attention they require, stock your drop zone with "mail boxes." I recommend hanging magazine files that can be mounted to the wall. One file can be named "Mom's Mailbox" or "Dad's Dropbox," meant for each child to put all the relevant papers when they first walk in the door. Then, additional magazine files for each child can be hung at their level where mom or dad can put the paperwork that needs to go back to school. In the morning, each child is responsible for getting the papers into their own bags, with the parents (or older children) double checking that the files are empty.

To help keep the Drop Zone clear of big clutter, install designated hooks for each child. Put each child's name on a little plaque above the appropriate hook, and then teach them to get into the habit of hanging their backpack and jacket on the hook when they enter the house. Also, keep a low basket for each child to drop their shoes into when they enter the door. This will keep them easily contained, and hopefully prevent any last minute scrambles to find the missing shoes in the morning.

The Homework Zone

The Homework Zone is a very important part of the school day experience. Even children in Kindergarten and 1st grade seem to have homework these days. To help create good homework habits, having a designated spot for homework to be completed is essential. A Homework Zone can be set up anywhere a flat surface is available in a home, but it's ideally set away from play areas and can be consistently used every day. By giving your kids the ability to gather their supplies and go to the same spot each and every day, you are going to help them develop good habits that they will be able to use all through their lives.

To stock a homework zone, it's important to think about how the space will need to be used. Most days, homework is done with a few simple supplies like paper, pencils, crayons or markers, a calculator, and a laptop. Other times, projects may require a more elaborate stash of school supplies. Keeping everyday supplies easily accessible, and the more specialized supplies put away, will help your kids focus on the task at hand. A small plastic shoe box is often large enough to contain the daily supplies and is easily pulled to the table or desk when needed. Plastic three-drawer storage containers are ideal for specialized items, like different types of paper, glues, markers, and all those other items that only get used a few times throughout the year.

The key to this habit is having everything stored together, within reach for when it's needed. If your kids do their homework at the kitchen table, dedicate one kitchen cabinet to the school supplies. If they have desks in their rooms, I'd recommend only stocking them with the essential daily supplies and then keeping the project supplies in a centralized area. It will prevent their rooms from becoming littered with art supplies and will allow multiple children to share the same supplies.

Stock the Kitchen for All-Day Nutrition

The kitchen is the final area to focus on for back to school. You want to make sure that your kids are getting healthy, nutritious food-from morning until they go to bed. I'm not going to sugar coat it; keeping a kitchen stocked for kids is an ongoing job. Planning, shopping, and prepping food is essential to being ready every time your child says, "I'm hungry!"

I have talked a lot about family dinners and dinner planning, so today I'm going to focus more on the other times your kiddos needs to eat: breakfasts, bagged lunch, and snacks.

The goal each morning is to get your kids out the door with healthy foods in their tummies. While it may seem easier to rely on frozen waffles, boxed cereal, and packaged granola bars, many store bought items are full of sugar, which can give them a sugar boost ... followed by a sugar crash during the school day. Easy to grab breakfast sandwiches and breakfast burritos can be made in advance, frozen, then microwaved before heading out the door. Homemade whole grain waffles or pancakes with almond butter can be eaten in the backseat of the car. Or individual containers of overnight oatmeal can be eaten before leaving. A little prep work on the weekends can go a long way to starting your kids' mornings off right.

Sending a great lunch to school with your child doesn't have to be hard work. If you have the right items stocked in your kitchen, you can easily prepare nutritious lunches for them, or even have them create their own! Many of my friends are big fans of the bento box style lunch kits for their kids. These containers have individual spaces that help balance out the lunch. Putting a few slices of deli meat and cubes of cheese in one space, some whole grain crackers in another space, and a handful of fruit and their favorite veggies in the other spaces creates a homemade, healthier Lunchable. By keeping a stock of easy-to-portion items, you can mix and match different lunches every day.

While bento boxes are great for adult lunches, I personally like to stock my fridge with salad ingredients that I can grab quickly when I'm running out the door. I proportion lettuce and greens into bigger plastic containers, and then I fill smaller containers or baggies with shredded meats, cheeses, nuts, fruits, and dressings. In the morning, I grab a combination that sounds yummy that day, and I'm out the door. Having a well stocked fridge, with food prepped and ready to go, helps give healthy options and prevents running for fast food in the middle of the day.

When it comes to snack time, I love the idea of stocking "Choose One" baskets. These are baskets that you place in the fridge, with individually packaged portions of healthy snacks. The idea is to have one basket with healthy proteins (like nuts, cheese, hummus, or nut butter), another with a starch (like whole grain crackers, popcorn, tortilla chips), and another with cut up fruits and veggies. When it's time to grab a snack, each person in your home can grab one from each basket and have a balanced, healthy snack to fill their cravings that day. Just remember to use reusable containers, or at least reuse your plastic baggies to cut back on the trash.

I've found, without fail, that a little time spent prepping and stocking the home over the weekend pays off big time during the week. Help your family get into the groove of back to school by focusing on these three areas, and you'll be up and running in no time!

Until next time, I'm the Domestic CEO, helping you love your home.

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