The back to school transition can be like a new season in and of itself. The transition usually brings its own wave of clothes, supplies, equipment, and the high possibility of clutter into your home. Granted, your home may already be in a bit of summer disarray, so take this transitional opportunity to tidy your home and set your children up for success in the coming school year.

Out with the Old, In with the New

Most of us dive headfirst into summer, claiming that we’ll organize the school year’s messes “tomorrow.” Yet after family trips, summer camps, and days at the pool, we often fail to consolidate and store the remnants of the past school year. To ease the transition back to school, first organize old school supplies and clothes. Reuse, hand-me-down, or donate items in order to make room for new supplies, clothes, and equipment for extra-curricular activities.

A Place for Everything…and Everything in its Place

Station school items in their designated locations before the school year begins. Make a place for backpacks, lunchboxes, and sports equipment. This organization will set clear expectations for the children in your home and give some much needed order to the chaos of the school year. Accordingly, create an uncluttered, distraction-free zone for homework and study. Stock the area with necessary supplies (paper, pencils, markers) to support the process. The homework zone helps students focus on their work, but it also creates a useful separation between homework and play areas. This separation will help the children in your home concentrate on their work, then more fully enjoy their playtime.

Creating Clean Routines

Now that everything is in its place, each location can also be tied to a cleaning routine. Talk to your child about setting personal, academic, or extracurricular goals. Establish routines purposefully and with those goals in mind—and don’t forget to practice them together! Then, make organization a part of the routine. For example, if your child set a goal to better care for their band instrument, then their routine might include putting the instrument back in its case and by the front door after practice.

This process will help your child see the purpose of routines as they are able to locate their belongings more easily, forget them less often, or achieve the other goals you’ve set together. As a result, it will help motivate your child to stick to the routines and develop their own organizational skills. Another added perk?—Since the routines are tied to in-home organization, your child will be helping to keep the home tidy every time they study or practice!

Try adding WeClean4You to your family’s clean routine, and come home to a school-year ready space today!

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