Inspiration

Preparing for another year

2014 calendar printable

With Christmas and New Year having been and gone it won’t be long before we need to start thinking about another school, kindergarten or daycare year for our children.

How organised are you in terms of knowing what you need for your children? Do they need new lunch boxes, drink bottles, pencil cases, uniforms, clothing, labels, books or can you reuse some of the items from last year?

I suggest if you haven’t already, make yourself a quick list once you have taken stock as to what it is you will need. The next step will be to see if you can reuse what you already have, and if you can, perhaps it would be good to give them a quick wash or clean so they are ready for when you need them.

Make a time in your diary for any items you need to buy so that you don’t end up leaving it until the last minute. It is usually easier to find the items now than in the week just prior to everything starting again. I know I just purchased lunch box holders this week when I was doing my weekly grocery shop. At least I was able to get the size I needed as well as the colour – pink or purple wouldn’t cut it with my boys!  The other reason to do this now is that many shops have sales or discounts at the moment on things like school shoes and sneakers, clothing & lunchbox labels, so you would be silly not to.

Whilst your diary is out, another useful organising suggestion is to mark the key dates for at least the first term including all extra curricular activities your children might do. Whilst you’re at it, have a quick check to see if they need any extra items for these activities? If so add them to the list you have just written.

Finally, are you into meal planning or do you usually just decide on the day? This is another whole topic in itself, but I wanted to share with you what a school teacher friend of mine does in the school holidays to assist her to be organised. She prepares a list of food she is going to cook for the entire term, visits the market and purchases all the meat, which she then stores in the freezer. This makes life much easier for her and her family throughout the term. I am not suggesting this is for everyone, but maybe you could plan for the first few weeks of term to make life easier for you too.

Do you have any ‘back to school/back to routine tips? 

Happy Organising for 2014! If you need some extra tips on weekly meal planning, be sure to check out Organising You.

(Do you need a new 2014 calendar? The calendar above is a free printable you can download here. It really is just gorgeous, isn’t it?)

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