thank you to Zappos for sponsoring this post
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ON ME: JEANS || WHITE TEE || SIMILAR STRIPED SHIRT || GOLD SANDALS
ON BRADLEY: “WEEKEND WARRIOR” TEE || BLACK STRETCH JEANS || NEW BALANCE SNEAKERS
ON CASH: BUTTON UP SHIRT || JEANS || NEW BALANCE SNEAKERS
ON ELI: SIMILAR GREEN TEE || JEANS || NEW BALANCE SNEAKERS
Getting ready to send the boys back to school is like a fresh start for us (almost like entering into the New Year, with new goals and plans to get started on). It’s a time to reset ourselves and get things organized again. And every year I work really hard to start setting the tone for school by doing the following seven things. These things help get everyone on the same page again, which can be hard after a full summer!
- Back to school shopping: I always save a big portion of my back-to-school shopping for online. I can count on Zappos to have the styles and brands that I’m looking for, and everything is delivered right to my door, with easy returns if things don’t fit. Shopping with Zappos not only saves me time, it prevents any melt downs or crying in the store, and the boys can help me pick the items out so easily!
- Clear out space for school papers: I make sure I clean out any old papers from last school year before the new year begins. This way, I can keep the important ones in a file and get rid of the others in order to have space for the inevitable pile that starts building up almost instantly once the kids are in school. If I don’t stay on top of school papers, they eventually fill my house!
- Stock the fridge: I am making two school lunches this year, so I make sure I start the year with a big trip to Costco to stock my kitchen with everything we’ll need for meals (apples, carrots, tortillas, meat, string cheese, chips, cookies, etc.). A stocked kitchen makes for faster lunch prep and happy boys.
- Start waking up early: I try to make myself get up and going a little earlier than normal so we don’t have such a huge rush in the morning. I have to get back into this routine a week or so before the school year starts to get used to having a set time we need to get out of the house. There is always so much to do in the mornings before school, so getting myself up earlier gives me some time to get things done before having to help the boys get ready.
- Enforce the rules: This year I really want to implement a no TV before school rule. I became lax on TV during the summer, but I want to make sure the boys know that it needs to stop in the mornings once school is here. I also organize reading and chore charts, and any other repetitive practice I want them to be doing each day, before the school year starts. It’s so much easier if it’s written on a chart for the kids to see and remember what they need to be doing daily.
- Clean out the closets: In order to make room for all their new school clothes, I try to get rid of all the clothes that don’t fit the boys anymore. It helps to do this before I get their new school clothes so I know exactly what I’m looking for. And it makes for an even easier online shopping experience at Zappos!
- Organize my pictures early on: One thing I didn’t do last year was keep better track of the pictures I took of my kids at school events, first day back, Halloween, etc. I mean, I took the pictures, they just all got mixed up in my 24,000 pictures on my phone (not exaggerating). So this year I already created new folders in my phone titled “Bradley 2nd Grade” and “Cash Kindergarten.” That way, as I take pictures throughout the year, I can throw them into that folder and put them into a school book at the end of the year!
photography by Jordan Zobrist
