Yesterday on Martha Stewart Living Radio I got to chat with the Morning Living host, Betsy Karetnick as well as Interior Design Diva, Alexa Hampton. The topic was Back-to-School organizing and since all parents can relate to backpack and school paper drama, let’s discuss.
Photo courtesy of Artisan Books
Just as adults need a “landing strip” for their keys, wallets and cell phones, kids need an assigned area for dropping their backpacks after school. The idea is that if you put something in the same place every day, you’ll always know where to find it, right? Cubbies are ideal, but not everyone is blessed with that kind of entryway space. Pegs, hung at a kid-friendly level (about 40 inches from the floor) work just as well. Just choose an assigned place for backpacks and keep reminding kids to unload them there until it becomes as habitual as dumping it on the kitchen table. Kids should also have a go-to spot for unloading coats and shoes too.
Photo courtesy of Artisan Books
After school rituals should include unloading certain backpack items into designated spots: Train kids to empty their lunch boxes, leaving them in an appointed spot, and to put their folder of school papers in a designated “inbox” on the counter. As they get older, increase their responsibility, having them separate their artwork, homework and school papers and putting them in their respective places (artwork on a tray or in a bin, homework on their desk (or appointed homework spot) and school papers in mom’s inbox). If kids won’t cooperate, having a backpack landing strip will at least ensure that you’ll know where to go to dig the papers out yourself and you’ll also avoid the “mom-where’s-my-backpack” panic in the morning.
Another thing to remember is that kids should think of their backpacks as a transportation vehicle rather than a storage unit. Backpacks are simply to cart things to and from school. Nothing should have a permanent home inside a child’s backpack. Make sure your kid isn’t hoarding items in there that should be stored elsewhere.
But what about other paper . . . School work? Report cards? Calendars and other current school info?
Each child can keep track of school work in a desk filing drawer with hanging files for each subject. If your child’s room is lacking file space, improvise with an accordion folder as Betsy suggested today. For long-term record keeping for mementos such as report cards, awards, etc., use a 3-ring binder for each child. Use tabbed dividers to delineate school years and start another binder if one fills up. Label the spine and keep these on a shelf or in a cabinet. Current school information can be kept in another binder with tabbed dividers for schedules and calendars, parent contact lists, school memos, after-school activities, etc. Sort and purge every semester. Handle permission slips, order forms (and other paper requiring action) immediately so that they don’t vaporize into the ether as many have been reported to do.
Find more information on organizing kids in “What’s a Disorganized Person to Do?”
