Curb back-to-school clutter
From school bags to sports gear, term time means dealing with a new wave of household mess, writes Katie Newton.
Term one is well under way, meaning parents around the country are tripping over school bags in the hallway once again.
Add sports gear, art work and library books to the mix and it can feel like the house is being invaded by school-related stuff.
Professional organiser and mum Steph Knight from Less Mess in Wellington says it’s important to give everything a home and figure out systems that work for your family. ‘‘Keep it simple, and easy for everyone to use.’’
Day-to-day items
School bags, lunch boxes, drink bottles and homework books all have to make the round trip to and from school every day.
Knight recommends getting your kids used to dealing with these things themselves.
‘‘Getting your children used to emptying their lunch box, giving you notices and putting their bag away from day one creates a great system and routine.’’
If you have the space, keep bags, jackets and shoes in the entryway so they’re put away before they even make it into the house and are easy to grab again on the way out the door.
Alternatively, dedicate a spot in your child’s bedroom to keep their school bags from invading the living space.
Creating a study nook is a really good way to keep kids’ books and stationery organised. Or, if homework is done at the kitchen bench in your house, have a dedicated stationery drawer nearby to avoid having to hunt for them at homework time.
Also, keep a specific spot in the kitchen for lunch boxes and drink bottles so these things are always within easy reach.
Paper
Many schools have an email system or blog for online notices but there’s still a steady stream of paper that comes home.
Knight advises dealing with it as soon as it arrives to avoid it piling up.
‘‘If it is a notice that has a date, put it in the diary and then decide if you need to ditch the hard copy or keep it,’’ she says.
‘‘If it is for the school donation or something that requires payment or returning a slip to school, then arrange for that to be paid or returned asap, then file or discard the hard copy.’’
For anything you need to keep, she suggests having a dedicated spot like a paper in-tray or plastic file in a drawer or cupboard. A labelled two- or three-tier set of drawers can be useful for separating home and schoolrelated notices.
And once the date’s in the diary, birthday invitations can be pinned to a family noticeboard or stuck on the fridge as a visual reminder and then thrown out when the party’s over.
Uniforms and sports gear
Uniforms can simplify school life but important items have a way of getting lost right when you need them.
Knight says: ‘‘Some children are prone to losing stuff, no matter what it is.
‘‘Use sturdy labels on uniform items to make it easier to be reunited with them if they do get lost.’’
She keeps her son’s uniform together in one drawer, which is easier for him that having to hang it up and suggests having separate bags for swimming and sports gear, where everything is stored as soon as it is washed and dried.
Popular in farming areas for keeping muddy boots and wet raincoats, a mudroom is also ideal for families with kids who play sport or spend time outdoors.
Positioned at the back entrance such as a porch or laundry, a mudroom should have hooks for outerwear, shelves for muddy rugby balls and boots and storage baskets containing handy items that you might need to grab on your way out the door like sunscreen, sunhats and umbrellas.
Art work
It’s impossible to keep every creation your mini Picasso brings home from school or kindy.
Follow Knight’s rule of dealing with each piece as it comes along to avoid having to sort through overwhelming piles of stuff.
One idea is to pin artwork to a noticeboard for a few days to admire your child’s efforts and then transfer the special pieces to a box or file. Or, consider creating a revolving gallery wall with a string and pegs to display their most current pieces.
Truly special work can be framed, or there are companies that will compile your child’s best works into a book, embroider them on a cushion or even tattoo them on your arm. Big drawings can be used as wrapping paper.