what’s the hardest part about getting your kids out the door for school? for us, it’s a lot of things. i wish i could say our school mornings are calm, organized, and ahead of schedule. they’re not. most days are rushed and the last seconds with my children are spent shouting things like:

• how can you not know where your shoes are?
• you want to bring your lunch? i thought you said buy!
• no, you cannot bring a light saber to school.

sound familiar? this year, we’ll have two to get out the door every day, plus a one-year-old running around. that means last year’s crazy will just be multiplied. in anticipation of this, i plan to continue some of the routines that worked best last year.

one way we really saved time in the morning last year is with school clothes. whether you have picky kids or not, getting dressed is still something they each have to do. every. day. and if your mornings are anything like mine, getting some of this precious time back would make a big difference.

while packing for florida last year, i had an idea. when we travel, i use this method of placing each day’s outfit in a separate ziplock bag for the kids. this includes socks, underwear, and hair bows in addition to tops and bottoms. at first, my husband thought i was totally crazy. but it SAVED SO MUCH TIME on the trip! not to mention, it eliminated outfit arguments completely and kept our suitcases from becoming an overflow of disorganized clothes. even my husband agrees it is one of our best traveling-easier-with-kids strategies to date.

so i asked myself, why don’t i do this for school? it would make our weeks so much easier to have our outfits planned out ahead of time, all the way down to the socks. i could save so much time every morning if we didn’t have to make decisions {or argue} about clothes.

so i tried it. at target, i spied these closet organizers in the dollar spot. i also saw them at ikea and on amazon.

at the start of school last year, we began organizing our outfits for the week on sundays. that meant shirt, shorts, pants, socks, underwear, hair bow, and anything else we might need. we also included our gymnastics leotards, baseball uniforms, swim team suits, cub scouts uniforms, etc.

i designed cute labels for each slot and made an easy visual checklist for the kids. K loved it! she thought it was the best thing having her outfit so easy for her to get. E had a normal seven-year-old-boy reaction. i can’t expect him to get as excited about clothes and labels as K and me. his only concern was whether i was still going to let him wear athletic shorts three days a week and i feel good knowing he will be wearing matching socks.

the system definitely made a difference in our mornings. i didn’t have to go upstairs to pick things out, or shout from downstairs suggesting places where that one particular shirt might be. i didn’t have to deal with eye rolling when i asked someone to choose a different shirt or wonder if they were wearing clean underwear. and on the days my husband dressed the kids, he loved not worrying whether he was putting them in the right thing.

the kids got dressed more quickly because they didn’t have a chance to get sidetracked while picking out an outfit. we weren’t scrambling for socks or hair bows at the last minute. i was surprised that such a small change could make such a big difference.

i am excited for the time and energy we are going to keep saving this year with this method!

here are the labels i used. if you want to make it super easy on yourself, you can grab your FREE copies here.

if you’re like me, once you finish one project that makes your life easier, you wonder what you can tackle next! take the overwhelm out of organizing with these 5 easy steps to organize any space. you can get your own copy of this cute cheat sheet printable in the printable library. most likely, this school year will be BUSY like all the rest. putting efficient systems into place will free up precious time to focus on the LITTLE things, the things that bring you and your family the most joy!

and while you’re in the LITTLE free printable library, you can grab these HELPFUL back to school printables…

fill in all your daughter’s favorites on this fun, first day of school sign.

or taylor this first day of school version for your son!

this teacher favorites printable will make buying teacher’s gifts extra easy! just send the printable to school with your kiddo to learn all your teacher’s favorites. this will save so much time  around the holidays when you’re buying gifts and gift cards. and if you’re the room parent, even better!

what do you do with all those school papers that come home? this printable will help you get organized when it comes to school papers and artwork. head to this blog post for more on how you can use this SUPER EASY system to store and organize school papers. it has been a lifesaver for us!

psssst. i’ve always wanted to say this…

i’ve teamed up with a group of bloggers!

below, we discussed ALL things back to school. i have to say, new notebooks and crayola markers have always been a LITTLE thing for me! most parts of back to school are exciting – picking out school supplies, finding out our teachers, and getting back into a routine. but like with school mornings, there are parts of back to school that overwhelm me. especially after a more laid back summer. this year, let’s be prepared!

below you will find some of the best real-life advice when it comes to making back to school as easy as possible for YOU and your family. i cannot believe these ladies offered to share their wisdom with us on this LITTLE blog. i am so thankful for their help in the areas where i struggle! i can’t wait to hear what is most helpful for YOU as you check out the fun ideas and back to school FREEbies in our…

click on the links below the pictures to read more about each of these helpful back to school topics…

{1} First and Last Day of School Free Printable Signs

{2} How to Make a Back to School Shopping Plan That Saves You Money

{3} Free Weekly Meal Planning Printables with Tons of Easy Family Dinner Ideas

{4} A Complete Back-to-School Supplies Checklist {With Free Printable}

{5} 10 Unconventional Back-to-School Books Your Kids Will Love

{6} 10 Ways to Save Money on Back to School Shopping

enjoy friends! 

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join in noticing 10 LITTLE things in every kind of day and come along on my diy, parenting, and organizing adventures. click here to subscribe and receive access to my favorite FREE printables.

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