September is a time for bringing back structure, routine, and fine-tuned predictable systems.
Instead of all of that, in our household, we decided to add a puppy to the mix! So now, we will have no structure, ever changing routine, and zero predictability!
This September is going to be a little different for my mental health!
To ease your September, think about the part of your routine or the part of your “back to school” life that stresses you out the most! It might be the lunches, the dinners, the backpack chaos/mess, maybe it’s the evenings or weekends feeling maxed out. Whatever it is, whatever that one thing that bothers you the most is, that’s what you need to start with. And start with it early! Like now!
If meals stress you out, use next week and even the first week of September to stock up or ‘feed’ your freezer. Check out some of my handy dandy freezer tips HERE!
If lunches are your major problem, I have some tips for you in this post about back to school lunches.
If you’re stressed about the mess at the front door, try creating a system for dealing with the clutter that you know will be coming into the house daily. Create an artwork binder for each kid and place it somewhere by the front door – you can even get the kids to put their own artwork in it if they want to keep it! Set up a hook either in the kids’ rooms or somewhere tucked away from the front door for hanging up backpacks, hats, etc. Make a boot station using a boot tray so that all the salt or snow or rain or mud can sit in the tray, not on your floor! Create an ’empty the lunch bags’ station to help with when the kids come home from school – if your kid’s school is close by, prefill the sink with soapy water and make them each wash their own lunch containers when they get home!!
The more systems you can create now before or just as the new routine is starting, the more success you will have when things become super busy with all the extra stuff your kids love to participate in!
Systems always work better when everyone joins in, so don’t forget to include the kiddos, no matter what age they are. There is always a task they can do! Often, the younger kids just love rearranging the shoes at the front door, or they may enjoy helping with the artwork binder! Older kids will be able to handle things like those lunch containers or even taking their backpacks to their rooms and getting started on homework!
Practice your routine and use your systems even before school starts so that it becomes easier for each person to do their part when time seems to be running out 3-5 hours early every day!
As for me, with my new puppy, wish me luck! Hopefully, she can be the motivation the family needs to get all their stuff done quickly so we can enjoy sweet moments together as she clumsily slips running after her toys!
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