Before we go shopping I usually pull out our bin of old school supplies. I have found Briar does not go through all the supplies they request each year. At the end of the school year I will keep everything still in good shape in our “School Supply” bin unless we want it for our home supply. After reviewing her school supply list we were pretty stocked up and only needed a few things from Target.

In today’s world you can purchase school supply packs and skip the shopping chaos, but growing up I truly enjoyed school supply shopping with my mom and siblings. I want my girls to have that experience so we still go in person and browse the aisles. Back to school sales are also the time I stock up on our home supplies too. Do we need more markers, crayons, glue? I still use mechanical pencils so I’ll usually grab myself some of those. This year I got myself some erasable highlighters!

The backpack is packed, so now the closet. This is a good time to do the whole family not just the school aged ones. I live in the midwest so we get a solid four seasons here. Before we know it sweatshirts will be worn, sandals will be stored away, and the first snowfall will come. I swear every year we have our first snow and my facebook groups blow up with people requesting snow pants for their kids, boots, waterproof gloves, and so on. The lack of preparedness always baffles me.

I started in Briar’s closet I found her lacking in long sleeve shirts for this Fall and Winter and noted that she needed a bigger size of sweatpants for her backpack. I keep a pair of sweatpants in her backpack because she told me her legs are cold at recess. When the class goes to get their coats, she pulls the sweatpants over her jeans or leggings.

Raya, my one year old, was plenty stocked up. Being the fourth girl grandbaby, she has lots of hand-me-downs. Speaking of hand-me-downs, in a sense, that is what Briar gets too. We head to Goodwill and go on the hunt for what we found lacking in her closet. Thrift shops are a great place to get that snow gear too!

Now for a little organization. We decluttered everyone’s bedrooms. We reorganized the girls’ hair pieces. Our coat closet is looking great and I still plan to do a deep clean of my car after what felt like living in it all summer long.

Getting organized is a great way to set everyone up for success. It can make the morning and evening run smooth. After one year of Briar being in school full time we are going into year two with a few new plans. We found we do all the morning readiness in My bathroom so the hair pieces have been moved to there. We have an extra toothbrush for the girls in my bathroom that they will use in the mornings. In the evenings they get ready for bed in their own bathroom. We are also going to try picking out our clothes the night before. We made an empty space in Briar’s closest to rest the clothes overnight and she can grab them in the morning to get herself ready.

If we are going to talk about being organized then let’s put some systems in place. Awhile back I found THESE CHARTS at Goodwill and I have been using one of them for Briar’s chores. The other one has no use yet because Raya is too young for chores. I decided to use it as a morning check off. These came with pre-made stickers making the whole thing perfect!

Briar is not a breakfast person. She doesn’t wake up hungry and she doesn’t want to eat right away. Obviously this does not work great when you sleep in and then have to get to school. I wanted something more filling than a piece of toast. Over the Summer we have worked on getting a good breakfast in and she has accepted she eats what is served. That being said, it is now my responsibility to make sure she is served well each morning. I am also not a breakfast person so I struggle with what to make. To solve this I created a rotating breakfast schedule. We are not perfect but the general idea is this…

• Monday: Sausage and Oatmeal
• Tuesday: Bake of the Week (usually dutchbaby)
• Wednesday: Our Special Eggs broccoli and oil combo
• Thursday: Bacon and avocado toast
• Friday: Pancakes

BREAKFAST AND COLD LUNCH IDEAS

Last year Briar was so excited to eat hot lunch at school. I think the idea made her feel very grown up. However, a couple months into the year she told me she wanted to pack her lunch. Coming up with what to pack for lunch and what to make for breakfast was a little too much food for thought. I needed an easier way to manage the lunches. I purchased a MENU PAD from Amazon and looked up a bunch of school lunch ideas from Pinterest. When I plan dinners for the week and make the grocery list, Briar’s box lunches will also be a part of that plan now.

LITTLE KIDS

BIG KIDS

TEENAGERS

MOM

DAD

GRANDMA

GRANDPA

BEST FRIEND

I realize that Briar has minimal school supplies needed this year, but in total all her school supplies cost us $13.21 + tax. Side note: I bought her backpack for the year off of Facebook Marketplace for $5, tags still on it.

Free back to school printable activities on this site your kid can try at home!

Do you have any first day of school traditions? I would not say ours are solid because they didn’t happen her first year of preschool but we did start them last year. However, this year will be messed up already. Our first tradition is homemade pizzas for dinner. Everyone in our house made their own pizza. Rob and I enjoyed experimenting with flavors and Briar loved creating a mess of goodness on top the crust. The second tradition we have so far is when she comes home the house is decorated for Fall. This year, however, she will not be coming home to pumpkin and leaf decor because all of our Fall decorations are packed up for the move to our new house.

It’s time for Spring Cleaning! I am obsessed with my planner. I know pen and paper are not as popular as they once were, but for me this has always been my way of planning. One thing that makes this planner what it is are all the home features put into it.

Pick a cute outfit for the day. “Look good, feel good.” Getting ready for the day also helps bring your mind out of total relaxation mode.

Jam out to music. I went through a few different genres and picked some songs to get your cleaning playlist started.

Put YouTubers on TV so you have someone cleaning along with you. It may seem strange that people literally film themselves cleaning and make money doing it, but it’s a real thing and it’s motivating. I am here to admit I watch them.

• Carissa Cleans It All
• Alexandra Bueter
• Beauty And The Beastons.

Turn it into a group project. My mom, sisters, and I each make a list of things we need done and take turns going to each others house to knock the lists out. Spring cleaning task can be what you and your peeps complete as a team.