#101: Back To School Made Simple (Ask CarlaRae)

Around this time last year, my son was starting kindergarten. As a home organizer, I naively thought that I was completely prepared for the school year. Boy, was I wrong! After the first week I was so overwhelmed. No one warned me. There was so much to do! And it was unbelievable how much stuff came home every day in his backpack... letters from the teacher, from the principal, flyers, stuff to fill out, supplies to buy, things to sign, events I needed to put in the calendar, and meetings to arrange. And that was only the half of it. I was also overwhelmed with how much school work he would bring home to show me. And since I'm so sentimental, in the beginning I kept most of it. I've had many clients with school aged children and I've helped many of them organize their homework areas, figure out their schedules, and so on. I figured it was going to be easy peasy for me to transition into a new schedule. But until I was actually a parent of a school aged child, I had no idea how much time, energy, and space it was all going to take up in my life. After I spent the first couple weeks in shock and survival mode, I finally got a grip and developed new routines, rituals and habits that helped our mornings and afternoons go more smoothly. I also figure out really great systems that helped me to manage the piles of papers and to-dos that flooded our dining room table. So, this year, for Levi's first week of 1st grade I was totally prepared! I knew exactly what to expect. While it is still a drastic change from our summer routine and kind of a shock to the system in a way, I can confidently say, I've got this! Unfortunately, I know that there are many other parents out there who are still drowning in the back to school chaos and craziness. I've actually had a handful of listeners reach out to me this month sharing just how stressful the back to school season is for them and asking for some tips and advice. So, for this episode of Life Made Simple, I share with you some of the organizing tips and routines that we've implemented in our own family that can help get the school year off to a good start for you and your family. While the tips and strategies I give you are mainly geared towards children in elementary school you can still get a lot from this episode even if you have older kids.   Links Mentioned in this Show: Episode #63: You Need More Margin Time (CarlaRae Confesses)   Share this Episode: CarlaRaeArneson.com/episode101 Share this Podcast: LifeMadeSimplePodcast.com   Simplicity University: SimplicityU.com   Free Guide:  "9 Ways to Simplify Your Life"   Or send a text to 44222 with the word 9SIMPLIFY   Free Download: "5 Steps to Organizing Your Home"  Or send a text to 44222 with the word ORGANIZE   Website: CarlaRaeArneson.com Facebook: Facebook.com/CarlaRaeArneson   Submit Questions: CarlaRaeArneson.com/AskCarlaRae