School is well and truly back which can only mean one thing – there’s school bags, lunch boxes and shoes being left anywhere and everywhere and your house no longer looks like the adult sanctuary it once was.
Add in library books, homework and the school curriculum for the year and you may as well start up your own recycling plant right in the middle of your home! (That’s probably verging on the side of dramatic but we’re just painting a picture).
Avid organiser and OfficeMax New Zealand Marketing Specialist, Penny Boyle, says “It’s important to have a system in place that not only promotes tidiness around the house, but helps your kids realise that everything has a place – and will be easier to find when stored appropriately.”
When it comes to homework and school notices, she says to give your child a folder to keep in their school bag. “Encouraging your child to put all homework and notices in that folder is good for them and it makes it easy for you as a parent to check on a daily basis.” We recommend trying different colours for each child so that nothing gets muddled up!
When it comes to organising sports gear however, a more thorough approach is recommended as you are now dealing with the impending likelihood of sweat, mud, and wet clothes. Andy Williams, n3’s Procurement Category Manager knows this all too well with a young boy who is heavily into his football. “It’s a great idea to set up an area outside where the dirty boots can go so no mud is ever brought inside and traipsed in on the new carpet or accidentally wiped all over the walls from being stuck to the bottom of a schoolbag...” Penny agrees with this also commenting that a separate basket kept outside for the dirty sports clothes to go straight into is also a fabulous way to make sure that all the dirt is kept outside and everyone’s clothes can be sorted into washing loads accordingly.
It could be helpful to set up a reward program for your children when they successfully finish a school week with keeping everything in its correct place. That way, it not only holds them accountable during the week, but provides them with an incentive to keep things nice and organised.
