Real life back-to-school hacks. Let's share our favorites.
My little ones start school this week and as always, the anticipation of all things new is usually worse than the reality.
Why is the unknown so scary?
Also, because I describe unknowns as "scary" instead of "exciting," does that mean I might have control issues?
Don't answer that.
Whether the challenges and unknowns of a new school year bring you excitement or dismay, it might be fun and helpful to pool our collective wisdom.
Perhaps you're a mom who works outside the home or a stay-at-hom mom with kids of all ages in school. Maybe you homeschool.
I've actually done all of the above at one time or another and I can tell you, we all need some simple solutions to manage our days with less clutter, chaos, and cluelessness.
This isn't really a life hacks kind of blog. I don't teach about organization or time management or meal-planning. But it is a real life blog. A place where we can all pull up a seat for some honest talk about a little bit of everything.
So can I be honest? I am great about starting new procedures and systems but bad about maintaining them.
I've been cooking dinner for 18 years but on any given week, I can look at my calendar to plan my meals and feel like I have never cooked in my life. What on earth have I been doing for dinner all of these years? I don't even know.
Mornings? Don't get me started. We have all walked out the door on one morning or another feeling hurried, unloved, and stressed. And all because someone is missing a shoe or their oatmeal tastes weird.
I'm not interested in finding great organizational solutions so that I can feel good about my home management skills. I'm interested in finding real-life solutions because I love the husband and three kiddos who are in my care.
Doable systems and a bit of planning actually help our relationships with one another because they take the guesswork out of the hurried and vulnerable moments of our days.
Different things work for different people but if we all just find one recipe, app, or idea that helps our days and our relationships, that's worth it, right?
So in the name of not yelling at our children at 7 am or rushing through a drive-thru after soccer practice, let's share what we've got.
Here's what I have in mind:
Simple, healthy-ish solutions for dinner. What's your favorite, go-to, I've-made-it-a-thousand-times meal?
Ways to eat together as a family in the midst of evening practices?
Easy, healthy-ish, grab-and-go breakfast ideas. Yes, ideally the kids eat around the table before school but on those I-can't-find-my-sneaker mornings, what are some grab-and-go solutions?
Anything that makes mornings easier? Anything.
Lunchbox ideas?
Products that have revolutionized home and school management for you or your kids?
Ways to come together as a family regularly even though the ages, stages, and demands of each kid may be different?
Get the idea? These are real-life solutions I'm talking about.
If you color code everything and have your meals cooked and labeled in your deep-freezer from now through December, um...you may not want to participate. You will overwhelm us normal types with your preparedness and Martha Stewart ways.
I'll share a few of my own later in the week but for now, I just wanted to get the ball rolling and invite you all to jump in. You can share your favorite ideas, links, recipes, etc. in the comments section. If there's a good response, I can do a round-up next week sometime.
So please, help a sister out and let's share the organizational love. What are your best back-to-school hacks?