How be organized and prepared for the school year!

Are you ready for school? Is your family ready? What are you waiting for?

Now's the time you need to "Take Stock" and "Work the Planners"! GoMomInc. is a GREAT resource for Moms with kids in school. And I mean GREAT! Check it out and watch the videos, and check out her resources like the Back To School Checklist and the DIY Calendar. It's time to "Clear the Decks" to prepare for incoming clutter, and it's time to do a dry run.

This week set aside a morning or an afternoon for a clothing review. (We did this today.)  Let your older kids start sorting what's still wearable and what isn't. Help your younger kids do this. Donate what you can or get together with other moms and host a clothing swap for the kids.

Get your school supply list if you haven't already. Add emergency supplies to the list: basically, two of everything you had to run out and buy the night before a project was due last year - poster board, extra glue, glitter pens, basic craft supplies. You'll be glad you did.

Make your own list. Include a big wall calendar for the school year; colored markers (a different color for each family member to write his/her important dates and times on the calendar); and student planners for each child. For younger kids, a simple datebook or calendar page is a good introduction to organizing their time.

Designate your shopping day, then pile everyone in the car and hit the stores. Get as much as you can in one day. Celebrate with dinner out or pizza in, whatever is easiest, because all of you will be tired.

Work the Planners. Put the big wall calendar on the wall in the kitchen or wherever everyone will see it. With colored markers, let each child take turns writing in whatever dates and times for events they already know (check both school web sites and whatever mailings you got from school over the summer).

As soon as one kid is finished with the calendar, have her write the same information down in the schedule section of her new planner. Set aside a regular time every weekend for everyone to update the family calendar and the planners.

Molly Gold, founder of Go Mom, Inc. suggests letting each family member pick a time between now and the start of school for a special end-of-summer outing of his choice: a picnic, a day hike, or a movie. Then add it to your schedules, of course.

In a few weeks it's time to clear the decks. Assign a cleaning day and tackle kids' rooms plus any school related staging areas-entryways, garages, and homework zones.

Designate a "drop zone" for each child, be it a special bin or a labeled section of the front closet. This is where their school stuff-bags, books, sports gear - goes the night before so they aren't hunting for it in the morning. Think about it. They do this at school every day. Student's teachers show them where the drop zone is in the classroom as early as preschool. And the students do it. Communicate and expect the same at home.

Clean off one flat surface-a desk or counter area- and set up a stack of paper trays for each student in the house. Sort all the school mail and start filing forms and paperwork into those trays. This keeps permission slips, and other crucial documents from getting lost.

Before school begins start implementing school-year hours, including bedtimes and morning wake-up. Expect that everyone - including you- will grumble and stumble through this transition, but you'll be better for it next week.

Make a list together, then go to the grocery store for all lunch and snack fixings.

Practice your morning routine and get everyone in the habit of putting things in their school zones at night.

Have everyone check and update schedules and planners. Recheck all school-supply lists and paper trays for forms that need signing.

Have a great school year! Being so ready and organized on the front end will ensure a great start!