The Best Organization Hack for Back to School Success

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #PilotPenBackToSchool #PowerToThePen #CollectiveBias

Back to school season is here again. For a lot of us, as moms, that causes stress and dread, but it doesn’t have to. 

It seems like a universal passage of motherhood…back to school season….and all the paperwork and fees that go along with it. Not to mention figuring out the calendars for all the schools and activities. 

At times it feels like enough to make me want to run screaming and tell my kids their not allowed to do anything. But, yeah, that’s not gonna work. 

So, what’s a busy mom to do? We don’t want all the stress, and we need more time to get it done, not to mention the brainpower to get it all done and keep it all straight. It feels like this should be simple, but it doesn’t seem to work out that way. 

The thing that often gets me is that I get interrupted and don’t remember where I left off or what I still need to take care of. If only I could take an afternoon and get it all done in one sitting, but that’s likely never going to happen. 

You only need to read this post, buy the pens, and download the printable. Then you’ll be on your way to back to school success. Yay! And don’t forget, for all year success, check out the Mom To Do List. It pairs perfectly with what I’ll show you today and help you keep up year round as a mom. ?

Back to School Organization Hack

Supplies:

• Back to school success checklist – at the bottom of this post
• FriXion Fineliner 12 pk Assorted – I got mine at Target
• FriXion Light Pastel Highlighters 5 pk Assorted – I got mine at Target
• School and activity calendars
• School and activity paperwork
• School and activity list of fees
• Planner or Calendar

Step 1: Fill in kids names

To get started, you need to print off your checklist and write in the names of each of your kids at the top of the column.

Step 2: Fill in School and Activity Info.

Next, down the left side of the back to school checklist, fill in the various places your kids attend.

You’ll want to add their school to the calendar, forms, and fees sections. 

Then think through all the activities or classes, etc. that your kids take part in and add those as well. 

Most likely if they take part in an activity, class, or group, you’ll need to put it in all three spots. 

TIP: Don’t worry about the order of things or making them match up with kids. We’ll take care of making that obvious in the next step. Just brain dump all those calendars, activities, and fees. 

Step 3: Make lists and notes

At the bottom of the back to school checklist is a place to make any notes that you need.

There is also a place to list any appointments you need to make for your kids. 

Step 4: Highlight boxes

Now you want to use your FriXion highlighters to mark the box for each item for that child. 

It’s easiest to color code things because it makes it easy to tell who needs what. 

I recommend the FriXion Fineliners and FriXion Highlighters because they are fully erasable and have that great smooth gel ink. ? Love that! 

As someone who loves a good pen AND loves to use color in my planners, the FriXion are a great game changer! I can have color and fix all those mistakes I make….and I tend to make a lot of mistakes. 

Just like when I was filling in the boxes, I used the wrong color for the wrong kid. 

No big deal, erase that sucker and move on. 

Highlight the boxes all the way down your form. 

Step 5: Fill in due date and fee amounts (optional)

This step is optional, but it helps keep you and me sane. 

By keeping all this info. in one place, you won’t have to go looking for when a fee is due or how much it is. It’s right there all in one place. 

Fill in as much info as you think will be helpful to you. 

My theory is the more info. the better for keeping it all straight and reducing your stress. 

Step 6: Mark off 

To me, this is the beauty of this back to school printable and the best organization hack. 

As you get a calendar update to your phone or planner or command center, mark it off on your checklist. 

If you only get the calendar updated through Oct., make a note of it. Then next time you can work a little more you’ll know where you left off. When you’re done, you can use your erasable FriXion Fineliners and erase your last note and update with what you got done this time. 

The beauty of this is that now you know exactly what you got done and what you still need to take care of. With how much we get interrupted as moms, that is half the battle. 

With this organization printable, I can get back to school stuff done 10 minutes here and 10 minutes there, and that won’t cause me more stress. In fact, it’ll help me reduce my stress because I’ll be able to see that I’m making progress forward. 

To help you out a little more here is where you can find the FriXion pens at Target. 

AND use Cartwheel August 26 – September 2, 2019 and get 15% off all Pilot pen products! You can also use the code FRIXION and get $1 off between 7/7/19 and 9/8/19. Yay! Great pens and highlighters and a great deal, and it helps me take care of back to school with less stress!

Just sign in below to get your free back to school checklist printable and get started with this simple but super effective organization hack today!