back to school checklist

Print The Ultimate Back-To-School Checklist

Welcome to Day 1 of the Organized Home Back-to-School Countdown

In spite of long and lazy summer days, a new school year is on the horizon. To be ready for the first day of school, there are lists to make and appointments to keep, paperwork to be processed and shopping to be done.

Track them all with this printable back-to-school checklist. Free for the printing, it'll help you tick off back-to-school tasks and get organized for a new school year.

Join the Back-to-School Countdown

Welcome to the Back-to-School Countdown!

Whatever the format--home school, online or in-person--a new school year is on the horizon. Time to prepare for back to school, with the Organized Home Back-to-School Countdown.

Beginning Monday, August 2, we'll take two weeks to get organized, gear up and get ready to start a new school year from an organized home.

Following an ultimate back-to-school checklist, the Back-to-School Countdown includes weekday reminders, free printables and inspiring articles to help you prepare for the first day of school.

get ready for back to school

Do It Now: Tips To Get Ready for Back To School

Move over, summer--a new school year is coming! With the start of school, families face new organization challenges. 

School bells ring--and so do early-morning alarm clocks. Paper piles swell as hand-outs and homework stream into the house. Shorter autumn days bring a hectic round of sports, activities and events, and calendars fill with cryptic notes. Can the holidays be far behind?

Get organized now for the best school year ever! Use these ideas to prepare your home and family for the busy days ahead.

Summer Chore Cleaning Checklist

Summer Cleaning Chore Checklist

Summer's here, hot, high and sweaty. Vacations beckon. The garden takes on a life of its own.

Busy families don't have much time for home chores these months. School's out, travel's in and it's easy to let life slide on the home front.  

These weeks will run more smoothly if you keep tabs on these important areas in the Summer Cleaning Chore Checklist.  This summer cleaning chore checklist list tackles hot-weather issues, summer health and safety.

Spring Cleaning

Clean Sweep? The Case Against Spring Cleaning

Spring blows in with warm wind and the promise of ... spring cleaning?

Certainly, there's a lot to be said for the notion of spring cleaning. It's a good time of year to rout out the dirt, dust and disorder that's crept into the home since the holiday season. By doing a thorough clean once a year, no area of the home gets too far removed from the results earned by energetic mops, vacuums and cleaning cloths.

Longer days bring a new burst of energy for many of us, and using that bonus to deep-clean our homes seems like a good match for rising springtime spirits.

House & Holidays Plan

House & Holidays Plan Week 18: New Year's Week

All good times must end; with the arrival of New Year's Eve, it's time to wrap up the House and Holidays Plan and move into an organized New Year.

In the coming week, we'll tie up the season's loose ends, make New Year's resolutions, prepare to store holiday decor, and set the stage for next year's celebration.

See you next year!

This Week's Focus: New Year's

Ring in the New Year this week, then make a good start toward an organized Christmas next year. 

home improvement for the holidays

Holiday House Fever? Cure It With A Home Spruce-Up Exercise

Autumn is here.  Look around the house. Does your temperature rise when you see stained carpets, smudged switch plates and faded window coverings?

With Christmas on the horizon, it's tempting to dive right in to a long list of home improvements. Stop! Wait! Biting off more than you can chew on the home front is a sure-fire recipe for holiday stress. 

Cut toy clutter before Christmas

Make Room for Santa: Pre-Season Toy Declutter

Holidays ahead!  About this time of year, it's a good idea to contemplate the toy situation in your child's room.  Adding Santa's bounty to overstuffed kids' rooms is a recipe for January clutter disaster. Clear the decks and cut kid clutter with a pre-holiday toy clear-out.

It's a fact of modern life. Children's playthings have exploded in number, size, and complexity, while children's storage options have remained static. Just try storing a Happy Meal collection in the average toy box! Even the best-organized kid's rooms can easily drown in today's toy avalanche.