Oh man. I’m in trouble. This summer has been one of anything BUT a consistent schedule. Bedtimes have ranged from 8pm to almost 10pm for the kids. Random play dates and visits to Costco. Unscheduled meet-ups with friends and late dinner cookouts. Random day excursions and hours upon hours at the pool have meant lots of packed tupperware full of fruit, veggies, popcorn and sandwiches. And did I mention bed times have been wacked? Oh yes. I did. But it has been summer, and life has been amazing. I shall not lie.
So here we go with back to school.
Back to school requires some sort of leash to get it all under control. Schedules fill up, activities actually have start and end times, and my calendar is soon full of all the things. Yup. Welcome back, August.
I am here to help you simplify that back to school schedule though, mama, because it can be done. And it will. Here are a few practical tips to work through this insane time of year. When alarm clocks ring extra early and clothes actually have to be worn all day (vs. bathing suits and random pajamas). Follow me here, adopt a few ideas, or try some new things. I promise simplification is key!
1 – Use an electronic calendar & add dates as you know them – This has been a lifesaver, and it eliminates the need to have 18 different calendars around the house. Yes, I have a day planner, and I use it for grocery lists and my personal business to-dos, but it is our Google calendar that keeps us all on track and on time. I have found that if I assign each person in our family a color, as given to me by my online calendar, and I highlight the activity in said color, I can tell with one monthly view who that activity involves. I also do not wait until the day before school to enter all of the things into the calendar. I enter all of the important dates as soon as I know them. I don’t wait. For example: I enter school district days off (ie. days off, holidays, etc.) AS SOON as they become available (which is usually at the end of the prior school year for us), and I also enter in any extracurriculars that have already indicated what days and times practices will be. In my Google calendar now (which my husband and I can both access and edit from our phones), I already have our vacation days, the kids’ sports schedules, holiday breaks, and well visits for 2020. Girl, I don’t play. Try it! Don’t wait until you are sent home with 399 paper-based reminders from ‘all the things.’ If you know a date, enter it, done.
2 – Repeat meals – This is our sanity. Have a few key meals that are your go-to ‘make everyone or at least 50% of your house’ happy meals, and plan on making them one or two times a week. For us, on Wednesdays during the school year, “breakfast for dinner” becomes the go-to. A few other favs I will rotate are grilled chicken (unless is below freezing and snowing 15 feet out), tacos, roasted veggies (prob 4x a week), big salads, homemade pizza, and chili. Make sure everyone is getting their dose of veggies, fruit, and healthy meats and whole grains, and the rest is a-ok to slide by with. Who cares if you repeat the same 3 meals each week. If everyone eats and is happy, go for it. It makes meal planning and life so much easier. Also, the crockpot. Do not read any further if you don’t have one. In fact, log off and go buy one. Stat. Between that and my Instantpot, the glory of fast meals is delightful. I throw frozen chicken breasts and a jar of salsa into the crock before work, and afterwards, it’s shredded-delight. Keep it simple. Repeat. Save your sanity.
3 – One load a day – I am going to make this my mantra this year because I have yet to actually do it. My mom always has said, and many bloggers and podcasters I follow agree, do one load of laundry a day and it causes less ‘I want to pull my hair out moments.’ This may look different for everyone d/t work schedules and ways of life, but I actually believe it may help me enjoy the laundry process, versus absolutely hating it (like I currently do). Throw in that load of towels before work, put it in the dryer after. Wahhlah. Do the kids’ laundry on Tuesday, fold it Wednesday (if you are like me, Thursday you fold it). Done. Do your laundry on Sunday, and skip the husband’s until Monday (or have him do it because he can). I can see where this method makes sense and may simplify life. Let’s all try it, mamas. Because currently my method of doing five loads in one day does nothing but cause me to go for a glass of wine. At 10am.
4 – Menu plan and snack prep – I know, I know. I said it. PREP and PLAN. But I am telling you, like my father has always said, “preparation prevents piss poor performance.” Not exactly the phrase you expect to hear when you are talking food, but it’s true! If you can even just chop up some veggies and place them in an easy to reach section in your fridge for the kids (or for when you make soup that next day). Do it. If you can take 10 minutes and baggie up some pretzels and put them in the bottom cupboard, so your 5-year-old can reach them at snack time. Do it. Sister friend, I am telling you, meal planning and snack prep is life. Do I do it all the time? Um no. But when I do, I can tell a massive difference in my attitude toward feeding the fam, and toward how I spend my day. Yes. It can take some extra time on the forefront, but then it eliminates that extra time throughout the week. Just like my ‘repeat meals’ recommendation, when you menu-plan, you can account for including time-saving meals throughout your week. Plan to make something that will last you multiple meals (like a big pot of chili or a big batch of pancakes), and stick with your plan! It helps especially when you are juggling all the sports, extracurriculars and earlier bedtimes.
5 – Just say NO – Ah yes. My favorite way to simplify that back to school schedule is to JUST SAY NO. This sounds like such a huge negative, doesn’t it? But the part I failed to mention was that we just say no so that we can say YES. Yes to cuddles on the couch on a random Monday at 7pm. Yes to a quick trip for ice cream before all the seasonal places close. Yes to just a quiet night with nowhere to be. Yes to the random dinner out with friends. Yes to what really matters to us. It will look different for each of us, but it’s nice to NOT overload your schedule so that you can say yes to other adventures. Am I saying don’t put your kids in sports or the drama club or music lessons? Nope. I am saying pace yourself. August and September is an overloaded month for us, I already know this, but then it calms down come October. Just pace yourself, and be ok to say no. Life is too short not to!
How do you simplify your back to school schedule? Share! Help a mama out!
