For those of us who find ourselves just trying to get all our kids fed and out the door in one piece during this time of year, you will thank yourself for implementing some of these hacks into your life. 

How do I know you’ll be thanking yourself for starting these new routines? 

Because I tried all ten of these mom-recommended hacks for the first two weeks of school this year. And as a devoted and long-term member of the Hot Mess Express, it has been a pleasant and kind of miraculous surprise to see that these routines actually worked.

It’s never too late to start a new routine. So take the tips you need, devote a weekend or a few days to instating them, and watch as your life becomes infinitely easier.  

Without further ado, 10 game-changing hacks to make your back-to-school life easier:

1-Make a designated “school stuff” station. For me, this meant getting two baskets that we hung in the kitchen. One holds all of the lunch stuff: lunchboxes, lunchbox notes, cookie cutters, utensils. The other holds all of the school-related paperwork that still needs to be returned to school or kept in easy access. 

2-Prep lunches the night before. I know it’s the last thing you want to do after the kids are finally in bed, but you will thank yourself the next morning. 

3-School clothes bins or closet organizer. Have some kind of obvious system where your kid can independently choose their top, bottom, underwear, and socks (and bow color, if your child is anything like mine).

4-Speaking of morning routines… have a morning routine that allows your child to do things independently of you. For us, it’s that she uses the potty, brushes her teeth, and chooses her outfit before coming downstairs, where I’m already up nursing my baby. 

5-Easy and reliable breakfasts. My daughter happens to love overnight oats, so I make that the night before when I’m also making her lunch. But since overnight oats isn’t everyone’s thing, another idea we tried is a recipe for make-ahead individual breakfast sandwiches from cookbook author and mom Megan Flynn Peterson. 

6-Loading zone with visuals. This should be near the front door, and it’s where we keep our shoes, backpacks, wallets, diaper bag, etc. Hanging next to it is a visual checklist of what you need before leaving. I have one for my daughter to check and one for me. It’s saved us both so many times already. 

7-Grab-and-go snack station. In the mornings, when my daughter gets to add a snack to her backpack for school snack, and in the afternoons when she gets home from school tired and hungry and knows exactly where to go to get a snack before dinner.

8-Make the first minute that your child is awake a good one. Sacrifice one minute from the hustle and bustle to simply enjoy each other’s company, whether that’s snuggles or telling jokes or just saying “I love you”. Whatever it is, you won’t regret starting each morning with one good, unrushed moment, and your child will appreciate it more than you may realize, too. 

After all, by the time your child is starting school, you’ve definitely already realized that time is a thief, and in the blink of an eye these busy back-to-school mornings will only be memories. 

Will there still be stressful mornings still? Of course. But eliminate the number of stressful mornings this school year by instating some routines that allow you to enjoy more of the time you have with your children while they’re still young.