Decluttering Tips for Back to School
Your home is your sanctuary, gathering space, and where you get stuff done. A place that serves many functions for your family, things around the house can quickly start to pile up. With clutter in the home causing stress, anxiety, and mental overload, getting your space cleaned up before the new school year is a must for those with—or without—school-aged kids.
To limit distractions, improve focus, and ace your back-to-school prep, let’s get organized. Check out these top decluttering tips for your home.
Where to Start? Assess the Areas That Need the Most Attention
When it comes to decluttering with children, it’s tough to know where to start, especially after a hectic summer at home. The best approach to getting organized for school is to hit the hot spots where items tend to accumulate, such as:
- The foyer or entryway
- The kitchen counter
- The living room or playroom
- Your kids’ bedrooms
- The kids’ study area
After tagging high-priority areas, start small. This could mean taking 15 or 20 minutes to organize a small drawer, shelf, or counter. And don’t forget to stock up on storage bins, donation bags, labels, and markers to make the task a little easier to tackle.
Create a Decluttering Schedule
Decluttering is a process, and slow and steady wins the race. If you want to avoid overwhelm, break down bigger projects into smaller, manageable tasks rather than trying to do it all at once. One way to do this is to create a decluttering schedule that makes sense for your family.
Assign sections of the house to specific days or weeks within the month. You could also dedicate small chunks of time each day to organizing different areas. If you incorporate decluttering into your daily or weekly routine now, back-to-school organization is sure to be a breeze down the road.
Use the Four-Box Method
So, you’ve committed to decluttering the house. Yay, you! Now, on to the next hurdle—what to do with all the stuff. Without a system, it might feel like you’re creating more disorder by trying to find a new place for everything. Keep it simple by organizing clutter into four categories:
- Keep
- Donate
- Store or relocate
- Trash
The four-box method can help you make real progress by limiting your choices and forcing you to consider what you truly need and what you don’t. Have bins and bags ready to keep your decluttering efforts on track.
Involve Your Kids in the Decluttering Process
Whether it's toys, books, clothes, or electronic devices, the home can quickly become disorganized and messy. To tackle the clutter quickly and efficiently, consider getting the kids involved in the decluttering process.
Teaching your kids how to tidy up after themselves and keep their spaces clean can help them build valuable skills like:
- Decision-making
- Problem-solving
- Ownership and pride
- Sense of responsibility
- Teamwork and collaboration
Next time you’re decluttering the kids’ rooms, make it an engaging activity or a fun family project you can do together. Put on their favorite tunes, celebrate small victories, and reward them for completing their tasks. The more they do it, the more it will become part of their daily routines.
Declutter the Homework Station
Clutter can have a negative impact on schoolwork, which is the last thing your kids need to start the school year! Your homework station should be designated for focusing, studying, and completing schoolwork. Whether it’s a small home office or a simple desk in the corner of the bedroom, it’s essential to keep the homework station nice and clean.
Tidy up the homework station and organize your home for back to school by:
- Clearing off and cleaning desk surfaces
- Removing items that may be distractions
- Restocking supplies and organizing them
- Labeling containers, boxes, and shelves
- Hanging a calendar to keep track of deadlines
- Adding hooks for backpacks and school jackets
- Creating a file system for school paperwork organization
Declutter Digital Spaces
With so much focus on decluttering your home’s physical spaces, don’t forget about your digital spaces! Families are using computers, tablets, and phones more than ever to stay on top of busy schedules and increase productivity. However, it’s all too easy to miss an important email or lose track of time with all the digital distractions.
Here’s what you can do to keep your digital platforms free and clean:
- Create and organize folders on your desktop
- Delete unnecessary or outdated files and software
- Remove unused apps from your smartphone and tablets
- Unsubscribe from newsletters and promotional emails
- Check for and run the latest updates on all digital devices
Considering dropping tech cold turkey? Read “How a Digital Detox Can Transform Your Life” to learn how.
Maintain a Clutter-Free Environment Through the School Year
Now that you’ve got the home clutter in check, the challenge is to maintain the momentum for the rest of the school year. You can get the whole family involved in these efforts by:
- Creating a weekly schedule to tidy up the house
- Assigning family members to clean up specific areas
- Reinforcing the importance of cleaning up after yourself
- Addressing messes right away and putting things where they belong
- Regularly reassessing storage solutions and organizational systems
- Exploring new school organization ideas to avoid clutter
How to Save on Back-to-School Stuff Like a Boss
Decluttering your home and creating a calm, organized, and functional space for your family can set your kids up for a successful school year. But that’s not the only way parents can prepare for back-to-school.
Check out our article, “Back-to-School Supplies: What Your Child Really Needs,” for the inside scoop on how to save big bucks on essential school items.