What to Clean and Organise When the Kids Go Back to School
Some parents are excited to see kids go back to school when the holidays are over; they might enjoy the calmness that follows after the morning bustle. For other parents it’s quite the opposite as they are always flustered by all the activities that come with this season. Regardless of a parent’s reactions, ‘back to school time’ is still something you want to be ready for. Yes, the house may seem less chaotic, but that can quickly change if you don’t get things organised and clean to improve efficiency.
Cleaning and organising when the kids go back to school is not an easy task. It is preparation for a new school year or term. Most times you might be a busy, working parent with so little time to spare for organising. Does this mean you have no choice but to face the chaos head on? A highly effective solution would be to book deep cleaning services in Birmingham with Glimmr. If this seems unsuitable or inconvenient, you can equally book our one-off cleaning in Birmingham.
Glimmr has the best domestic cleaners in Birmingham who can get your home clean and organised for the back to school season.
However, if you feel up to it, we have put together some tips and ideas to clean and organise during this time.
6 Tips for Cleaning and Organizing When the Kids Go Back to School
1. Start with the kitchen
The kitchen is naturally one of the high traffic areas in the home. When the kids go back to school, it gets worse and can be frustrating. From quick breakfasts in the morning to homework in the evening, it gets harder each day to keep track of the mess. Depending on your family’s lifestyle, routine cleaning and organising the kitchen can be useful.
The first thing to do is re-organise everything. Establish new positions for lunch boxes and snacks that the children pick up on their way out. Declutter the refrigerator. Create a suitable section for homework in the evenings or keep it out of the kitchen altogether. Some homes have study areas for this.
After organising the kitchen to make it easier to find things on a busy school morning, be sure to deep clean the kitchen. Clean regularly used appliances like the coffee maker, toaster, stove top and so on. Wipe down all cupboards and surfaces in the kitchen and seal granite surfaces.
2. Tackle the Closets
You might already know this, but closets suffer the most at times like these. With all the rush, clothes and other items get strewn everywhere. A disorder like this makes it even harder to find anything in the mornings. Tackle the kid’s closet as well as your own before the start of school. Organize everything into sections. Purge the closet of dirty clothes or items that are no longer needed. Wash all dirty clothes, toys and other things before replacing them. Involve your kids by showing them where everything can be found. Encourage them to keep the closet organised, and hopefully, this won’t have to be a weekly chore.
3. Bathrooms
The bathrooms in your home are another high traffic area, right next to the kitchen. They have to be cleaned and re-organised to suit busy mornings and reduce clutter.
Start by deep cleaning all the bathrooms in use, especially the kids’ bathroom. Replace toiletries and other materials required in the bathroom. Place them in easy to reach areas for your children. Help your teenager find their personal items faster by establishing a new location for them.
The bathroom will always need routine cleaning and possibly a different arrangement each time.
4. Pantry and Refrigerator Declutter
The pantry and refrigerator would need to be decluttered for this new season. Everything must be clean and re-organised to increase your efficiency in the kitchen and prevent the loss of time looking for items.
Remove everything in the fridge and clean with a suitable cleaner. Replace only useful items and discard expired ones. Remember to maximise fridge space by placing most can items in the pantry and chilling them only when you need them. Be sure to give your pantry a thorough clean too and re-organise everything.
5. Create a Family Calendar
During the holidays, routines are quite flexible. Each day could be spent indoors resting and bonding. But going back to school everything changes. Activities come up, and they could be school activities like ‘bring your parent to school day’ or a friend’s party for the whole family to attend and so on.
A family calendar helps everyone know what activities are coming up and how to prepare for them. Your family calendar can also be significantly specific for each child or family member. Use a color code to represent each person so everyone can identify who’s up for what with a glance. You can schedule piano lessons, field trips, bake sale day and so on. Keep the calendar updated for each month and free of clutter.
6. Inventory
There’s no doubt that you would need some supplies to stay ahead of most difficult situations. Take note of what you have and make a list of what you don’t have. This includes cleaning supplies, school supplies, clothes and other items. This is also the time to get some strong cleaners to tackle the stubborn stains and dirt you would encounter.
Stocking up ensures that you don’t have to worry when an unexpected need comes up or when your children need some materials for school.
If you can’t purchase everything at once, you can schedule your shopping a few times a week to catch up.
To finish up on preparing for the busy school year, do a routine home cleaning. Approach each section of the home with an organising pattern to make ‘back to school time’ hassle free. Entry points in the house should also be kept clean and organised so everyone can easily find their coats, shoes, or keys.
If it gets too overwhelming, remember at Glimmr, we can offer you cleaning services in hall green Birmingham. We specialise in all forms of home cleaning including an end of tenancy home cleaning to give you all the assistance you need to save time, stress and energy.