25 Back-to-School Organizing Essentials We Love
School will be back in session soon, and we're sharing 25 of our favorite products to help keep your home and life organized so your kids can focus on schoolwork.
The beginning of each school year has its pros: fresh starts, getting back into a routine and less daily harassment for more screen time. However, those perks also come with busier schedules, mountains of paperwork (both digital and physical) and homework.
Staying organized can make a big difference, and that starts in the home. Take a look at our favorite organization products, from school supply storage to lunch hacks, to help keep your kids on track this school year.
FOR THE HOMEWORK STATION
Keep homework and craft supplies nearby when needed and out of sight when not in use with a rolling storage cart. This sturdy metal cart is a huge upgrade over the flimsy plastic ones and can hold a variety of tools your child needs to do school projects.
One of the best ways to keep a child focused is to ensure they have everything they need within reach. This colorful rotating craft caddy is perfect for holding your child's pens, pencils and anything else they need. Best of all, it takes up a small amount of space so their workspace won't feel cluttered.
If you have one already, you know the magic that is a label maker. This digital label maker prints and cuts its own labels in seconds and is the perfect way to keep your life organized. Use it to label lunch boxes, homework folders, files and much more.
When everything has its own place, working efficiently is a breeze. Set your kiddos up for success by teaching them this lesson early on with a pen and pencil organizer. They (and their teachers) will thank you.
When everything comes home from school in a filled-to-busting backpack, it's easy to miss permission slips, student forms and any important drives or activities. Design a system with your kids where they put all their papers in a designated basket for you. As they start on their homework, you can quickly go through, toss any junk and take note of anything important.
Create an assignment command center to keep teens and kids organized. Label these individual cases with a child's name or school subject so they can keep all related papers and projects in one place.
Store pens, markers, scissors, toys and more in this handy organization system. Keeping homework and art supplies in one contained space helps kids easily find what they need and keeps your house from becoming one giant art supplies drawer.
FOR VERTICAL STORAGE + ORGANIZATION
Whether you're a morning or after-school chores kind of person, this gorgeous chore chart is here to make your and your kid's life much easier. Just jot down the week's chores at the beginning of the week and have them check them off as they complete them.
When school is back in session, the calendar can fill up quickly. Keep everyone in the know with a wall-mounted calendar. Best of all, since this calendar is dry-erase, wasting paper is a thing of the past and you can easily change details to keep up with a fast-paced schedule.
The easiest and best way to keep items off your floor is with hooks. We're strong believers in adding hooks anywhere and everywhere you can to hang jackets, bags, hats and more.
A practical shelf with a decent aesthetic is surprisingly hard to find, so we were ecstatic to come across these. This set of two minimalistic shelves is simple and sleek with soft, natural wood against a black finish and even features a hanging rod for school outfits, backpacks and jackets.
Sometimes, a calendar on your phone is hard to follow and it's much more helpful just to have your reminders right in front of your face. These pretty dry-erase board-shelf combos are a great way to stay on top of all your kid's weekly commitments and keep important materials where you can see them, all while maintaining a beautiful workspace.
Set your children up for success with an over-the-door organizer in their bedroom. This will help them keep track of their school books, folders and homework while helping to teach them the value of staying organized and orderly.
FOR CLOTHING + ACTIVITIES
An orderly wardrobe means less stress over outfits, plus it allows your kids to see what their options are at a glance. You can even create a weekly outfit system to really speed things up in the morning. Just label each shelf with a day of the week and place the appropriate outfit in the corresponding compartment.
Teach your little one how to set themself up for success with a beautiful garment rack ready to hold whatever they need. Whether they plan their outfits out at the beginning of the week or the night before, this wooden piece is sure to help them stay organized and on top of things.
Whether you tackle laundry on the weekends or whenever you can, you're sure to benefit from a hamper that works as hard as you do. This one has multiple compartments that can be used for separating towels, colors and whites, or even just organized by child.
If you have kids who love playing sports, storing the equipment is a challenge. Sports equipment is awkward and clunky which makes it difficult to keep organized, but this heavy-duty storage rack will make it easier than ever.
Once school starts, you're spending more time in your car, and the clutter can quickly get out of hand. This organizer has four built-in cup holders, pockets for holding pens and crayons, and open space for storing snacks or activities to keep kiddos busy while running errands or heading to extra-curriculars.
In addition to the fun — kid-friendly music, audiobooks and interactive games — the Echo Dot gives kids autonomy with their schedule and homework. You can even set their morning alarm!
FOR THE KITCHEN
If you don't stay on top of it all the time, your fridge can quickly slip into chaos, rendering it completely ineffective and leaving you searching for food in a hurry. Stop the problem before it starts by organizing your refrigerator with these see-through plastic bins. Trust us, you'll thank yourself every time you open the fridge.
Once school is back in session, having the time and energy to get a healthy meal on the table can be the last thing on your mind. Luckily, this beautiful desktop meal planner pad is here for you. With a spot for each day and meal of the week, plus a tear-off grocery list, each page is the perfect way to organize a week's worth of meals.
Somehow, no matter how hard you try, the lids to all your lunch containers just seem to sneak off. Sadly, they just aren't a very easy thing to store. Don't fret! This handy storage solution is here for you and ready to keep them all in their place.
If you have multiple kiddos to pack lunches for, the fridge can fill up fast. These bento-style lunchboxes were made for you. They're stackable, have separate compartments for different foods and they're a gorgeous alternative to the classically clunky lunch bag.
To ensure prepping snacks and lunch is an effortless task, start by corralling all the necessities in one spot. This spinning snack organizer with removable sections is the perfect tool for the job. On top of making everything accessible, it will also make your pantry look photoshoot fresh.
Prep snacks and be kind to Mother Nature at the same time. Dishwasher-, microwave- and food-safe, these Stasher bags allow you to ditch the one-use plastics while still keeping your kiddo's crackers fresh and ready for snack time.