The last few weeks of summer are upon us, meaning it will soon be time to see the kids off to school. The school year is hectic for most families, as there’s schoolwork, activities, and sports, as well as your own to-do list. Rather than feeling like you’re insane every day, keep the following hacks in mind and make it a streamlined school year. There are plenty of little things that add up to serious time saved and much more:
Morning Wakeup Hack
Have trouble jumping out of bed in the morning like most humans? Try sleeping in total darkness if you don’t already to produce more of the sleep hormone, and drink water before bed so you wake up having to use the bathroom. Put the alarm across the room so you must get up to turn the screeching thing off, and schedule important plans in the morning to further inspire your wake-up efforts. Besides, if you don’t wake up when you should, how can you expect the kids to?
School Supplies Hack
Don’t panic because you haven’t stocked up on school supplies yet. Many online stores sell supplies in grade-appropriate bundles to eliminate the stress of shopping while 100 other parents are doing the same thing. If you do decide to brave the local stores for back-to-school shopping, use apps such as RetailMeNot to score the best discounts.
Effective Studying Hack
Help the kids develop good study habits! The Pomodoro method is recommended for best results. It involves 25 minutes of focused studying followed by five-minute breaks. Make every third break 20 minutes and encourage the kids to go outside and run around for a bit. Cramming never works, so the sooner kids realize this, the better.
New Shoes Hack
Make it easy for the kids to break in their new shoes by blow-drying them. Yep. Instruct the kiddies to put on their thickest pairs of socks before lacing up the new shoes. Once feet are in the shoes, apply your hair dryer to them on the hottest setting. The result is quickly-broken-in footwear.
Cold Lunch Hack
Keep the younglings’ lunches cold by freezing wet sponges. Ice packs may get food wet due to condensation, but sponges are absorbent and won’t cause leaks. Instead, they will absorb any liquids!
Use these hacks to start the school year off right…both you and the kiddies will be glad you did.