Well, it is officially back-to-school season. The girls’ school stuff is purchased and in their backpacks, new uniforms are in the wash, the Middle School Social was last night, and Back to School Night is Monday.
Summer absolutely flew by.
But in the midst of all the preparations and all the hullabaloo, something occurs to me. The school year is rife with opportunities to overfill your calendar and overcomplicate your life. Survival is contingent (for me anyway) on keeping things as simple as possible. Here’s what works for us:
- One thing at a time. My girls love to do extracurricular activities. They get to pick whatever it is they’re interested in, and they can do that. The only rules are: they can only be doing one activity at a time, and they have to finish out the season they started.
Why do we make this rule? Well, because children today are faaaaaaar too busy. We have them doing things every night of the week, they have homework, and they are left with zero empty space. I know it seems silly to leave room for empty space, but that’s where creativity lies.
I want my girls to enjoy their creativity (and I’m a firm believer everyone is creative in some way), and that’s how you do it – you create room for boredom. Then they get creative. Also – kids need to sleep. They can’t wind down and sleep effectively if they run absolutely all day and get home at 9:00 and have to be up at 6 to get going again. It just doesn’t work. So, we say “no” to a lot of things because the girls have to pick and choose what they want to do for that season. This season it’s Volleyball, in case you wondered. 😉
- Shopping. Shopping can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be. We got the list, went to 2 stores (one has a really good deal on shoes, the other has a good deal on everything else), and got what was on the list. That’s it. Keep it simple, keep it cheap. Also – there are still things I’ll have to get for the year. My big issue is I try to get everything done all at once. That’s fine, but I really don’t have to buy their winter coats until September. They have a jacket for now, that will be fine for at least another month, and in the meantime I can keep an eye out for sales. Ditto rain and snow boots.
- That reminds me – reuse what you can. My girls have uniforms, which truly does make this easier, I know. But even if you don’t, reuse whatever you can. I know we have this culture of “back to school shopping” where kids get a whole new wardrobe every fall, but it’s actually not necessary. Go through your closets, have your kiddos pick out their favorites to carryover (or if they’re like my kids and everything is their favorite, have them pick several items to donate), and fill in the gaps with new stuff. My middle daughter was able to reuse almost everything from last year, and I only had to buy a couple of things for her.
I got everything my girls would need in my online shopping cart. Then I went through what we saved from last year and removed everything we didn’t need. The difference it made with just their clothes (and they were all on sale, so this is all about half what the normal price would be) was close to $180. Now – I know in some parts of the country that’s not a lot, but it certainly is for us. That $180 covered all the rest of their school shopping.
And I don’t know if you noticed this, but saving money is very stress-relieving. LOL!!!
- Lunches. Okay – damn you pinterest. There is a smorgasboard of cute little lunch ideas for moms to send their kids with. Eff that. Sorry. I love my girls, you know this. I love to send them cute little notes (corny jokes for my oldest, hearts and princess pictures for my middle), and I pack them a lunch every day (because food sensitivities blegh), but good lord do you see what some of these videos expect us to do for lunch when I am still working on my coffee (okay tea)???
Nope, with a big fat greasy side of Nope.
My girls will get a lunch packed that is nutritious, free of any foods they react to, has a cute little note (at least for the first week lol), and a snack in there. That’s it. They have a lunch box, we have an ice pack for each of them, that’s good enough.
They’ll also have a sane mama out of the deal. I’m calling it a win/win.
- Delegate. The first day of school was always my favorite because I would come home, and sit with my mom and have a snack and tell her all about my day. Who I talked to, who looked better than last year, who looked worse, who was gone or who was new, any new drama – nothing was off limits. My mom loved hearing about it, and I (of course) loved telling her all about it. My girls and I do the same thing, it’s really fun.
This year I can’t. I have to go to Salt Lake for a doctor’s appointment and I will be gone. I will help them get ready, get them dropped off, and finish a few things before I get on the road, and I won’t be back until their second day (at like 10 p.m.). I’m so sad about it, and I was really feeling guilty.
Then I remembered. The only person better than mom is Grammy. Mom win. So, instead of going with me to Salt Lake, she’s going to come down and get the girlies and let them tell her all about their day, and she’s going to stay until Dad gets home. That’s pretty perfect. While I’ll be a little bored between appointments, I’m super good to make that trade-off. I want the girls to have that same memory and positive association with learning that I do, and I honestly think this was a big part of it.
- Dinner. Crockpot. InstaPot. Need I say more? Okay fine. :p
It’s important that your family eat healthy. So for the first week (at least) plan out some crockpot or InstaPot meals (or meals you can prep ahead of time and stick in the freezer and pull out right before you cook them) to save yourself the stress or the “what the hell” effect of just calling for take-out.
Your body and mind (and wallet) will thank you.
May the force be with you this school year. 😉
I’ll be talking more about this on Tuesday, August 21st on Kelly McClain’s show Being Badass (I get to guest host for her!) at 12 p.m. pacific time. 🙂 I’m so excited to be back on the air for a minute, so join me at 12 Radio!
Britt
Against the Rules with Brittani O. 
You are one BUSY lady !!! ❤️
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