Best Ways To Get Organized For Back To School

(CBS) – The first day of the school year is a trying time not just for the kids entering new classrooms but also for parents getting everything ready: Packing lunches, keeping up with homework, navigating the car pool, after school activities and more.

Planning expert Limor Suss joined CBS2's Cindy Hsu to offer some back-to-school tactics for busy moms and dads.

Stay Organized: Use a stylish planner/calendar to keep track of everyone's busy schedule. Color code each person in the household to make it easy to keep track of who needs to be where.

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Make a Homework Station: Get a bin and fill up with homework essentials such as scissors, pens, markers, rulers and more to make homework time that much easier.

Set Up "Junk" Bins: For when everyone walks in and throw their bags and stuff all over the place, get bins. Label them with each person's name and that's where they put all the stuff they walk in with. Each night, or each week, everyone sorts through their bin and puts things away in their place

Label Everything: Get chalkboard or dry erase labels and label everything you need for the school year – toiletry bin for things like Kleenex and cotton balls, extra batteries, a first-aid bin for Band-Aids and more must-haves.

Lunch/Snack Bins: Prepping lunch bags the night before will alleviate some of the stress in the morning. Don't forget about yourself with Mason jar salads and on the go snacks.

Set Out Outfits The Night Before: Avoid the morning routine of "Where are my sorganizedhoes? Where's the firetruck shirt?" If you lay out the outfits the night before, both for parents and kids find life much easier.

Via CBS New York