Back to school hacks

Don’t be persuaded to take the kids along for a new-term shopping spree, you’ll spend far too much time arguing with them over why you should be buying the top-of-the-range, oh-so-cool stationery and backpack your children just ‘have to’ have. The trip will cost twice as much as it needs to and they’ll only lose their glitter pens within five days of the new term starting. Go alone instead, with a strict list you’ll stick to. Hit the likes of Staples and local office suppliers for the essentials.

…in fact, a pack of fabric pens in different colours (for different siblings) - for clothes naming purposes. Whilst everyone starts out thinking they’ll sew in name tags (and don’t bother with the iron-on labels, they rarely last), Sharpies are the best pens for permanence and non-felt-tip ‘bleed’ but we can also recommend Pilot’s Laundry Marker too.

Clear the decks! Wherever your child does their homework, before terms starts, clear the space of holiday souvenirs, crafts and that general ‘stuff’ that ends up covering every surface during the long holidays. Invest in either a desk tidy or a lunchbox with sections and make sure it has all those essentials stashed neatly ready to be used. Pritt stick, ruler, scissors, rubber, post-it notes, paper clips and stapler, pens and pencils in the basic colours.

Lots of children have the same or very similar lunch bags and boxes which easily get lost or mixed up at school - make them simple to identify by tying some ribbon or a bright pipe cleaner around the handle so they can spot theirs immediately.

There’s a huge range of apps to keep planning on schedule: clubs, daily and weekly events, meal ideas and reminders. Make sure parents have their phone calendars are synced via the 'cloud' so that responsibility is shared – and set alerts 24 hours before every event. There’s a variety of apps to help with this too. The Hub Family Organiser is great as a shared calendar and ‘to do’ list.

Buy patent leather shoes whenever possible because they’re so easy to clean. A once-over with a dish cloth is all you’ll need, rather than having to get the polish out every week. Shame there aren’t more shiny shoes for boys around…

Buy a large craft box and keep all the clips, hair boggles, elastics and grips in one tidy place. Find a mini version to keep in the children’s bedrooms too - then when they remove them at night at least they’ll be stashed somewhere you can find them. Tip: Make sure you buy a box big enough to hold hair brushes and combs too.

This is because a) within days your child will have lost their jumper. Or trainers. Or PE shorts. Or all of them, actually. And b) It ultimately saves on the washing. In fact, some parents swear by the an-outfit-a-day rule. Five shirts, five jumpers, five skirts or trousers – one for every day of the week. It might seem a bit excessive but if it keeps the morning craziness to a minimum. We’re all for it and it means you only have one big uniform wash a week!

Certain events are set way in advance with schools, before term starts – or certainly in the first couple of days of the children being back at school – enter every detail of the next year’s school dates (including term dates, inset days, early finishes and so on) right at the start of the year. It’ll help prevent the last minute ‘I didn’t know about this!’ dramas.

Unless your child’s grown out of their uniform, it’s possible to freshen-up last year’s clothes and put some new life into them. A single pot of black or navy fabric dye (try Dylon’s All-in1 Fabric Dye Pod, 350g) will work on at least six or eight pieces of clothing from skirts and trousers to sweatshirts and cardigans. And while you’re at it – invest in some in-wash whitener and stain remover for the inevitable felt tip and ink stains.

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