With the start of the school year upon most of us, now's a great time to talk home organization! Kids resuming their studies often results in a flurry of backpacks, textbooks, and various other school supplies that can quickly leave your home in a stressful state of disarray. Here are some airtight back-to-school home organization tips you can use to corral the chaos.

Create a Front-Door Storage Space

Give your kids a dedicated storage space where they can drop their bookbags and other essentials as soon as they come in the door. Hang a few wall hooks or utilize existing closet space near the front door to prevent a mess of items being left in the entryway.

Build a Homework Station

Tired of papers and pencils taking over your kitchen table each night? Build your kids a dedicated homework station! Give them a dedicated desk with organized supplies – understand their needs and then stage the space around them.

Prepare Your Laundry Room

Kids and dirty clothes go together like macaroni and cheese, especially during the school year. As school clothes, sports uniforms, and more pile up, having a tidy and organized laundry room will help you stay ahead. Provide dedicated laundry bins (you can even label for darks and lights) for your kids' clothes so you don't have to go digging for long-lost dirty socks, then put the clean clothes back in the same bins for your kids to take.

Operate a Command Center

Ideally, your command center should be in a central location, like the kitchen or dining room. Keep everyone on the same page with a calendar, bulletin board, or even a dry erase board where you can write the day's events and other messages for the entire family to see.

Set Alarms to Run a Tight Ship

Perpetually running late? Try setting alarms as reminders that go off at set intervals each morning. 10 minutes until breakfast, 5 minutes until the bus arrives – whatever works within your morning routine.

Create Good Organization Habits

One key to back-to-school home organization is getting your kids on board with the goal of staying in order. Try printing out an organization binder, like this free one, that your kid can use to start developing strong habits.

Store School Supplies Smartly

Often times, good organization is the result of thrifty thinking. Repurpose over-the-door shoe hangers to hold paper and notebooks and put unused muffin trays to work as miniature storage bins for easy-to-lose supplies like sticky notes and paper clips. There's no one-size-fits-all solution for home organization, so use whatever you have to make it work for you!

Stay on Top of Chores

Chores can easily fall off your radar during the school year. But you still need your child's help to keep the house running smoothly, and that means keeping track of chores even when things are hectic. Try a printable after-school chore checklist like this one to make this task easier on everyone.      

Prepare Breakfast & Lunch in Advance

Just getting the kids out the door each morning can feel like a monumental undertaking. Ensuring they're fed only makes that task more daunting. That's why you should try to prepare breakfast and lunch items in advance. There are dozens of cold lunch ideas you can make ahead of time, and you can't go wrong with a pre-made frozen breakfast sandwich. You only need a couple hours each weekend to make these tasty and nutritious meals – it will save you precious time each weekday!