Getting Your Home Organised Before Back-to-School

The sun's still blazing but the shops are already stocked with pencil cases? One minute you're enjoying the long evenings, the next you're a fortnight from term starting, with most UK schools back in the first week of September and hunting for a PE kit that's gone missing since June. Getting a few systems sorted now makes the first few weeks back so much less chaotic. And right now, there's still time to do it properly!

You don't need to overhaul the whole house. A handful of the right spots done well beats trying to reorganise everything and losing motivation halfway through.

Sort the Entryway First

This is the room that takes the most daily punishment once term starts, bags dumped, shoes kicked off, coats slung over the nearest chair. If there's one space worth getting right before September, it's this one.

A Bamboo Shoe Rack gives everyone a proper place to put their shoes instead of a pile by the door, and the open tiers mean trainers get to air out between wears, which matters more than you'd think with growing feet in school shoes five days a week. You can also add a bench in your hallway for kids to use themselves, and you'll notice fewer things get left in a heap on the floor. Browse the full storage and organisation range if this room needs more than just shoes sorted.

Give Schoolwork Its Own Spot

You don't need a home office. A corner of the kitchen table or a shelf in the living room works fine, as long as it's the same spot every time and it's stocked before the first homework assignment lands. Kids find it far easier to settle into work when the pens, paper and whatever else they need are already there rather than scattered across three rooms.

A Plastic Studio Storage Basket is an easy way to keep it all together. Pens, workbooks, spare stationery, all live in one basket with a handle, so it can sit on a shelf when it's not homework time and get carried straight to the table when it is. Have a look at the full storage baskets range if you need a few different sizes for different kids or subjects.

Get the Wardrobe Uniform-Ready

Uniforms live a hard life. Between PE kits, blazers and whatever gets worn home covered in something unidentifiable, a wardrobe that's already organised saves a lot of morning stress. Swapping to slimmer hangers frees up more rail space than you'd expect, which matters when you're trying to fit a week's worth of uniform plus everyday clothes into one small wardrobe.

Rubber Coated Metal Hangers hold shirts and blazers without them sliding onto the floor overnight, and the slim profile means you can see what's hanging rather than digging through a jammed rail. Check out the full hangers range if you're sorting more than one child's wardrobe at once. We have plenty of colours too, so they can suit any bedroom décor.

Build A Laundry System That Keeps Up

A Collapsible Laundry Basket with Two Compartments means dirty kit doesn't end up on the floor, and the double compartment version keeps lights and darks separate so you don't have to sort it all again on wash day. It's also handy for uniform specifically, school jumpers and PE kit tend to want a lower, gentler wash than everyday clothes, so keeping them separated from the start means you're not picking through a mixed pile trying to work out what can go in on a hot cycle and what can't.

If you're line drying, a good set of sturdy pegs are worth a look, and it's worth checking the care label on new uniform pieces too, since some school logos and badges do better air dried than tumbled. For anything else you may need, the full range of laundry supplies is ideal to make a weekly wash routine actually stick.

Sort Out Lunch and Morning Routine Essentials

Mornings run smoother when lunch prep doesn't start from scratch every day. The 8.5L Cooler Bag is built as an insulated lunch bag, keeping food and drinks at the right temperature for over five hours, so a packed lunch made the night before stays properly cool right through to lunchtime rather than sitting in a warm bag all morning. The wipe-clean lining also means it's an easy one to keep hygienic between school days, no washing a fabric bag every other night. Take a look at our cooler bags and picnic range if you want a reusable freezer block to go alongside it, just pop one in the night before and it does the rest of the work for you.

If mornings are tight, a 9L Dual Zone Air Fryer earns its keep here too. The two separate zones mean you can crisp up hash browns for breakfast in one basket while warming through leftovers or cooking something for the lunchbox in the other, no waiting for one thing to finish before starting the next. It's a quick way to batch cook a few days' worth of lunch additions in one go over the weekend, so there's something ready to grab on a rushed Tuesday morning.

Getting Ahead of The Rush

You don't need all of this sorted before the first day back, so don't let that be the thing that stops you starting. Just pick whatever's causing the most grief in your house right now. For most families that's the shoes-everywhere entryway or the wardrobe nobody can find anything in. Start there and see how it goes. The rest tends to sort itself out once term's underway and you can see what's sticking and what needs a rethink.

Get those basics in place now, and by the time the new pencil case shine has worn off, mornings should already feel a bit less like a scramble than they did last year.

FAQs About Getting Organised for Back to School