Beach vacations have come and gone, and it’s back-to-School season. Once again it’s time to purchase new supplies, backpacks, clothes and figure out a new schedule for both you and your kids for the new school year. This is an exciting time for parents, as they can’t wait to see their child get on the bus and watch them grow into another successful school year. At the same time, it can be stressful for parents to get into a new routine as well, and get ready for Packing lunches and helping out with homework. 

This guide is meant to help you shop for your kids and focus on the essentials to getting them back into the daily grind, and yourself as well. 

Buy Meal Prep Items

Let’s face it, packing sandwiches for your kids’ school lunch every evening can be exhausting, and often take up 20-30 minutes of preparing and packing. Packing lunch in the morning can work, but you’re missing out on a solid 30 minutes of sleeping time, and you’re never looking forward to it, rushing most of the time. Instead, go grocery shopping on Sundays so you can meal prep for the week and make things like pasta salads and wraps that can be stored in the fridge and used until Friday. 

Breakfasts in the early mornings tend to lean towards sugary cereals or quick granola bars then rushing out the door. You can make healthy breakfasts like overnight oats, with peanut butter, fruits, and greek yogurt to be placed in the fridge the night before. As you sleep the oats and peanut butter marry together and make a delicious, quick breakfast in the morning. 

Think Fall Clothes, Not Summer

As you plan your annual trip to the mall with your kids, take an entire day (or weekend) to go through their closet with them and try on jeans, flannels, sweaters, etc. Summer clothes are coming to an end, and most likely those beach vacations have ended up in bringing new items back home with you. September will be coming a few weeks after they head off to school and will be packing away the shirts and shorts soon enough, so you need to focus on buying new jeans or long sleeves and layering pieces that will be good as they transition into the fall and winter months ahead. 

Focus on the Essentials

Your child should have a good, quality lunchbox to make their lunch stay cold until it’s time to eat. Things like backpacks aren’t something that you need to purchase every year, as they last many years just fine. Instead, purchase things like hand sanitizer, pencils, tech items and other necessities that your child needs to succeed in school.

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