Every year in August, parents take on the task of getting their kids ready for back to school. Outside of the long list of school supplies that can cause your hair to go prematurely gray, the most important thing to do is get organized. De-stress yourself by starting to take action now.

If you haven’t done so already, set up a study area for homework and reading. Pick a quiet area with good lighting away from any distractions like television, phones, Ipods or stereo systems. Let your kids get into the act by encouraging them to participate in setting up their area to study. After the summer break, this will help your child focus back on school and encourage good study habits.

The study area should be organized and well supplied with the basics: Pens, pencils, erasers, colored pencils, crayons, scissors, lined and unlined paper, paper clips, rulers etc. Don’t forget the art supplies for reports and creative artwork. Older kid’s may call for more serious items: a calculator, computer, dictionary and thesaurus are good basics. If your kids have lots of extra activities, a weekly /monthly planner is good to teach them how to organize their time between school and extra-curricular activities. This will help keep mom organized too.

An organizing tray for a drawer or desktop is an easy way to keep pens, pencils and paperclips organized. If your study area is at the kitchen table, some rolling storage containers make good portable organizers for paper and desk supplies.

The trick to keeping back to school shopping under control is good planning and organization. Hopefully, it’ll take some of the stress out of back to school, possibly keep your hair from going prematurely gray.

Suzanne O'Connor