10 Back To School Hacks That Will Save Your Sanity

I have received information and materials from JOHNSON & JOHNSON CONSUMER, Inc., McNeil Consumer Healthcare Division, LLC. The opinions stated are my own. This is a sponsored post. #PositivelyPrepared #BacktoSchool #CollectiveBiasIt is hard to believe but my kids start school in less than two weeks!  Where did the summer go?  It is hard to believe that it is time to start shopping for everything we need to start school.  I, of course, headed to my favorite store:  my local Target.  

With Will heading into 4th grade and Madison heading into 7th grade (I know, where has all the time gone?), I’ve done this a few times.  Here is a list of my back to school hacks to help your family start this school year happy and healthy!

1. Every school has a school supply list.  Go over that list one, twice, and even three times.  Also, make sure you shop with that list.  There is nothing worse than being at the store and not sure if you have the right brand or the right count of something.
2. Make sure mom and dad have pain relievers also.  We tend to forget ourselves!  When my kids go back to school, I hit the gym hard.  That means sore muscles that I will need Ultra Strength BENGAY® Cream and TYLENOL® 8 HR Muscle Aches & Pain for.  I already am counting the days where I can spend 2 hours in the gym doing weight training and cardio!  (Get positively prepared with the right pain relief for you and your family at Target.)
3. Make sure their school uniforms fit.  My kids have outgrown shoes, uniform pants, etc. from June to August.  There is nothing worse than trying to figure out what you are going to do the night before.
4. Back to school means many things, but it can also mean the introduction of a few more headaches and germs!  Make sure you have Children’s MOTRIN® on hand to handle any of your kids’ fevers, minor aches and pains, headache, sore throat, and toothaches.  (I also like to pick a flavor that the kids will like.)
   
5. Start moving up their bedtime a week prior to school starting.  All summer long my kids have been going to bed super late.  We start getting into a route of getting up early and going to bed early, so the week school starts it isn’t quite so much a shock to their system!
6. Now this next one only do if your school allows it.  If all your notebooks look the same, color a corner at the top of it.  Each class has a different color, and it makes it super easy to find in your backpack from the top!!
7. Save those brown paper bags!  Why spend money on book covers when you can use the brown paper bags you get for free at the grocery store?
8. Another way to save money when back to school shopping is to check what leftover supplies your kids have from last year.  If they didn’t go through 24 pencils (like the list said they needed), add what is left to this year’s supplies.  You can save a lot reusing what you already have!
9. Make sure you have dedicated pantry space for food that needs to go into lunches.  There is absolutely nothing worse than thinking you have everything you need for your kids’ lunches and when you go to pack them, it’s gone.  My kids know exactly where that spot is and that they are to NEVER snack on that food.  
10. I luck out that my kids’ school does my last hack already.  Make sure your child has a take home folder.  (We also have a homework folder.)  Anything you need to see and/or sign goes in this folder.  Your child hands you the folder, you do what you need with the papers, and the folder goes back into the backpack.  There is no more fighting over where that field trip permission slip went.  It is an incredibly easy way to stay organized with the 2 tons of paperwork you get that first week of school.  

I use these 10 tips every August!  What are your back to school tips to that help save your sanity?