Meredith’s Best Tips for Keeping Organized This School Year
Interior Design by Lulu Home
Routines. Schedules. Sports. An avalanche of papers, and a deluge of (many, many) emails to keep up with. As we wave goodbye to the relaxed days of summer, it’s time to welcome Back to School Season with open arms—whether we’re ready or not.
This time of year always brings a mix of emotions for me. While I adore the laid-back rhythm of summer, any parent will tell you that kids truly thrive on routine (and let’s be honest, so do we). Transitioning back to the structured school mindset isn’t always a breeze, but with a little preparation, it can be a lot smoother. That’s why I’ve gathered some of my top tips—and favorite products—to help you kickstart the school year with organization and success. So, grab your label maker and get ready to ace this year with confidence!
BATHROOM
If you’re like me, the morning sets the tone for the entire day. When I feel on top of everything, it’s not just me who benefits—my kids pick up on that energy too. Mornings can be a whirlwind, trying to get yourself and everyone else out the door. The key to avoiding chaos? Streamlining the process as much as possible.
Starting with the bathroom, make sure your child has all the essentials they need to get ready for the day—and these tips work just as well for your own routine!
SET UP FOR SUCCESS
The best way to simplify the morning routine is to create clearly labeled areas with easily accessible items. Prioritize the products they use most often and keep them within easy reach. I like to organize my personal products in the order I use them—Step 1: Facial Cleanser, Step 2: Skincare Products, Step 3: Body Lotion, and so on. This method works wonders for kids too. The goal is to arrange the bathroom in a “start to finish” way that’s easy for them to follow.
ORGANIZATIONAL PRODUCT SELECTION.
The right products are essential to making sure your hard organizing work pays off and stays in place over time. These are tried-and-true favorites we use again and again—with our clients and in our own homes—because we know they work:
The Container Store’s Everything Drawer Organizer Collection: a House of Prim favorite for bathroom drawers. With various sizes, you can truly customize your space. The silicone feet keep each container in place, and they’re available in both both regular and deep sizes—perfect for larger items like hair tools or deeper drawers.
The Home Edit All Purpose Bins: These bins are a winner in any space, and they’re particularly useful in bathroom cabinets. Available in Divided, Regular, and Open Front styles, they make it easy to create designated “homes” for everything when paired with The Home Edit Bin Organizers, which are designed to fit perfectly inside. They come in small, medium, large, and tall sizes, so you can play Tetris until you find the perfect fit for whatever you’re organizing.
** TIP: Assign a category to each bin—Dental, Grooming, Bath Products, Hair—and use our Vinyl Labels to chicly showcase what goes where.
For the Sephora Enthusiast: If you have a young lady who loves her beauty products, The Home Edit Bin Organizers and their micro-organizing counterpart, The Home Edit Bin Dividers are perfect for keeping cosmetics tidy. Here’s your cheat sheet:
Small Organizer + Small Divider = Lipstick, Glosses, Eye Pencils, Brushes, Brow tools
Medium Organizer + Medium Divider = Eyeshadow Palettes, Bronzers, Blushes
Tall Organizer + Tall Divider = Large Makeup brushes, any tall cosmetics
Custom Labels
YOUR Label, House of Prim Aesthetic.
CLOSET & DRESSER
Simplify and Sustain
Creating a clear and sustainable system in your child’s closet and dresser is key to keeping their space—and your mornings—organized. But what does that actually look like? It starts with clear, labeled areas that are easy to access.
PRIME REAL ESTATE & THE POWER OF PRODCUT
Give prime “real estate” to the items they use daily. For my kids, that means socks, underwear, pajamas, and casual shirts & bottoms in their dresser. Hoodies get hung up in the closet, while nicer slacks go on open-ended pant hangers.
Use organizational products to create boundaries and structure within these areas. For example, the 32 Compartment Drawer Organizer is one of my go-to products: incredibly simple, yet each little compartment creates the perfect home for socks and undies. In the closet, Acrylic Rod Dividers can help separate sections—hoodies, long sleeve, short sleeve—so your child can quickly find what they need, avoiding frustration and meltdowns.
** TIP: Create a section for each day of the week with outfits selected and ready to go. Our Acrylic Rod Dividers and Bin Clips are perfect for this!
LABEL EVERYTHING
LABEL. Label. Label. I cannot emphasize this enough: grab yourself a a p-touch machine and label each drawer or area—socks, t-shirts, sweatpants. The only way to keep a system in place long-term is to give it a label. Plus, not only does it keep things organized but also empowers your child to maintain it independently.
Acrylic Rod Dividers
The perfect accessory to keep sections in your closet clearly divided and organized.
KITCHEN & PANTRY
STREAMLINE THE ESSENTIALS
One of the very best things I did as a young mother was dedicate a space in my kitchen for all things kid related related. A drawer for their bowls, cups, plates; a drawer for all things school snack and lunch packing. I’d like to say I prep their things the night before, but that isn’t reality when you are running children to and from activities and making sure homework is getting done, doesn’t always happen. Here are a few of my favorite ways to streamline that daily practice.
LUNCH AND SNACK PACKING CONTAINERS:
Dedicate an area in your kitchen for lunchboxes, snack containers, anything you will send with your child to school.
Use adjustable drawer dividers to create zones—lunchboxes, containers, utensils, thermoses. Within that zone, micro-organize the items that tend to mix together: lids, straws, really anything small that will get lost. Your lunch bags are big and easy to spot; the cute fruit cutters will never get used if you can’t see them.
** CHEAT SHEET — Deep Bamboo Drawer Dividers + Home Edit Organizers: Small (condiment containers), Medium (utensils), Large(thermoses), and Tall (straws)
PANTRY SNACK ZONE:
DRAWERS: Create clearly defined zones for grab and go snacks. Use adjustable drawer dividers to create zones for individual snack bags; if you have a super deep drawer and do a Costco run, I love the Jumbo Pantry Bins from iDesign for a simple dump straight from the carton to refill.
CABINETS: Use The Home Edit Open Pantry Bin or Divided All Purpose Bin to house categories, and organize smaller snacks inside using their modular inserts. I do this in my own house, and it actually WORKS.
** CHEAT SHEET — Small Organizer = fruit snacks, Medium Organizer = Goldfish bags, Tall Organizer = Granola and Fruit Bars. Pantry Bin: Individual Chip bags.
WATER BOTTLES: Use these Stacking Bottle Organizers to create horizontal homes for each bottle. You and your kids can see each one and quickly grab when running out the door—no toppling over and searching in the back. Plus, the silicone liner keeps the bottle in place (genius). And, don’t forget finding a way to organize lids: this adjustable acrylic version, this vertical tumbler lid organizer, or stick on under the counter version are all great options depending on your space.
The Pantry Edit Vinyl Labels
We curated our Pantry Edit to cater to your daily organizational needs while ensuring your pantry looks nothing short of incredible.
MUDROOM
The mudroom is an area that is totally necessary in modern parenting, but an area that is really, REALLY hard to keep in order. While I can’t make your kids immediately put their backpacks and shoes away (I’m still working on my own), I can tell you ways to keep order for when that does happen.
SOCKS: I keep the kids socks in the mudroom, right next to their shoes. I found we were constantly running upstairs to grab socks from their dressers; moving socks next to their shoes just made sense. One less step for everyone!
SHOES: This depends on your space, but it’s important to find a way to have some order to shoes. If you need to create structure, I love The Container Store’s Stackable Shoe Bins. I’ve used the “throw shoes into a big bin for each person” method, which is messier but at least contains the chaos, and can personally attest to this Pottery Barn storage unit working well. In my current house, I’m using this Amazon shoe storage organizer and the kids and I love it. It’s affordable, a small footprint, cute—and extremely functional.
Bin Clips
The ultimate marriage of form and function
HOMEWORK STATION
DESK: SETTING UP FOR SUCCESS
The desk area is crucial for your budding student, so it’s imperative to set up their schoolwork space for success. And you guessed it—the key to that is using the right products.
Many desk drawers are very shallow, which makes sense since you need room to sit comfortably. The problem is that most drawer organizers on the market require at least 2 inches of clearance, so there aren’t many options that both look good and function well for shallow drawers like these! For this tricky area, we love the Luxe Acrylic Inserts with a 1-1/4″ height: the Long 2-Section Divided Drawer Insert and the Short 2-Section Divided Drawer Insert. Thick, gorgeous acrylic that’s also functional? Done.
For deeper drawers that need to contain but differentiate categories, subjects, and sections, plastic multipurpose bins are a great solution. We love both Target’s Brightroom Line and The Container Store’s bin — you can’t go wrong with either. Just pop a label on each bin to keep everything organized and easy to find.
If your child works in a communal space and doesn’t have a drawer to organize, what’s the solution? A rolling cart outfitted with everything they need. Tall Smart Store inserts fit beautifully on each level, or consider the 3-Tier Cart Tall Organizers. If you’re looking for a ready-made, desk-like setup, the Everything Organizer 3-Tier Cart Organizer Kit is the perfect choice.
You Understood the Assignment…A+ In Organization. Class Dismissed!
Thanks for joining me on the blog today! If you found these tips helpful, be sure to check back each week for more insights, ideas, and inspiration to keep your home—and your life—beautifully organized.
xx meredith
Need a hand getting organized for the school year? We can help. Let’s chat!
All photos by the talented Julia D’Agostino.
