Back to School Breakfast Routine

Breakfast Schedule…This feels a little rigid and probably one of the things I got the most flack for in the past.  I love it though, and someone else might need more structure too. 

Routine, schedule, rotation, plan. Whatever you call it, it’s a yes for me. There’s a number of ways to set this up. If you have 10 family pleasing breakfasts then use all 10, if you just need to not think on Monday morning, just do that, Monday morning _______.  Whatever makes it work for you. 

This is how we’ve done it in the past and how I really want to get back to after a few years of chaotic breakfast times. 

We have 4-5 breakfasts that I feel good about and that are easy and budget friendly. We do those for the weekdays. Weekends we do more elaborate things, just kidding, we have sports every weekend and it’s always a disaster. That’s the goal though, and some weekend days it actually works out. 

*May contain affiliated links* I participate in Amazon Associates Program occasionally. I won't recommend a product I wasn't myself interested in trying or have tried. I may receive monetary compensation for participating. This does not change the price for you.

Minimalist Homework Station

After last year I bet we are all pros at finding space for homework. 

I honestly kind of slacked and just made whatever work. I’m feeling better about this year (so far) and this task is quick but helpful. 

Real talk though, I imagine it won’t be used much. I expect the high schoolers would rather work in their rooms and the other 2 will probably have time for homework while we are at after school activities, which there are  no shortages of.  Oh well, I’ll prep it just in case. 

Before 🥴

I’ve emptied this drawer in our kitchen out, wiped it clean and stocked it with homework necessities. 

Pencils 

Colored pencils 

Work books (just in case they want to do something) 

Ruler 

I also have pencil sharpener that is in there but was missing when I took the picture of course 😆

Considered hiding  a snack or treat in here for whoever does homework first ☺️

Where do your kids do homework? The kitchen island seems to be the spot here. 

*May contain affiliated links* I participate in Amazon Associates Program occasionally. I won't recommend a product I wasn't myself interested in trying or have tried. I may receive monetary compensation for participating. This does not change the price for you.

Back to School Decorations

I’ve loved decorating for back to school, just for a few weeks. It’s a nice change from our normal things in July and I am not ready to jump to Fall things until September. Apparently I didn’t realize how much I liked it, looks like I got rid of everything we had.

So this year, it’s all pretty basic. I will slowly be adding things when I see stuff that works here and that I love. I try to have consumables be a big part of it, for multiple reasons…

1.  Storage  There is no storing 🙌🏻

2.  Cost   Most are pretty inexpensive

3.  Cost 2.0  I’m going to buy them anyway 

4.  Aesthetic  Sometimes they just make things perfect. 

Some examples 

Pencils 

Dried apples

Fresh apples 

Alphabet cookies 

Crayons 

Colored Pencils 

Pink Erasers 

Some of our stuff from other years.. I have regrets about letting some of it go 

*May contain affiliated links* I participate in Amazon Associates Program occasionally. I won't recommend a product I wasn't myself interested in trying or have tried. I may receive monetary compensation for participating. This does not change the price for you.

Back To School ~ Friday Treats

Along the same lines of prepping freezer meals, 1 month at a time. I’m deciding now what Friday Treats we will have to help me watch for fun seasonal treats or ingredients on sale. 

Some of our Favorite Friday Treats for September 

 S’more Bark/Campfire Bars 

Apple Nachos 

Apple/zucchini/ banana bread 

Caramel Apple hand pies  

 May contain affiliated links* I participate in Amazon Associates Program occasionally. I won't recommend a product I wasn't myself interested in trying or have tried. I may receive monetary compensation for participating. This does not change the price for you.

Kids Clothes- Managed -Back To School

This is such a struggle for me. Every year it gets a little easier as the kids get pickier and have specific things they want.  The clothes! So much clothes! 

I grew up getting pretty much a whole wardrobe before school started and we kind of continued that.  As the kids have gotten older and I have become a fan of minimalism, that’s faded.  Don’t get me wrong, they still get a few things because it’s fun and there is usually some need between growth and damage.  

Before I even consider looking for clothes, I try and go through everything they have. Stuff they don’t love and I don’t love, goes. Stained, ripped or too small? It allll goes!  I don’t want to keep stuff in their drawers they are just going to skip over every day. 

Then I grab the bin of hand me downs/sale finds for the next size, whatever size they are growing into. Grab things from it that are weather appropriate and put things back in their drawers. 

We keep stuff that is more than 1 year out in the Laundry Room, and stuff likely to be needed soon is in the closet top shelf. I need to label these someway that isn't permanent. I'll add that to my Fall Deep Cleaning/Organizing. 

I like making a note of things they need, socks and underwear are almost always a guarantee, in my checklist app. I also add sizes for tops and bottoms because it can be easy to mix up with 4. It’s broken down by kiddo. I do this because sometimes I’ll find an unexpected deal while I am out and don’t want to grab the wrong size or socks for the wrong kid. 

And because our younger 2 are especially rough on clothes, I keep the new stuff in their backpack put up until the day before school. 

I don’t try to manage the teens clothes anymore, outside of making sure they aren’t keeping things they won’t be able to wear in public 🤪

For the younger 2, I have a rough list of what I like to keep for them. It looks about like this

7 underwear

7 socks 

3 pair jeans 

3 pair of other pants (joggers etc) 

7 T shirts

3-5 hoodies

3-6 pair of athletic shorts (older one needs a pair everyday for sports) 

1-2 pair casual shorts 

Church clothes 

3 pair pajamas 

1 jacket

1 heavier coat 

*May contain affiliated links* I participate in Amazon Associates Program occasionally. I won't recommend a product I wasn't myself interested in trying or have tried. I may receive monetary compensation for participating. This does not change the price for you.

Back to School Prep - Freezer Meals

This isn’t the first thing I work on because it’s not cool enough to be cooking so much. But I’m bringing it up now because I will be watching for ingredients to be on sale.  

I just want to share what a LIFESAVER having prepped breakfasts, lunches and dinners is.  We all have those times we oversleep and grabbing a lunch from the freezer, instead of making one, will save us from being late. Or those times we forgot some crucial ingredient  for breakfast, or nights when life is pulling your family in 5 different directions at dinner time. These are the times we take advantage of the freezer instead of takeout. 

There is no shortage of blogs, YouTube, and Instagram accounts that have big lists of freezer meals to prep ahead. 

Don’t skip on basic proteins though.  Shredded plain chicken breast can be used with so many other things, same with browned hamburger. I try to have multiple meals worth ready to go. 

These are some of my go to meals. 

Sliders (easy for lunches) we do ham and cheese, Turkey and cheese, burgers 

Breakfast sandwiches

Spicy chicken roll ups (just bake from frozen)

Pulled pork roasts-I put a few on the smoker at once, then freeze them.  To reheat I just throw them in instant pot or slow cooker and with some liquid (water or stock) and BBQ sauce.

Grilled chicken breast-there is always a use for these.  Teriyaki chicken on rice, Alfredo, stir fry, tacos, chicken bacon ranch salad, Mac n cheese.  So many! We make 1-2 packages of chicken breast almost every week, the kids can fix them up easily too. 

I’ll be working on filling the freezer up with these this month. 

I've got a list of a lot of our regulars, I'm hoping to make some of each of these! 

*May contain affiliated links* I participate in Amazon Associates Program occasionally. I won't recommend a product I wasn't myself interested in trying or have tried. I may receive monetary compensation for participating. This does not change the price for you.

Back To School Prep & Baked Oatmeal Bars

August is a little bittersweet. I’m torn between spending everyday soaking up summer and knowing that I really should carve a few minutes  here and there to make September less chaotic, assuming our ridiculous (Oregon) government let’s us live again. 

I’ve got a whole lot of random things to share to prep for Back to School. Some of them are my most popular posts, re-imagined and others are new as our kids are older and teens are a whole new adventure. I’m going to proceed as if we are actually going to have a real school year, because I need that for my sanity. 

Today I am sharing one of my Go-to, Budget Friendly, Make Ahead, Delicious breakfasts you can grab and go!  It’s also perfect for Sunday, heading to the ball field or church, these are easy! 

These Baked Oatmeal bars are easy to mix up and try some different add-ins to. I have a big list of combinations I want to try.  

I grabbed a few different baking chips that were on clearance at Target to make some variety.  Made a batch of just peanut butter and chocolate chips.  And a double batch of Apple, cranberry and walnut. 

For those I swapped the peanut butter for applesauce, added some dried cranberries and a few white chocolate chips and walnuts. I should have added some cinnamon but forgot. 

All you do is dump it all in a bowl and mix it up. Then pour into a greased 8x8 pan. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Alternatively you can fill about 15 cupcake liners 1/2-3/4 full and bake for the same time. I prefer the cupcake liner method. 

1 1/2 C Quick Oats 

3/4 C Milk (of your choice) 

1/2 C Brown Sugar 

1 Egg

1/4 C Butter Melted 

1/2 Cup Nut Butter melted ish. Enough that you can stir it in. 

1 1/2 tsp Vanilla 

1/2 tsp Salt 

1 tsp Baking Powder

That’s it! Let them cool a little bit and eat right away or completely cool and they are simple to cut, and easy to grab and go.  They also thaw from frozen pretty quick! 

*May contain affiliated links* I participate in Amazon Associates Program occasionally. I won't recommend a product I wasn't myself interested in trying or have tried. I may receive monetary compensation for participating. This does not change the price for you.