The end of summer means back to school for the kids, or maybe even you. We’ve all had at least 2 months of summer schedules to spoil us and now it’s time to get back to the normal routine. Here are 5 ways to help you prepare for the end of summer and the beginning of school:

Set your alarm clock earlier

Were you waking up later during the summer? Were your kids waking up later than usual too? Chances are if you wait until the first day of school to adjust your sleeping schedule, it is going to make for a very groggy and grumpy morning. Start adjusting your alarm clock 1-2 weeks before school starts and wake up at your normal school day time. You can use any extra time to be more productive until school starts.

Get some extra shut eye

This probably sounds like I’m contradicting tip number 1 above, but the extra shut eye comes the night before. Your morning will start out much better if you are well rested from the evening prior. Instead of staying up and binge watching your favorite Netflix series, plan to head to sleep earlier. That extra hour or two can make all the difference in feeling rested and energetic for your day.

Prepare for extra traffic

Not only have we been spoiled by later wake up times, but we’ve had the privilege of dealing with much less morning traffic. I for one look forward to summer for that reason alone. On that first week of school, be sure to give yourself some extra time to get to work or school with all those extra cars on the road. After seeing how that first week goes you can adjust what time you leave your house.

Meal Prepping

Chances are your time will be limited when your mornings are starting earlier. Rushing out the door without being prepared can lead to overspending on buying breakfasts or lunches out every day, or paying for school lunches for your child. The solution? Start meal prepping for your work/school week! Take some time out on Sunday, or whatever day works best for you, and cook some meals in bulk. Portion out those meals for either your work lunches or even for your child’s school lunches.

All you need to do in the morning is remember to grab it from the fridge before heading out the door. You can even prep breakfast foods such as sandwiches, muffins, etc and freeze them. Then you can heat it up and head out the door. Easy as that! It does take some planning ahead of time, but it’s well worth it when you see the difference in your spending.

Pack Early

Ok, so let’s assume you’ve meal prepped already so you know that’s ready to go in the morning, but what about everything else you need to grab before leaving the house? For your child it may be their school back pack filled with school supplies, homework, and textbooks. Do you or your child need an extra change of clothes for any after work/school activities? You may need to pack up some work items as well. There have been numerous occasions where I’ve forgotten to grab everything I needed before heading out the door, altering my plans for the day.

Plan ahead and pack the night before. Set up all of your child’s supplies and cross reference with their school supply list to make sure you have everything and leave it all near the door (or for bonus points pack it in the car). Do the same with your work supplies and anything else you might need. To make grabbing your breakfast or lunch even easier, have it already packed in the lunchbox in your fridge. If needed, leave a note by the door reminding you to grab it.

Getting used to another schedule after a nice 2 month break can be a little frazzling, but by taking steps to reduce the back to school stress you can start off the day on the right note!