Panic! Your last-minute guide to back-to-school

Summer is a season of contradictions for me. By May, I can barely wait for to indulge in lazy mornings and late nights with the kids. I entertain visions of far-flung picnics and afternoons at the pool. I imagine days whiled away at our neighbourhood park, an abundance of fresh local produce, and quick meals prepared on the bbq and enjoyed in the backyard.

I guess there is a little bit of that. But mostly it’s just chaos. I tried to save the cost of camp by keeping the kids home with me, figuring I’d lighten my work load and stay up late. Right. Throw a family wedding, my husband’s inconsistent work schedule and a couple getaways into the mix and I’ve barely been able to keep on top of laundry and meals, let alone work.

So, yeah, by mid-August I’m barely keeping up with the bare essentials of what I need to do, the kids have utterly trashed the place and I’m jonesing for that September routine so bad. Until the very last week when I suddenly fall prey to now-or-never-itis and plan a million day trips to try to salvage what’s left of the summer.

And now it’s Labour Day weekend and, if you’re anything like me, you suddenly realize you’ve done hardly anything to get ready for the school year. PANIC! No, don’t. It’s okay. You actually don’t have to start back-to-school shopping in July, despite what the advertisers tell you. It can be done in a day. And that day is tomorrow.

Here’s my plan.

School supplies: You can’t beat Staples for school and office supplies. They’ve got a huge variety of supplies at great prices and lots of everything. My kids don’t actually get a supply list until the first day of school and last year I was able to get everything on my son’s list at Staples for a very good price during the first week of school. So I’ll probably just wait until next week for these, but you can go ahead and buy yours tomorrow if that works for you.

Clothes: Ask yourself this: Do my kids have enough clothes to get them through next week? If the answer is yes, then don’t even sweat it. Maybe you want a special outifit for the first day, but I don’t understand the need for an entire new wardrobe at the beginning of September. Buy things as you need them. Since our school has a loose uniform, I’ll take an inventory of what they have and what still fits and then pick up a couple items to round out their school clothes for the next few months.

The one thing I do always get new for September is shoes. Some teachers at our school insist on indoor shoes from the beginning and others wait until boot season. Either way, a new pair of running shoes that will last the year and be appropriate for gym class is a necessity. Full disclosure, this year Skechers outfitted my whole gang in new sneaks and my kids were over the moon. I’ve never seen children so excited by shoes, but Skechers knows the way to child’s heart is through blinking lights and vibrant colours. (The way to my heart, they also know, is through solid foot support, quality soles and breathable, bacteria-resistant material.)

Twinkle, twinkle.

Groceries: This is very important, so listen carefully. Most supermarkets are closed on Monday. I’ll say it again. Your grocery store won’t be open on Labour Day. So you need to buy your groceries for the week tomorrow or your kids’ first-day-of-school lunch will consist of crackers, raisins, a questionably fresh oatmeal cookie and maybe a scoop of tuna salad if they’re lucky. I am speaking from experience. A crappy lunch on the first day back won’t actually ruin your entire school year, but it will be the excuse you hang your sorry lack of organization on in three weeks time. Off on the wrong foot, you’ll say. What could I do?

Get organized: Back-to-school feels very much like pregnancy nesting to me. I know other people start to feel the urge weeks and months before the actual date but I’m content to muddle around in chaos until the very last second. Then, suddenly, I NEED to have everything perfect RIGHT NOW. You can’t have a baby with all that filth behind your stove! How can my kids go back to school when my work files are out of control?! Let’s rearrange all the furniture and label all the shelves!

This is probably because I’m crazy. I’ll give you that. But maybe it’s also because the new school year holds all the promise of a fresh, new beginning and I just want things to run smoothly for once in my life. Or it could be both. In any case, I’ll be at Canadian Tire on Sunday getting stuff to organize my home. I was given a tour of a very small house the other week, that had been thoroughly decluttered, organized and styled by interior designer Jane Lockhart, all with stuff from Canadian Tire. You’d never think of it, but Canadian Tire has attractive and functional organizational tools for the entire home. My own personal list includes contact hooks because I can never have enough hooks for stuff, decorative baskets for open shelves, office supply organizers for the home office and my kids’ rooms and some of those Ziplock bags that suck the air out so I can store all the in-between kids clothes under the bed until they’re ready to be handed down.

Then on Monday I’m kicking my family out of the house so I can make everything perfect at least clean out the fridge, organize the mud room, redo the family wall calendar, wash all the clothes and straighten up the bedrooms. It’s better than nesting, actually, because you don’t have to be nine months pregnant to do it.