Tips For Getting Back To School Stress Free

Thank you to Sears for sponsoring this post and allowing me to share some of my best back to school tips with all of you!  As always, all opinions are 100% my own. 

Can you believe it? It’s almost time for school to start back up for the year and I’ve barely settled into my summer routine! I’ve got a 7th grader this year and let me tell you, it’s a hard age — not a little kid anymore, but not “grown” (although he may believe he is). As you may have guessed (or may be experiencing yourself), that can make it very difficult to be successful in the back to school shopping department. I was really starting to stress about all the stops I was going to have to make to get everything done, but I think I’ve found a great solution to make this year’s back to school shopping spree stress free.

 

I know I don’t have to tell you how amazing Sears is as far as convenience (order online and pick up in store? Yes please!), unique and exclusive fashions, modern trends, and great deals. I can literally get everything I need from clothes and shoes to underoos there! As luck would have it, there’s also plenty of stuff for good ole mom to snag while we’re there too! If you have a daughter instead of a son like me you’ll be happy to know, that Sears has the Seventeen Fashion Collection and every piece in it retails for under $50. This will be perfect for my niece and the price is definitely right!

 

Since this years shopping is going to be cake thanks to Sears, I thought I’d share a few more tips I’ve come up with over the years to make getting through the back-to-school season as stress free as possible!

 

• Buy Supplies Early – the sales start about 4-6 weeks before school actually starts so check off those classroom supply lists early. If you wait until the last minute the most amazing price ever won’t matter because you’ll be fighting every other mom and dad in town and everything will be picked over so you may not be able to get everything you need. You don’t want your kid to be the unprepared one on the first day because every store in town was out of college rule filler paper and 1.5″ 3-ring binders.

 

• Adjust Bed Times – if you’re like us and get a little lax on bedtimes during the summer, it’s a good idea to start pushing those back up a week or two before school actually starts so the kiddos (and parents) can be well adjusted to the new schedule before the big day. Nobody wants to be sluggish and grouchy the first few days of school and I have a feeling teachers would appreciate the efforts too! 

 

• Pack Lunches the Night Before – It’s so much easier to get lunches ready every evening so that you just have to grab them out of the fridge and go each morning. You’re less likely to forget things, and in our case, more likely to actually leave with a lunch because when we’re running late, guess what doesn’t’ happen?? That’s right, lunch packing – at least healthy lunch packing (peanut butter and potato chips anyone?)

 

• Set Clothing out the Evening Before – Similar to lunches, it’s easier to do each evening before bed. Kids will complain less because the choice has already been made, they just have to put in on. Mom and dad will be happier because nobody is running late and drawers aren’t emptied all over the room. Win – win right?

 

 

 

• Relax – Take some time for yourself. We put our kids first all the time, but these weeks leading up to a new school year and the first few weeks back to the grind, we can very easily forget about personal time for ourselves. Maybe it’s a cup of coffee or a glass of wine alone in the bath, a movie in jammies on the couch, a couple hours at the driving range or a pedicure for mom — whatever it is that gives you some time to decompress, do that. The kids and the rest of the family will thank you!

 

 

Of course, don’t forget to make your life easier by picking up the hottest back to school fashion at Sears! If you want to get quality, and a great deal, then make sure you check out the Friends and Family Sale happening online at Sears.com starting this Saturday, August 9th at 6pm CST through Tuesday, August 12th at 9am CST. If you’re more of an in person shopper, then you can still partake in the awesome deals in-store on Sunday, August 10th from 6-9pm. Also don’t forget about the Shop Your Way Rewards program. I love this program because it’s super easy to earn points (sometimes they even give you freebie points but don’t tell them I told you) and I end up having enough to cash out for a new shirt or something for myself about twice a year.

 

 

What stresses you out most about back-to-school season? How do you combat the issue and make the season a little less stressful? Let me know in the comments below and thanks for reading! 

 

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Sears.