As the summer draws to a close and the nights begin to cool, another school year is just around the corner. Getting your home in its best shape for the new school year now will save you both time and headaches in the months to come. Here’s four ways to get your home back-to-school ready.
Install new shelves and bookcases
A new school year means new books for every subject and more space needed on the shelves. If the book shelves in your children’s rooms are already starting to look full, then it is time to put up some additional shelves or add in an extra bookcase.
Flat-pack retailers like Ikea and Habitat offer a wide range of bookcases for both kids and adults at a reasonable cost, so adding a bookcase should be a relatively cheap exercise. And if you would like some help with assembly or drilling into the walls to put up some shelves then you can always book in a local handyman to help.
Create dedicated study/homework spaces
Everyone works better in a dedicated space that is comfortable and clear from distraction, and kids are no different. If your children do not yet have a dedicated study/work space they can use for their homework and studying then now would be a great time to introduce one so they can start the term on the right track and keep your home uncluttered.
If there is room in the children’s bedrooms to add in a desk there, then that is a good option, but otherwise think about adding another study area to the kitchen or another common area within your property where you think they might be able to get their homework finished every night.
Children’s desks are often on sale on second-hand marketplaces and flat-pack options can again be bought relatively cheaply, so creating a dedicated study/work space should not be too expensive, and again a handyman can help assemble any furniture you buy if that is a not a task you are comfortable with.
Put up a family noteboard and calendar
Trying to stay on top of all the activities of a busy family is a full-time job, but you can make the task easier by having a family calendar and noteboard/whiteboard where you can all add in important events, activities, and who is doing the school drop-off and pick-up. Ideally both the calendar and whiteboard will be put up in the kitchen or entryway where everyone will see them and know what’s happening that day with a quick glance.
Whiteboards are relatively lightweight, so can be attached to the wall relatively easily, but if you would like some help securely attaching one to the wall then a local London handyman is only a phone call away.
Create an entryway command centre
An “entryway command centre” is a rather grand term used to describe adding some useful storage options to the entry hallways to your home. If you do not have sufficient storage in this area, you will quickly find shoes strewn across the floor and coats and backpacks crushed into the corner as the kids come back from school and dump everything they have as soon as they are in the door.
To start, make sure you have enough hooks so that every member of the family can hang up two or three items without the need to hang multiple things on top of each other. This will solve the rush, where people pull down all the coats while trying to get their own out from the bottom of the pile and they all end up on the floor.
Secondly, make a dedicated place to store shoes and try to keep each member of the family down to storing one or two pairs at the door. Shoe racks are a good idea, but even better is a shoe bench, where there is a seat for someone to sit on whilst putting on or taking of their shoes and multiple baskets beneath where people can store all their shoes off the floor.
Lastly, add a few shelving units where you can drop your keys, receipts, or other items that otherwise might get left on the bench and then quickly knocked onto the floor and lost.
If you would like some help from a professional handyman to put up shelves, assemble bookcases or desks, or create a useful and design-led entryway command center then call BBOJ today on 0208 244 5070 or book online.