It’s back-to-school season, which means getting back into a stricter routine with many early mornings and late nights. You’ve probably already started shopping for school supplies, but have you considered how you’re going to get your home ready for school? With just a little prep before classes start, you can better prepare yourself and your home for a new school year.

Sort through your closets

Getting your home’s closets organized can go a long way toward relieving some of the back-to-school stress. You can start in the bedrooms, getting your clothes organized as well as your kids’. No one wants to wake up early and realize that half their clothes aren’t in season, so make the mornings a little easier by moving the clothes that fit and work with the weather to the front and center of your closets. You can also organize any bathroom closets and cabinets, getting them better prepared for early mornings. The key is to have everything that you and your kids might need in the morning toward the front for easy access.

Organize the kitchen

A messy kitchen isn’t fun any time of the year, but when you need to pack multiple lunches, it’s even worse. Make your life a little easier by organizing the kitchen cabinets, fridge, and pantry. If you can find a place for everything, it’ll make it easier for everyone to know what they have to choose from and what will have to be bought on the next visit to the grocery store. And if you feel up to it, you can try meal prepping to make the mornings even simpler.

Have a center for communication

The school year often brings different extracurricular and after-school activities, so you’ll likely find that you have a lot of planning to do so that everyone ends up where they’re supposed to. This is where a center for communication comes in. Create a spot in your house to put up a whiteboard, calendar, or even a corkboard so that everyone can add in their schedules. You can add new things as they arise, letting everyone know what’s happening so you can all be on the same page. Try to get in the habit of checking it every morning and night, ensuring that you’re not missing anything and are prepared for the next day.

Establish a work area

Between your work and your kids’ homework, it’s a great idea to have a dedicated space to complete assignments. You don’t have to create a new office, but you can make the dining room table a designated work area before or after dinner. And if you have the extra space, you can create a separate area that’s just for conducting work.

Have a place for school supplies

Kids, and even adults, tend to drop their bags wherever they first walk into the house. To help avoid a traffic jam, create a space specific for your child’s school supplies. Consider getting some hooks that backpacks and lunchboxes can easily hang on, or perhaps you can get a cube organizer and have a bin dedicated to each person’s things. This is just a simple way of freeing up floor space and keeping everyone’s stuff out of the way.

With just a little prep, your home and your family can be ready to tackle the new school season.