Creating a School Day Launch Pad

If you are anything like me, it is often the smallest of jobs that take you the longest time to organise or finish! This small space next to our fridge has been destined as a school launch pad for the past two years but it is only now that I have it working like I always dreamed it would! So let me show you around our little school day launch pad that works really well for getting a certain 7 year old ready and organised for school (and after school activities) each day.

This particular space works well for us for a number of reasons. The space exists because our kitchen has room for a double fridge/freezer and we only have a single fridge/freezer. It is off to the side of our kitchen (where much of the activity of the morning rush occurs) and just a few steps from our garage door, the regular entry and exit point of a family home.

I purchased a set of Stuva drawers from Ikea as they were the best fit for the space. I really would have liked a double Tropfast unit but it would have been too wide, so Stuva it had to be! The drawers are handy for storing stuff that needs to go to and from school – homework books (they stay home all week and go back on Fridays), library books that have been read, music folders, etc, and hats and umbrellas, and in the double height bottom drawer is Immy’s dance bag with everything she needs for her after school dance classes.

On top of the drawer unit sits Immy’s bag, lunch bag and hair supplies box – which you can find out more about here. There is room for a second bag so we will be set to keep using this space one AJ hits kindy next year.

On the side of the fridge is our family calendar, which I am notoriously bad at remembering to fill in!, and a magnetic clip for any school notices that I need to keep.

Hanging above the drawers and school bag is a Monday thru Friday timetable style organiser that makes it super easy for Immy to check what she has on each day, and to dress and pack her bag accordingly. The chart was made quickly and simply using washi style coloured tape and post it notes.

To make it, I simply measured out a grid shape for Monday to Friday (though you could easily adapt it to include the weekend if you have lots of weekend commitments) and with sections for school and after school activities onto a scrap of board. I used the coloured tape to define these areas and then added the days of the week written onto coloured tape with a Sharpie marker. The activities are simply written onto post-it notes and taped down with a little contrasting coloured tape. If you have more than one school child (as I will have next year!), then you could use one colour of post-it for each child, and use the smaller half size post it notes if necessary.

And that’s it – simple and organised…and hopefully it will stay that way!

For more inspiration, check out these other great family organisation stations from three of my favourite bloggers;

Left: Backpack and Coat Storage from Toddler Approved.

Centre: School Bag Nook from The Organised Housewife.

Right: Family Work Station with Magnetic Boards from The Ideas Room.

Do you have a launch pad or drop zone for your family?

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