School is back in session!

Though the kids may be sad to see the summer come to an end, many parents are ready to get back to the necessary routines the new school year brings. Now that we’re back to the daily grind, it’s important to stay on top of your children’s homework and sports schedules while maintaining some semblance of order in your home.

You can set your child up for success by keeping them organized. There are a couple of areas you can concentrate on:

Clothes: Does your child have trouble finding her favorite pink shirt that she just HAS to wear to school today? By organizing your child’s closet with a custom closet system, everything has a place. Closet rods for hanging clothes, drawers for folded clothes and socks, shoe racks, a built-in hamper, wire bins for sports equipment, hooks for backpacks and jackets. A well-designed custom closet system will grow with your child from infancy into theteen years. By deciding where everything goes and giving everything their own home, you set your child up for easy organization. And the added bonus is it makes cleaning their room easier.

Homework: Does your child have a dedicated space to do their homework? Closet America’s home office products offer solutions that work great for a child’s work area as well. You can even transform a closet into a homework space by removing the doors and adding a desk top, drawer units, storage bins and a good desk lamp. Keep the homework area stocked with supplies they’ll need to complete their work – pencils, crayons, sharpeners, paper, a dictionary and calculator.

Sports Equipment: From summertime necessities like swim goggles and beach balls to sports equipment like cleats, balls and gloves, it’s critical to dedicate an area for these items. Depending on the number and size of your closets, this area could be in a mud room and include a bench with storage bins underneath. It could also be located in your coat closet with custom areas for hanging items and a separate area for larger equipment like bats or lacrosse sticks. Or you could designate an area in the child’s bedroom closet. The key is to make it easy for them to put items where they belong and save yourself from constantly tripping over their things.

Safety: As with any project you undertake where children will be using the area daily, safety has to be a top concern. Do-it-yourself closet organizers and some lesser-quality systems have weak joints, aren’t attached securely to both the wall and floor, have shelves that can slide off and fall, and have sharp edges that can snag and scratch your little ones. And you and your kids can breathe easier – the CARB rule, enacted in 2009 and to be phased in through 2012, mandates a reduction in formaldehyde levels in composite wood products like particle board, hardwood plywood, and medium density fiberboard. Closet America already exceeds the final regulations that will take effect January 2012.

Help your kids start the school year off right by giving them all the tools they need to be organized. By concentrating on the things that kids seem to have trouble keeping track of – school work, clothes and sports equipment – you’re setting them up for success.