The new school year is just around the corner, and it’s time to organise school uniform.  Some of the even-more-organised among you may have already ticked that off your to-do list. (In which case well done, you can stop reading and go grab a coffee!)

Here are some thoughts on making the most of your budget, and not going crazy in the process.

What do you need?

First of all, write a list of everything – absolutely everything – that you need.  Ask for the school uniform list from school. Have any arrangements in school changed for this year? At our school the children will be wearing PE kit all day on PE days to avoid the need to change, so I’ve invested in double PE kit to save on the laundry stress!

Speak to other parents who have experienced the year that your child is going into.  Find out what was really necessary, and what was optional. (Maybe you can leave these things until a couple of weeks in, to avoid unnecessary expenditure, and then make a decision based on experience rather than the supplies list).  Do you have anything at home that will do the job, or do you need to buy specific items?

How much do you need?

Now work out how many you need of each item.  This is dependent on your circumstances and your laundry routine.  Will you do a wash half-way through the week, so will only need three shirts?  Or perhaps (like me) you prefer to have one shirt for each day, and one for spare, and then do all the laundry in one go at the weekend.  This certainly saves the stress of keeping up with the laundry through the week, although it is obviously more expensive at the outset.

Does your child come home from school each day, dressed as a walking advertisement for the day’s activities?  Covered in snack, paint, lunch, milk, his best friend’s lunch… and pockets full of twigs, dirt and who knows what else?  Then you may need to consider more than one “spare”!  Or maybe they are not great at keeping an eye on their possessions.  Or seem to fall over every other day and put holes through their clothes.  A few back-up items will help lessen the stress.

Where to buy?

Many schools have a set school uniform that is only available in selected outlets or through the school itself. Do they have a preloved uniform scheme? Find out where these are and check opening times and the ordering process. For the lucky ones who can wear generic off-the-shelf clothing, many of the major chain stores have excellent prices on school uniform at this time of year.  Do some research on-line before you hit the shops to work out who is offering the best deals, and who has the most appropriate styles / colours to match your school uniform requirements.

Sizing

For children returning to the same school, it can be easier to work out sizing based on the previous year’s clothes. And if you’re super lucky, last year’s may even still fit!  Lucky you – you’ve dodged the pressure of the “Back to School” advertising campaigns, so go and join the even-more-organised for that coffee, (but only once you have double-checked that it really does fit).

For children starting a new school, you may need to be a bit more scientific.  I carry our boy’s measurements around with me on my phone, but I always make sure to re-measure his waist, chest and height before going uniform shopping.  Even if he’s with me, I don’t want to rely on him wanting to trying everything on.  Again, ask other parents whether the sizing comes up big or small, so that you can be prepared.

Labelling

Make sure that you give yourself enough time to label everything before the first day of school. Older children can help with this, but even the little ones can be responsible for sticking shoe stickers in shoes and checking that all their new clothes are labelled.  If you haven’t ordered labels yet, add that right to the top of your to-do list and get it ticked off a.s.a.p!  There are so many options for labelling. I use iron-on tapes, sticky labels and even Sharpie laundry pen straight onto the manufacturer’s label.  I have found that hair straighteners are an amazingly quick way to “iron on” the name tapes, so it doesn’t take long at all. You can find this and other More Organised back to school tips in this blog post: “10 Things You Need For School… that no-one ever tells you!”.

Organising the wardrobe

Once the uniform is ready and labelled, allocate it a place in the wardrobe. Hang it all up so that you are all ready to go on the first morning of school. Involve your children so that they know where everything is and can reach it themselves. Even the youngest school children can dress themselves each morning, giving you an extra few minutes in your own morning routine.(Talking of routines, you may also find “Back to School: 10 ways to find your routine” helpful!)

Whilst you are at it, now is also the perfect opportunity to review the non-school gear. Grab any clothes that have been outgrown over the summer and pop them in your donate pile. Repair or discard anything that has been damaged over the holidays.

What to do with outgrown uniform?

Once the uniform and supplies are organised and ready for the new term, you will probably have a number of outgrown items. You may wish to pack them away as hand-me-downs for a younger sibling, or you could pass them on to other children via your local community selling pages, eBay or school sales. Many towns now have schemes that collect good condition uniform to donate to families who need a little help. Whatever you decide to do with them, make sure all the clothes are clean and in good repair, and then either pack them away or sell/donate as soon as you can. Don’t let them pile up and become clutter around your home.

Celebrate!

Back to school is a big deal!  Our boy has been looking forward to uniform shopping for weeks, so I involved him in writing the shopping list.  And to celebrate our uniform spree, we are going to finish it off with a pizza and movie night.  After all, I think we will both deserve it!

If you are in the thick of Back to School season, you can find more posts on getting organised for the new school year on the blog at More Organised Children.