Sunday evening has a habit of disappearing quickly, and suddenly it’s Monday morning and somebody can’t find a shoe, the PE kit is still in the wash and there’s a school form that absolutely, definitely needed returned last Friday.
The good news? You don’t need to sacrifice your whole Sunday to getting organised.
As part of the NI4Kids Sunday Reset, we’ve put together a simple 30-minute checklist to tackle some of those little jobs that can make the week ahead run more smoothly.
Set a timer, get everyone involved and see how much you can tick off.
1. SORT THE SCHOOL UNIFORMS
Have a quick check that everyone has what they need for the week.
Pair up socks, find the missing school jumper and make sure Monday morning’s uniform is ready to go. If PE kits or sports gear are needed this week, get those sorted too.
Monday morning win: Put complete outfits together tonight, right down to socks.
2. EMPTY THE SCHOOL BAGS
You never quite know what you’re going to find.
Old snack wrappers, mysterious worksheets, permission slips, library books and approximately 400 tiny bits of pencil are all possibilities.
Empty everything out, bin what needs binned and deal with any letters or forms now rather than discovering them five minutes before you leave the house.
3. CHECK THE WEEK AHEAD
Open the school app, family calendar or wherever your household attempts to keep track of life.
Look for school events, PE days, appointments, clubs, birthday parties and anything requiring money, costumes, ingredients, trainers or other things children tend to mention at bedtime the night before.
Add anything important to one family calendar so everyone knows what’s happening.
4. RESET THE KITCHEN BITS
Wash the water bottles. Find the lids. Match the lunchboxes with their missing compartments.
If you’re following this week’s Sunday Reset, you’ve already got your dinners and lunchboxes planned, so now is a good time to check whether there’s anything you need to add to the shopping list.
5. CREATE A MONDAY MORNING LAUNCH PAD
Pick one spot near the door and put everything that needs to leave the house tomorrow in it.
School bags. Shoes. Coats. PE kits. Work bags. Returns. That parcel you’ve been driving around in the boot for three weeks. If it needs to leave with you on Monday, it goes there.
THE 30-MINUTE CHALLENGE
Set a timer for 30 minutes and stop when it goes off. Whatever you’ve managed to do is one less thing waiting for you tomorrow. The aim is simply to remove a few of the things that cause unnecessary hassle during the week.
