Vacations and holidays are almost over and the preparations for the new school year are here. What is the best way to organise all of the family member's activities? How to prepare for the school year in the best way possible and how to make our home ready for a smooth transition from summer?

A new school year is not only a milestone for children that go to school, it also represents a new beginning of something fresh for adults. This is the perfect time to organise our office, clean our home and do everything that in summer we had »no time to do« and go back to our everyday routines, work, hobbies.

It is important that we do not prepare for the school year »at the very last moment« and to take enough of our time to make sure we take care of all the responsibilities and errands. That is why it is recommended that we do not buy books, notebooks and other school supplies one or two days before school starts but instead, we take some time at least three to two weeks before. By doing so, we will avoid the »endless« lines in shopping malls and inconveniences, such as the stores not having the exact workbook you are looking for.

When buying different school supplies it is also recommended that a child (that is going to school) is present. This way the notebooks and other supplies he chose on his own will give him the motivation and inspiration for a new year.

This year's »must have« for attending school as well as going to your workplace is definatelly a hand sanitizer. Placing them on the entrances/exits and restrooms is very much recommended because those are the places where the majority of germs get »stuck on«. We also suggest you always keep a smaller bottle of hand sanitizer that can fit in your purse or a school bag, to always have it at hand.

With the new schoolyear beginninng, organisation and planning of our activities and duties throughout the entire year is crutial.

Having a family calendar and writting everyone's birthdays, vacations, important holidays, hobbies and things such as picking up and droping kids off at their activities is a great and effective way to do so. The calendar can later hang in a place where everyone can see it.

With all the preparations mentioned, we cannot forget to prepare our home and, or our work environment. The basic chores such as vacuming are a good way to start. It is necessary to vacum all the visible as well as all the hidden surfaces. If you have not done it in a long time, this is a great opportunity to vacum all matresses, sofas and office chairs in which no little dirt collects over the time. The room needs to also be cleaned so that we get rid of all the dirt and stains.  Now is the appropriate time to organise, sort out and go through your old papers,notes, children's notebooks and other necessities if you have not done so during the school year or in summer. Arrange (if you have not done so yet) your computer data, put it in files and get rid of files you do not need anymore. You will feel refreshed and ready for a new start.

Tidied and organised table in an office or child's room is crutial for motivation and good, productive work, that is why you have to make sure that your table is spacious enough and that you can keep everything necessary for your work on it ( for example: pens, post-it notes, markers, scissors). There also should not be any distractions on it, the table has to be meant for studying or work, because working at the same space all the time and having no distractions increases concentration and productivity of a person through time. The work space should also have some warmth and should encourage a person to sit and work with »a smile on his face«. A perfect way to do so is to put in some decorative plants.

With all the preparations and organisation it is important to not forget about taking some time off for your family and friends and make the most out of the few last days of summer, before we head into the new school year full of challenges, adventures and new experiences.