4 Back To School Tips To Start The School Off Year Right!

It's officially back to school time and I'm sharing tips to help you get your child ready for the new school year. Thanks to a few key organizational ideas and one-stop shopping at JCPenney, the year is sure to go off without a hitch and will be #SoWorthIt.

I've teamed up with JCPenney to share these back to school tips with you.

Are you gearing up for back to school? I'm so ready to get back into the routine that the school year brings. I've been prepping for the new year for the past few weeks so that everything runs smoothly from our first day forward. Ready to see what you can do to start the year off right?

4 back to school tips to start the year off right

1.) Overhaul your child's room and clean out clothing that doesn't fit. I have a tendency to hold onto things, especially clothing items that I love even though they might not fit my kids any longer, because I'm a bit too sentimental. I've realized that I need to let go of things, because 1.) I can keep the memories without keeping the things, and 2.) other people could use them. Take my advice here: be ruthless and get into those drawers and closets and clean them out! It's too hard to be organized and find the things you need if there's too much clutter. Plus, this will make room for new clothes that will give them that extra self esteem boost to start the year on the right foot.

2.) Get your child involved in shopping. My son is pretty laid back and is happy to wear most of the clothes I buy for him, but some days he's insistent on wearing a particular thing. That's why, I wanted to make sure he had a wardrobe full of clothes that he picked out himself.

This year, we did all of our back to school shopping at JCPenney. Since I have two toddlers, I scoped out the selection of clothing online before ever setting foot in the store. That way I could get an idea of what's available and take advantage of any online-only deals that were running. I sat down with my son and asked him to let me know when something caught his eye. If they had it in his size I placed it in the cart and kept going. I was able to find coordinating pieces for pretty much everything he selected. By the time we were finished, I had 19 items in our cart. After taking advantage of doorbuster deals, sale prices, and an additional 25% code for online shoppers I'd only spent $103! Yes, you heard right, 19 items for $103. What a value!

When they arrived, I was thrilled. We got tons of on-trend Arizona, Okie Dokie, and Xersion Kids items and they are such great quality. I found that all of the items fit true to size and I think my little guy just looks adorable. Our back to school shopping was so affordable and the clothes are so worth it.

I love that Arizona is embracing the trend of military greens and utility neutrals. This outfit is one of his favorites and got two thumbs up! I was able to grab this polo for only $4.37 and the cargo shorts for just $7.29 thanks to special sale prices and an online discount code. That is a crazy good deal!

Okie Dokie has such a great selection of tops and bottoms at JCPenney. I especially love their graphic tees. They've got cool designs that aren't babyish and aren't too mature either. They're really just right for stylish little kids.

Our preschool has a few after-school sport programs for the kids and I wanted to make sure my son had a few athletic outfits to wear. The selection of Xersion Kids was awesome and I think this outfit is going to be perfect for his t-ball practices too!

Not only does he look good, he feels good and he's comfortable in his new clothing from JCPenney. As a mom, I can't ask for anything more than that. Well, maybe great prices and JCPenney has me covered there too!

I still cannot believe what an amazing value I got with this shopping haul. We totally got our penney's worth! Be sure to head to JCPenney for Get Your Penney Fridays and Saturdays to get hot deals on the latest back to school trends on August 19th and 20th. They've got some amazing deals lined up, like $13 Arizona kids jeans and $17 Arizona jeans deal for this week's Penney Saturday. Oh, and do you have a little Pokemon Go player? JCPenney has an additional 15% off coupon for customers using Pokemon Go who verbally tell an associate or show an associate in-app their favorite character. All these deals on top of their everyday value means BIG savings for your family.

3.) Organization is key. I'm a big believer in doing anything and everything you possibly can ahead of time when you're dealing with kids. That means I pack for trips days in advance and I plan our meals for the week ahead before I'm too flustered with daily life. So, rather than facing off with my toddler about what he's going to wear to school each morning, we carve out a little time on Sundays to plan for the school week ahead.

I picked up this handy closet organizer with 5 compartments so there's a spot for each day of the school week. This way, his outfits are already laid out ahead of time and I know he's going to match and look his best in his clothing from JCPenney when he heads off to school each day. If you don't have access to an organizer, you can always group outfits together on hangers or make your own closet dividers.

4.) Make a designated place for school items. I'm sure you've been there: it's time to leave the house and all of the sudden your child can't find their backpack. Or their lunchbox. By creating a special place for school items to live, you can cut down on busy morning frustration or panic. Once your child gets into the habit of putting their school items in their designated place, they'll know exactly where to find their items when they need them. In our house, I've set up a fabric bin right by the the front door, next to our shoe basket.

What tips do you have for conquering the new school year?
I'd love to hear them!

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