A graphic showing a collection of back to school supplies; pencils, pens, paints, scissors, microscope, school bus, books, globe, calculator, apple
Episode 47 – Back to school organising

In this podcast, Lesley and Ingrid talk about all the planning needed before your children go back to school for the autumn term. Before your children go back into a new school year there are so many things to think about to get them off to a good start. We talk about school uniform or clothes shopping, school supplies shopping, labels and routines and how this adds to a smooth transition back to school.
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Transcript of this podcast episode
Intro  0:07  
Welcome to today's episode of The Declutter Hub Podcast, your channel for super easy, no nonsense advice on how to declutter and organise your home. Please welcome your host professional organisers, Ingrid Jansen, and Lesley Spellman.

Ingrid  0:26  
Hello, and welcome listeners to Episode 47 of the declutter hub Podcast. I'm Ingrid. And I'm Lesley. If you have clutter and wants to sort it out, this is a show for you. In today's episode, Lesley and I are talking about back to school organising. And it's only a couple of weeks until most of the kids go back to school after the summer holidays. There is shopping to be done organisation around homework and planning and helping our kids to have a great started a new year. I think most people are just happy to some updates are over Lesley, what do you think?

Lesley  1:02  
I think that yeah, I think there's summer holidays. You love the lack of routine for a certain amount of time and the kind of carefree nature of it. And then you're like, Okay, once a routine back now, like a time for you to go. But so you have you know, maybe that was just me. I don't know. But I think you like the summer holidays when they come and then you're ready for them to end?

Ingrid  1:20  
Yes. I'm always thinking, oh, you know, I just like that they go to bed. And I can have a little bit of an evening to myself. I mean, even if it's only an hour.

Lesley  1:34  
I know that's what holidays are for. But yeah, but we need to get back. We like routines, and we need to get back to it. And you know, back to school is a perfect time, isn't it to start looking at your routines and looking at what that looks like. And that's what a little bit of what we're going to talk about today, isn't it?

Ingrid  1:47  
Yeah, I think you know, it really. A lot of people think oh, January is like the start of a new year. But for me also, that point in September, when they all go back to school, it seems like everybody's like, goes back into this planning and organisation and routines and scheduling things in your diary. And while it's somewhere. Everybody's be like, yeah, we'll see what happens. But as soon as it's September, right, we have to go back back to business.

Lesley  2:15  
I think it is it's a second opportunity for New Year New Year, isn't it? Nothing, because it is the beginning of a new year. And it's when a lot of people do want to do the resetting and things like that. So yeah, I think absolutely. There's almost twice in the year isn't there where we look at doing things differently and try to set up kind of resolutions, but we don't call them new year's resolutions in September. So slightly different, isn't it? Yeah, I mean, this this year is looking slightly different for me because my youngest is going into sixth form, which makes it really still is the same school. But it is different in terms of the plan and the kinds of things that you're going to buy. So and I know you've got a different year coming as well, haven't you with an Yeah,

Ingrid  2:54  
yeah, I mean, Max is now of course, he's going into your nine but and is now starting secondary school. So I think it feels even a bit more special. I mean, when they're just in primaries, golf school, go from one year to the next year, like you know, what you need to do, but when they're really changed from second from primary to secondary school, it really feels like a big change. And I'm gonna be like, Whoa, you know, I'm actually really glad we're doing this podcast, because it reminds me of all the things that I have to short and maybe a couple of bits that I haven't done yet that are still on the list. So yeah, I think it's a great way to kind of gather my thoughts about everything that needs doing.

Lesley  3:30  
I think it's probably worth talking about the different kinds of school systems and of course, across the world, different holidays in different school systems. But for us in the UK, then we pretty much for the most part. To be fair, we have middle schools as well. But mostly we have primary schools where they go from four to 11. And then we go into secondary school 11 to 16. Then we go into sixth form, or a college from 16 to 18. So that's the way it works in the UK. I know in the state that I lived in, in New Jersey in America, there was definitely a middle school system. So they changed at 14 and then went to the next level. All that kind of stuff and more freshmen, which still completely blows my mind trying to get my head around what that isn't seeing you in junior. I think I've finally got it worked out. But anyway. So yeah, so we're talking about the UK system when we talk about secondary school and primary school.

Ingrid  4:23  
Yeah, yeah. In Holland also, it's quite the same only we stay in primary school until 12. And then go secondary school. So but the idea is the same. So all my Dutch friends are like, how could you already go to secondary school? She's like, 11, I'm like, I know. It feels really young. Because I was also 12 When I went to secondary school and we stay until 18 as well.

Lesley  4:45  
And of course the time that we go is also very, very early in the UK. You know, our kids are start depending on when your child turns five. We go into school year that they turned five, so many, many kids are four years old when they go to full blown full time school so That's very different to a lot of the other countries around the world to.

Ingrid  5:03  
Yeah. So just as kind of a disclaimer, listeners, we're really talking about the UK here and what's happening here. So if you think this makes no sense at all, it's probably because you're not living in the UK.

Lesley  5:15  
But there's a lot of things. It's the same principle back to school is the same principle, wherever you are in the school year at, you know, my kids are left school, but it's still I've still got Nathan going into sixth form, and it's still completely irrelevant, and I can't actually remember it. So that's, yeah.

Ingrid  5:30  
I think it's also what is really nice about kind of September, it's not only kind of a new school year, you also suddenly kind of realise they've actually grown up another year. Maybe they should do some extra stuff in this house. So you can give them some extra chores. What can they do now that are old enough. So it's not only about maybe increasing their pocket money a little bit if you get pocket money on a weekly basis, which I have promised, but I always forget to give, don't tell my kids. And but it is maybe a good opportunity to think what they are older now they can help more around the house. So think about that listeners to see if you can offload some of your jobs to your kids.

Lesley  6:13  
Death definitely, definitely really important.

Ingrid  6:17  
Now, there is a massive list of shopping and it that's so funny, because actually as a declutter hub, we want you to declutter stuff and not shop stuff. But hey, house shopping is part of part of life. And when kids go to school, they just keep growing and growing. So even in six weeks, summer holidays, they sometimes go a size up. So there's probably some shopping to be done. So we really wanted to talk to you in this podcast as well, about the shopping lists and the things you can find on there. Right. 

Lesley  6:46  
Lesley thinks September is just about the only time of the year when we actually advocate shopping, and we allow things to the rest of the time, we're all about the decluttering. But in September, even we acknowledge there are things that you have to buy. So, so yeah, let's talk about some of those things.

Ingrid  7:02  
Well, I think first of all, I mean, I don't know if people know, but here in the UK, our kids actually wear a school uniform. If they're in primary school, you can buy their clothes, at a lot of grocery stores, you know, Marks and Spencers as the test goes, I mean, you name you can buy their their school clothes. Only if it's like a jumper with a school logo on it, maybe you have to go to a special shop. But most clothes you can normally buy in the shops, secondary school, a lot of them have, well, I want to work on specialty uniforms. But you have to go really to a uniform shop to, to buy quite a lot of the ties and the jackets. And so there's a whole range. I mean, the list is like that we got the list. And I was like I just saw money amounts of money behind everything. It was like,

Lesley  7:50  
mine's not too bad. There's only really the blazer and the P kit that have to be bought from uniform shop and the rest of it, you can just buy from a standard grocery shop the same as you can for primary school uniform. So that's much better. So we're not going to spend too much time talking. We all know what we've got to buy. But it's a couple of things that we wanted to highlight isn't there?

Ingrid  8:08  
Yeah, definitely. And I think the one thing you kind of want to think about as well is you don't have to buy everything in uniform shop. You know, they do sell trousers and shirts, but you can also just buy them in a grocery store. So don't feel like pressured into buying everything in uniform shop if you don't have to think it's

Lesley  8:28  
obvious what kinds of things that you need to buy for school uniform. And that's going to differ I mean, to be fair, my eldest Luke was at school in America when we're live there between six and eight I think he was there. And so back to school is exactly the same. I think that parents are still buying things for their kids that are specific to school even if it's not a uniform so I don't see it necessarily as any different really so yeah, you know, the back to school marketing is still there from June or May onwards you know, main trying to entice you into buying things early. And I think that you know, sometimes it is all of the sales for school uniform starting kind of June July. I don't know so most of this stuff is probably for most of you, you will have already bought it.

Ingrid  9:11  
Yeah. True. Last comment I want to make about the clothing is think about that some schools have a summer or a winter uniform. So you because sometimes it can be still really nice in September, but it can get really chilly in October so if you don't forget to eat by jumper or the cardigan or kind of the more wintry clothes because before you know it the when the weather turns and you're going to need that those kinds of items.

Lesley  9:40  
I mean, the primary school that my kids went to wouldn't allow me to go back in September in summer uniform.

Ingrid  9:47  
Oh, really?

Lesley  9:48  
Yeah. Oh, wow. Okay, that's going one two uniform. It wasn't a crazily posh school or anything. I just have rules. This is the thing. We could open up a whole debate about The benefits of school uniform. I couldn't wait. But let's not do that. Yeah. Yeah, let's, let's let's,

Ingrid  10:07  
let's talk about shoes then because there's, you know, I just thought, oh, school shoes, yay. And then you've got the trainers and the plimsolls and the football boots, send the shin pads. And it kind of just the list goes on doesn't.

Lesley  10:23  
I think in general, if your children are at primary school age, so between sort of five and 11, it's always a really good idea to leave the school, the school shoe shopping till a little bit later than you would the normal uniform. Because as we all know, kids feet grow really, really fast. But don't leave it too late. Because we do not want that hideous Saturday before school starts where there's 7000 people queuing up at clocks to get their feet measured. And I think in general, a lot of people go to clocks and like to have their children's feet measured, and for them to go into decent quality shoes for shoes that they're wearing every single day while their feet are growing. So it is it's like a crazy scene, isn't it? I mean, I've done it. I've been I've been that person who's there on the Saturday before sometimes, because I'm just like coming back from holidays or something like that. And that's the only time that I could do it. So it's not always lack of planning. But I think if you are going and hold it towards the tail end of the summer, it's a good idea to have a little think about that, isn't it and planet and maybe go before, but maybe that ships already sailed? Because we're already August? Yeah.

Ingrid  11:29  
Yeah, no, definitely. I did that. I made that mistake once. I don't know. I don't know what happened. But I ended up in a Saturday before the summer. The school started and in Clarks never ever again. Never ever again. I know what happened.

Lesley  11:44  
Everyone from the UK knows exactly what we're talking about. You know where you go any like, Yeah, let's just pop in here.

Ingrid  11:51  
Mayhem.

Lesley  11:53  
You've got to take a ticket with a number on and yes, you're number 375x 121. Anyway, so school shooter nightmare.

Ingrid  12:03  
Mayhem. Right. PE kids. So sports kids. You also need to make sure you don't forget to shop for those. And again, a winter and the summer normally winter and summer outfits, you know things

Lesley  12:17  
for different things for different sports, you know, for boys, and there's a rugby kit and a football kit different things. Yeah, if they if they choose to have a kind of logoed school PE kit. Yeah, most of them do. Yeah.

Ingrid  12:34  
And sometimes you again, like I said, you might need shin pads, you might need to have a separate sports bag, because you don't want to put a PE kit in a rucksack. So those are called all kinds of things. We actually in our school, we need to have white trainers, we can't have trainers with colours or logos or anything like that. So it has to be a wide trainer. So the first time I had to show for those shows, you'd be like, Oh, because you've never done it before. You don't know where you need to look. So that was kind of a bit of a thing for PE kits as well and, and the thing around their teeth when they do rugby and football. Oh,

Lesley  13:10  
god. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Quite often you get those. When you first go to school, the secondary school anyway, there'll be companies that go in and do that for your specialist ones or you can just buy off the shelf current. Yeah, yeah. A pro. I think it isn't the ones that do them custom made. Okay. Well, my son

Ingrid  13:32  
does not play football or rugby. So I had never bought a gun guy. So that was a whole interesting thing. And now I think with his braces, I'm gonna have to get a new one. He's gonna get braces over. He's got braces now. So we need to probably a new gum guard. Thank you for reminding me about this. Let's see just popped into my head. I need to buy a new gum guard for my son.

Lesley  13:52  
Another Turkey actually a gum God embraces that. And I'm sure that's really. Yeah, but anyway, we digress. And so let us continue on with our list. I'll tell you what always makes me laugh. And it's something that I have to really sort of calm down about is this obsession with kids getting a brand new pencil case and brand new stationery kit every time they go to school. When you know that if you looked around your house, you've got all the pencils or the pens, five compasses, protractors squares, rulers rubbers up there's me again with the rubbers thing. Let's call it anyways, uh, shall we otherwise we're gonna be in trouble. But yeah, and I'm like, they're like, Yeah, but I want you and it's like, oh, and I just think it's almost like a rite of passage for them, isn't it to get any pencil case every year? So that's when we get all this hideous amount of stationery build up, isn't it? Yeah. So that's just one of my little bugbears. But I still did it every year, didn't I? Because you know, I would be the main mommy that didn't do it otherwise.

Ingrid  14:54  
And but the choices are just also there's so much choice. It's not like oh, Just get this one. When you go into like a stationery shop, there's like, oh my god, there's everything has you got 25 choices for every item use app and you're like, which one do I need to get?

Lesley  15:13  
And it's just keeping it simple really, isn't it? And just try not to go crazy on it really? If you can manage to persuade your child to recycle or reuse that would be ideal. Yeah. Yeah. Tell me how you do it when you do. Yeah. Yeah.

Ingrid  15:28  
Okay, I might have to be mean and go what have we still got left from last year? You can use your calculator from last year. Yes, your dictionary is still fine. Where is it? The thing I do really kind of always check is if their lunchboxes are still in order, you know, and if they're still if they don't, or not to, especially when they go to secondary school, you don't want to send them off with the baby issue lunchbox. I mean, a lot of the kids eat at school Mike, it's really still like a Lunger packed lunch to bring to school. But you know, you don't want to give them a babyish lunchbox so I always kind of double check is your lunchbox still okay? You wouldn't just look at them because they'll be used for a year you know, they get filthy and they get a bit damaged and a bit manky. So that's always something I really check together with like water bottles, you know, they're still properly closing don't really write with a sharpie their name on it, because they things like that just get lost. I don't know. I think I'm on the third or fourth fourth water bottle for next year. I'm like

Lesley  16:30  
I've never been I've never been a packed lunch mom. Um, it's not like I'm disorganised. But it's just something that I don't really want to do make lunch. And so I don't think any of my kids have ever they've always done school dinners. Oh, wow. And so on and so bad. One, and I just, you know, I think if you can give them a hot meal lunchtime, then it means that you've got a little bit more flexibility in the evening with meal so that's what I've always managed to convince myself. I'm like, nope, golden is one less jump for me to do every morning. Anyway.

Ingrid  17:08  
You admit the stuff, let's be honest. Oh my gosh, listeners is like, honestly, too funny. I'm crying here.

Lesley  17:22  
Anyway, the professional organiser again, on another podcast and honest like some disorganised disorganised professional organiser. Ah, I'm kind of a do as I do, as I say not as I do kind of person.

Ingrid  17:35  
Not true. That is not true. Anyway, last couple of little bits. We need to shop for age sticky back plastic to cover books, especially when they go to secondary school. That's a little job that I love. I know it's very fiddly a very but it's I just like doing that I just think it's great. So I'm gonna have to teach my kids to do it because now I've got to so I think I'm gonna need to teach them how to do it and so they can do it themselves because otherwise it's gonna be too much. But you could probably do I do

Lesley  18:03  
do don't do sticky back plastic at our secondary school. Really? No I'm kind of wondering whether it's a it's a global things to keep up plastic. Is it or is it just a UK thing? What do you think? I've been putting sticky back plastic on my books since I was 11 did not mean so this has been around a long time I mean, the product is much much better than it used to be because you can actually now peel it off. Yeah. I used to do and used to put kind of I was into Duran Duran at the time and used to be able to put all things all over your books you know, like you could put magazine things and put it onto the sticky back plastic did you do that?

Ingrid  18:40  
No. But interestingly enough because we don't sticky we didn't sticky back our books like we call we actually we bought the books like the proper learning books that like the syllabus, we had to buy them and those we put sticky back plastic on so not on the writing books like we call books here it's a bit confusing listeners to be honest with you. But here were the kind of the lines textbooks the textbooks Yeah, the textbooks we would stick it back in Holland when I was in secondary school, but not a writing books. Because I used to lever arch files I think a lot which is lined paper with holes and I can just add it to my thing. So here the textbook stay in school, and the kids only bring their writing books home and those you need to put sticky back plastic on

Lesley  19:29  
and then there's different rules for different things. I mean, will it surprise you that I'm not really a big fan of doing sticking back a little bit on the fiddly side for me but I do concede that perhaps I'm a little bit better particularly than my two. My two sons and so I probably have to step in at that point. But my daughter would be quite good at the sticky back plastic thing. Yeah, boys would probably be a little bit rubbish at my boys anyway. Yeah. So anyway,

Ingrid  19:55  
and I know we know listeners it's plastic. We don't like it either the effects plastic but on the other hand, because we put the sticky back plastic around the books, the books last much longer and they don't fall apart. So hey, don't don't shoot the messenger that we can't help it. We have to put sticky back plastic around and we don't really we rather not put plastic and use plastic, but there's nothing we can do about it. But we can

Lesley  20:17  
absolutely say that's not single use plastic, is it? That's plastic for a reason that's been reused every single day. To me through shirts anyway. I've done shopping halfway, we don't?

Ingrid  20:28  
Yeah, I think so. I think so I think we've got we've got the whole list. So let's talk a bit more about organisation then around going back to school, because quite a lot of organisation needs to happen as well, to kind of just before they go back to school. So let's talk about the command centre, then for a moment.

Lesley  20:47  
Yeah, so we've did a podcast anyway, that command centre, if anybody's not familiar with that terminology, but basically, it's a place in your home, where all of the organisational stuff for, you know, mainly yours could be yourself, it could be a family could be your kids, where all that kind of stuff happens really just somewhere where you can grab things where you know, things are gonna go where you write things down, or you write memos to yourself, you keep a schedule, you write what days that the kids are doing ballet and football and tap dancing, and all of the other things that happen after school. So command centre can be a great thing, I don't think we're gonna go into any detail because we have done a podcast on it. So listen back to that podcast, which will give him we're going to give you much more information on there about what how a command centre might work. And I think that's episode 21. So go back to Episode 21. And try and dig that out and take a listen of that. But it can be useful, but really, no command centre is just part of you know, I've already talked about New Year New you haven't we, it's all about giving yourself the opportunity in September, to try and be better this year with your organisation than you were in the previous years because things slipped out now. Yeah, and and so having a command centre thinking about organisation, thinking about chores, and what chores your kids are now able to do, all those kinds of things, the things that we can have the opportunity to go have a little bit of a breather in the summer holidays, and think about how things might be differently September onwards.

Ingrid  22:10  
Yeah. Also, what might be really helpful for your command centre, is get a holiday schedule of the Schools website with all the holiday dates. So you can then maybe put that list of holidays on your in your command centre. So you have that handy, you can already put it in your diary, put it in your calendar, put it on your wall mounted calendar, paper, calendar, whatever you use. Think about that in advance and don't kind of think, after they've started about two weeks think oh, yeah, there must become holidays coming soon. What when is this going to happen? You can already now work on that command centre, and look for that list on the school's website and plan ahead.

Lesley  22:48  
Definitely, because I can guarantee there were people out there who were kind of like, what did the kids go back to school? days, you know, little Whatsapp group? Where did the kids go back? You can tell? I don't know. So then that's where you're gonna find that information. So my November for the following, you might not have written it down in last year's schedule. So you might not be sure when they're going back. So that's always a really, really handy tip. Find out when you kids are actually going back to school.

Ingrid  23:15  
Well, you know what, interestingly enough, I found out that I was I saw that and was gone back on the Monday she's gone back on the Monday I thought Master is gonna go back on a Tuesday. No, that's your seven year 12 only. So he's not going back until Wednesday. I'm like another day, man, I have to go to work. You just stay at home. If your kids are gone, it's maybe a bit more important when they go to secondary school. But think about homework sports. Where are they going to do their homework? Is it going to be in the kitchen in the living room in their room? Have you got a home office where they can do some work? Where are they going to do their homework? And do you need any supplies for that? Do you need to maybe put a tray where they can put their books in or maybe create a box or anything like that. So think plan a little bit in advance about where this is going to happen. So you don't have homework and supplies in in five different places. So don't don't worry about that.

Lesley  24:14  
Yeah, I think it's really important isn't it to to have a space for your child so that they can feel as if they're fully supported. I mean, often to be fair, it is going to be in the kitchen, particularly when they're younger or in the kind of hub of the home if you will, you know somewhere that's close to where you are. And I think as they get older, they tend to do homework more in their rooms. So just think about that, but it's really important for them to have a designated space so that they can sort of do their best work.

Ingrid  24:43  
You also might want to have to short out some stuff in school, maybe fill out some forms. You might need to update your health forms or your contact forms with the school, maybe put some money on their finger because a lot of the school canteens now they can just put their finger On a scanner and they can buy by their food or by their snacks. So is there any money to be put on the finger? Things like that, if you do that, before they go back, you've got a much easier start to determine as well.

Lesley  25:14  
It always makes me laugh that I mean, how many texts do I get Mom, I need money on my finger. It's quite, it's quite strange. It's quite a strange concept, particularly if you're not used to that system where you load things up, and they use the fingerprint pay. But yeah, I get a lot of those texts. Yeah, a lot of texts, like probably on my finger, because honestly, you can put 50 pounds on and the next thing is gone. You know, buying lunch for their friends and just generally be like, This is not a good thing. That's what we mean by putting lunch putting money on their finger.

Ingrid  25:48  
Oh, I've got another thing organisation wise that moms need to do and or dads please. Somebody needs everybody loads it. Sewing name labels into cogs.

Lesley  26:02  
Ah, that's one people really like it. Some people really liked doing that kind of thing. You know, whenever again, bad mother, I was always very bad at kind of brown is in scouts, you know, so in the badges onto the uniforms and things like that. But you name labels. So I honestly straight up I just use a laundry marker. I just write it in. Yeah, I mean, why would we faff around with ironing or sewing sewing those labels, then you know that it's like such a big job on 12 things that might take a couple of hours, if there's an easier way of doing it. But you know, somebody told me on Saturday that some of the labelling machines, like the types of labelling machines that we use all the time with clients. Our friend, Sarah actually told me at the training on Saturday, that her labelling machine does laundry labels, so you can stick them on? Yeah, so all the new things to investigate. Yeah, so there'll be stick calm, you know?

Ingrid  26:56  
Yeah. Yeah, because what I do, I can just by the name labels in the uniform shop, and you get like a whole sheet of them and add RNM on I'm sorry, I'm saying I, my husband is earning more than I can add those kinds of jobs. Do my head and so I tried to delegate. You see sorts of sewing person in this house. So I'm like, Yeah, I mean, not I don't mind even the irony. It's the irony of the labels that it's just, I think too fiddly for me, and I find it too. So um, yeah, delegates, delegates,

Lesley  27:34  
if you can, like, some people are so good at that kind of thing. Why not give them an opportunity to? Yes, no. use their

Ingrid  27:41  
talents.

Lesley  27:44  
plustek name labels? Yeah. Well, so many things. Exactly.

Ingrid  27:49  
And I think definitely the last thing, organisation wise, that will really help is to teach your children to pack their bag the night before I have failed miserably with my son, Max. He does not want to pack his bag the night before he does it on the morning. I've tried for two years to go pack your bag for tomorrow. And he goes, No. And I'm like, Okay, this is the this is on you. If you're stressed in the morning, don't come to me. But I would definitely think it would be a good thing if children pack their back the night before. Because then if they find out they need something, there's still time to sort something out. But not if they have to leave at five to eight in the morning. And they pack their bag at 10 to eight, then it's too late.

Lesley  28:33  
They're kind of like, Oh, Mom, I've got food tech today. I don't need all this for a recipe. At eight o'clock in the morning. Yeah, not gonna happen. But I think it's all about what you do. In terms of responding to them. You know, you'll get a text in the day, I forgot my PK. I forgot my football boots. Can you drop them off? And I think it's very dependent on whether you do do that dropping off, because if you do, then they're not going to take responsibility for their own stuff. And so I sometimes I do drop them off, and sometimes I don't if I can I'm only around the corner from school. I will. But yeah, I do like them to be completely responsible for their own backpacking because they need to because it's part of them growing up, isn't it?

Ingrid  29:16  
Yeah, for sure. For sure. So yes, listeners a long, long list. I have a top tip as well before we kind of start closing down this this podcast I've got a top tip. If your child is going to secondary school and they are now really starting to walk to school or cycle or go with the bus by themselves, see if you can squeeze a couple of trial runs in before you actually start before they start in September. So for example, my daughter and is starting secondary school. She's gonna go by the bus for the first time. So I'm going to make sure that we're going to fit in another couple of extra trials on the bus with her going by herself. Being figuring out how it works where she is press the button She needs to get off where she has to cross the road and go back to the other side to actually go back with the bus and what some of us she's quite, you know, big step, you know from

Lesley  30:11  
well, so you're gonna get on poor little and out of her bed or half, seven in the morning as if it was a school that could go on the bus. Sorry for her already. She's

Ingrid  30:23  
at 730. If we can do this at one o'clock as well, Lesley,

Lesley  30:27  
you were doing a proper trial run, you know, controlled experiment?

Ingrid  30:31  
Well, I think we need to add some time because as soon as the school as the summer holidays are over, the traffic is mental. So we might have to do figure out how long it takes in traffic in school, got a school run traffic in the morning to take the bus. I

Lesley  30:45  
can't believe she's going off to secondary school. No, I know. Nathan's going into sixth form. So Nathan will be wearing they have to wear a suit. So I've got to go suit shopping, you know, so that's expensive. You know, it goes into a kind of business type suit. So that's that'll be interesting.

Ingrid  31:00  
Yeah. Yeah. Well, listeners, Lesley, that's it from me. Have you got anything else to add? We've talked about a lot.

Lesley  31:10  
I think we've been slightly delirious at the thought of our kids going back to school if I'm honest. I'm sure there's loads of people that are weathers, it's like Yeah, a couple more weeks.

Ingrid  31:20  
Countdown, none other countdown calendar $2, a calendar calendar to go back to school. Exactly. Well, that's it for this episode, listeners. And we hope you've all enjoyed listening and are inspired to take action and that we have prepared you for the back to school season and that you also see it as a bit of a new start. And it might not be New Year's yet, but a great way to start some with a good set of organisation and a good set of rules and some new inspiration and setup the kids really well to go back to school. So thanks for taking the time to listen today. If you'd like to get more tips and advice please follow us on social media. We are on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook as at declutter hub, and we have a lively supportive Facebook group community where we chat all things clutter, you can search for the declutter hub community, I'd love to see you there. If you don't want to miss the next weekly episode, subscribe to the declutter our podcast on Apple podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher and it will pop into your notifications each Friday. See you next time.

Outro  32:31  
Thanks for listening to this week's episode of the declutter hub podcast. Check out declutterhub.com For more inspiration, and don't forget to tune in next week.
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