It’s a fall tradition: School supplies line the aisles of retailers, attracting parents and children who will meticulously pack every glue stick and pencil into a well-organized back-to-school bag.

But while sending those packs of loose-leaf paper and boxes of tissues to school that first day may temporarily clear your home of clutter, for most families the back-to-school season also means a return to hectic mornings of searching for an errant permission slip or living with loads of lunchbox drama.

Families can cut the chaos and embark on smooth-sailing mornings, however, by entering back-to-school season with their own school supplies: a kit of organizational ideas for those manic mornings.

A Fan of the Plan

When 7-year-old Abbi Kious heads back to school this fall, her mother, Kimberly, is prepared to get her daughter out the door without a hitch.

“I use a combination of rules, organization and ‘gestapo Mom’ tactics, really,” Kious, of Grants Pass, Ore., says. “Abbi has a checklist she has to complete each morning. If she strays and I catch her sitting and staring into space or something, I say, ‘Honey, is that on your checklist?'”

Kimberly’s checklist, however, isn’t exactly back-to-school boot camp material. It’s a visual reminder of harmonious habits she wants Abbi to cultivate to ease the morning malaise that can distract even the most motivated scholar.