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Well, the countdown to back to school has begun in my house. 15 more days. I say that with serious lament. I want to hang on to every minute of summer, every shred of the lack of routine. Well kind of. I want to, but my checklist genes won't let me. Much to my kids' chagrin. Ah, I wish I could just live in the moment but sadly I can't. Not unless I have a plan. So here is my compromise. When I feel the fear of no back-to-school plan bubbling up inside me, I set aside an hour or so to get myself organized.  Here's  how I get organized for back to school:

• I go to the school website and transfer all the important dates to my Google calendar: like sports try-out dates, back-to-school night, activity fee deadlines, etc. The nice thing about Google is it's free you can color-code by child or activity. 
• I print out a back-to-school checklist and post it on our bulletin board. I'm  a huge fan of having lists on my laptop and phone but when it comes to these types of lists, you can't beat the old-fashioned list in the kitchen. And yes, physically checking things off the list makes me happy. 
• I make copies of my kids' medical records to have them handy for sports, school and activities. 

Just by getting those few things done I find I lose that "school's hanging over my head" feeling.  Back to cookouts and bike rides and spontaneous weeknight plans with friends. Ah yes, I will miss summer. 

And okay, I have to admit that I also have some organizational tools waiting in the wings for the week before school starts. 

• All Recipes Dinner Spinner phone app is loaded and ready to go for those crazy fall nights that I am not willing to think about yet. 
• The get ready for school check list is bookmarked. 
• Ditto for the printable school week at a glance,  homework checklist, and weekly school lunch planner. 

I refuse to print these out until I need them. But they are there so I can happily push the thoughts of back-to-school chaos out of my head.  As for back-to-school shopping, I am one of those moms who waits for the start of school. You get more bargains after school starts, right? For now, I enjoying summer while it lasts!

So what's your summer to back-to-school transition style? Do you have any "get organized" tips you can share? Or would you rather not talk about it until your kids are actually in school?