Yes, it’s nearly that time again already! Dragging them out of bed, yelling up the stairs, and rushing around to get the kids out the door and off to school on time.

But don’t panic, you can claim back lost minutes with these amazing back to school hacks to get your mornings running a little more smoothly!

Have a look at our video below to get the best bits.

There is nothing worse than having spills or messes that stop you in your tracks, wasting time cleaning them up.

Try thicker-textured foods, such as porridge, which are less likely to fall off the spoon with the added bonus of filling them up until lunch. One great tip for cereal lovers is to place a plastic cup into each box so every morning they can help themselves without making a mess.

TOP TIP : Set the Breakfast Table the Night Before – shave minutes off your morning by setting the table ready for breakfast as soon as you have washed up after dinner!

We all hate marrying up socks, especially when they are all one colour, so why not give yourself a break? Make a tiny colour-matched mark with a sharpie or fabric pen inside the top of each sock pair, making it much easier to locate each sock’s other half when they come out of the wash. Just don’t forget to use different colours for different pairs!

Sometimes it is hard for the little ones to quickly differentiate between left and right when they are getting their shoes on.

Cut a large sticker in half and place on the bottom of each shoe‘s interior – all they then need to do to remember left and right, is to marry up the sticker so it’s whole again.

This is a good time to mention shortcuts when labelling shoes – a sharpie is a quick and fool proof method that takes literally a few seconds. For those parents who love a bit of tech, investing in a labeller is a great idea as well, and can be used on almost any personal property!

TOP TIP: Timer App - There are lots of visual timer apps to help set time limits for the kids to get ready. Some of these come with fun music and graphics to help them beat the clock, turning what might have been a boring task into a fun game, Just like Mary Poppins told us! (You find the fun and SNAP! The job’s a game).

If you want to avoid last minute dashes back inside to grab forgotten homework etc, invest in a big wall planner or blackboard and simply paint part of your kitchen wall with blackboard paint.

Draw up a chart with the days of the week in the columns and the names of your children in the rows. Write down the school equipment each child needs each day (musical instrument, PE kit, homework) in the relevant square, to make sure you get everyone out of the house with the right gear.

Get the children involved in getting themselves school ready! Create a to-do list that is visual and fun to use so that they can mark off what they have done.

If their focus starts to drift, you can point them in the direction of their to-do list, rather than resorting to repeating yourself or shouting!

Check out our washi tape and arts and craft range to help you decorate your to-do list. If you have more than one child, you can give them all turns to be the morning leader, making sure the to-do list is done!

It has been proven that rewarding kids when they have been good pays off, so if your kids like watching a particular show, or want some YouTube time in the morning, offer these as rewards if they get ahead of schedule getting ready for school in the morning.