Emily A. Clark

This blog post is written in partnership with and sponsored by BigLots.

A pretty monumental event is occurring in our house this Fall. For the first time, all five kids will be in school! I feel like I’ve reached the top of Mt. Everest–or something like that. The only thing that concerns me is how I’m going to get all the bodies out the door on time with clean faces, matching shoes and packed lunches. I’ve already started doing some strategic planning, which began last week with a trip to my local Big Lots store.

If you haven’t been to Big Lots lately, you may be surprised when you visit. They’re completely revamping their stores with a new layout and fresh design that feels lighter, brighter and all around easier to navigate. I went armed with a loooooong list of school supplies and morning essentials to make the early a.m. hours run as smoothly as possible.

First things first: I bought a new one-cup coffee dispenser so I’m not having to reheat my coffee pot throughout the morning. Next, I stocked up on lots of grab-and-go snacks, drinks and easy breakfast options. The more self-sufficient I set everyone up to be, the better!

As someone who routinely drives a full cart while carrying a big purse, I appreciate the wider aisles and more spacious layout. ;)

Next up: school supplies. There have been years when I’ve gone to three or four different stores collecting everything on those ever long lists. I was happy and amazed when I was able to pull almost the entire middle school list from one aisle at Big Lots. (And, you can’t beat the prices.) I even picked up new lunch boxes and backpacks (and ice packs and food storage containers and socks and water bottles. . .)

Last stop: checkout–and then home! The fact that I didn’t have to go to another store made me want to do a happy dance in the parking lot.

Back home, I’m already putting everything I bought into action. We’re packing backpacks full of school supplies, making lots of coffee and adding some organization to our drink fridge and pantry. (I also invested in plenty of new storage containers for lunches. We can never have enough!)

Cute glass coffee mugs also found at Big Lots. I feel fancy.

I’m all about a quick breakfast–especially when people won’t get out of the bed. I made sure to stock up on plenty of granola bars and lots of prepackaged snacks to throw in their backpacks.

There’s something I find very gratifying about a well-stocked drink fridge, even if it only lasts for a few minutes. . . Big Lots is the place to fill it up with something for everyone. (My kids were most excited about those root beers in glass bottles.)

Here’s to a great new school year and to all of our back to school mornings being as effortless as they appear to look in photos! Let me know if you visit your local Big Lots. I’d love to hear about your experience and what you think of the newly revamped store.

Thanks to Big Lots for sponsoring this post.