Dylan Dreyer Spills Her Top Organizing Hacks for Back-to-School Season

Making a space your own is something everyone aspires to—even our favorite stars. In our series, The Spruce Up, we chat with celebs to bring you behind the scenes of their design glow-ups. Whether they re-decorated a whole room or added a clever update to their tour bus, these spruce-ups prove any space can feel like home with smart design.

Busy parents everywhere know the struggle of back-to-school organization. Once late summer hits, it's a scramble to get ready for another year of learning for parents and kids alike. Dylan Dreyer, co-host of the 3^rd Hour of TODAY and NBC News meteorologist, is no stranger to the stress.

"All parents are sort of in the same boat," the mom-of-three tells The Spruce. "It's an overwhelming time for all of us, but if you just set aside a little bit of time to just get yourself organized for the start of the school year, and whatever works, just keep it going."

With three little ones, Calvin (6), Oliver (3) and Rusty (almost 2), to get ready for the day, Dreyer employs some tried-and-true tricks anyone can copy to get everyone out the door on time.

Keep Lunch Supplies in One Spot

Many parents know the struggle of making lunch for their kids, Dreyer included.

"If there was just like a Jane Jetson kind of thing where I could open the fridge and just grab [the lunch] because it's literally the reason why I have to get up earlier in the morning during the school year is to make lunch," Dreyer says. "Right now, they serve lunch to Ollie, but I'm dreading when he goes over to public school, and I actually have to pack two lunches."

With an easy organizing hack, prepping lunch isn't as much of a headache this year. Dreyer uses bento boxes, noting that they seem like an "over-achiever" way to make lunch, but it's actually much easier for her, as she just has to fill in all of the squares.

"I noticed last year I didn't have all the little containers in its own spot," Dreyer says. "I'd be like, 'Where's the lid to this?' This year I'm focusing on making sure all the things for this little bento box go in a little bin in a drawer, and that's all that's going in that drawer."

Thankfully for Dreyer, her oldest son Calvin is a bit of a chef himself and offers to help pack his lunch in the mornings. Known for their mother-son cooking show, "Cooking with Cal," Dreyer and Calvin are able to tag-team lunch in the morning, making it easier on Dreyer as she knows exactly what he wants and what he'll eat that day.

"Once we figure out what he wants, he's right there," Dreyer explains. "He's cutting up the strawberries, he's cutting the grapes in half."

Donate Unused Clothes

While Dreyer tackles lunch in the morning, it's her husband's job to get the boys ready for school. Getting all of their clothes organized in their dresser and closet is a bit of a challenge, as the family shares a two-bedroom apartment in NYC.

"If you like the space you're working with, you're more likely to utilize it," Dreyer says. "When the clothes are a ball in the drawer after laundry's done, I don't even want to put the clothes away, but when it's nice and organized like a file cabinet, I'm okay to put clothes away."

The goal for this school year is to pare down the drawers with only the clothes that fit.

If you like the space you're working with, you're more likely to utilize it,

"Not everything needs to be saved," Dreyer says. "If it's got that stain on it that you can't get out, just get rid of it. Donate clothes they don't really love to wear just to empty out the drawers because I feel like emptier drawers are easier to use."

Thankfully she has some help from her boys to organize this space.

"Calvin's really good at trying things on," Dreyer says. "If I give him a pile of clothes, he's happy to try them on and tell me what he likes and doesn't like anymore. If Calvin's doing something, Ollie's right along with it."

Use a Bin to Store Schoolwork

Every parent can relate to all the papers their kids bring home from school and not knowing quite what to do with them.

"Every time my kids come home from school, every single day, their backpack is filled with whatever they did," Dreyer explains. "Especially Ollie's school, if he makes a mark on a paper, they pack the mark on a paper, and it's overwhelming every day to go through it."

For Dreyer living in a small space, it's all about implementing a system to keep papers from piling up on the table every day.

"I literally take what's in their backpack, and I put it in a bin," Dreyer explains. "At the end of the school year, I throw out all the stuff that has no purpose or isn't that cute. I save a couple of the good things, and I write their name and their year on it. Then it goes into a bigger bin in the closet that obviously will just stay in storage forever."

Her kids like to help go through the bin at the end of the school year as well to keep their favorite work.

"They'll actually sit on the floor with me when I go through last year's school stuff," Dreyer says. "They want to save a lot more than I do, but I let him save it, and Calvin will write his name now that he's learned to write his name."

Prep the Night Before

No matter what your organizing woes are this school year, Dreyer emphasizes doing as much as you can the night before for stress-free mornings.

"I make their overnight oats," Dreyer says. "I think about what I'm gonna pack for lunch the next day so that when I go to bed, I'm not thinking about anything. I just go to sleep because I know in the morning, it's like a well-oiled machine and everything's going to go smoothly."

Dreyer's key to back-to-school bliss? Getting a few smart spaces organized and buying one or two little things for yourself.

"When I was in school, I always loved the crisp new notebook," Dreyer says. "I loved the new sharpened pencils. I loved the organization of the beginning of the school year. It never lasted the whole school year. It never lasted even a couple of months, but those first couple days can be exciting."

Read Next: How Drew Barrymore Made Her Talk Show Set Feel Like Home