This shop about Easy Backpack Station Ideas has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #40Pounds #CollectiveBias
PARTICIPATE IN THIS: For every #40Pounds Challenge picture uploaded to Instagram, Emergen-C will donate $5 to charity water to help fund projects that bring clean, accessible water to communities in Ethiopia. Just take a photo of you holding something that is #40Pounds, like your child, post it on Instagram with the hashtag #40Pounds and @EmergenC and they will donate $5 to those who need clean drinking water!
Education is a privilege. Let me say that again… Education is a PRIVILEGE! Here in the United States we are fighting for equal education, an equal chance at a higher education and for a more affordable way to pay for it. But in many other countries, like Ethiopia, they are fighting for something much more basic. Clean Drinking Water. While we are all dealing with lunches our kids won’t eat, homework that takes up our evenings and kid’s who won’t go to bed on time, these kids just want a drink of clean, clear water that is not infested with something that could kill them. Seriously, everyone deserves clean water just as everyone deserves an education. As I run to catch the bus with my kids and say a little prayer that the two taking tests today do well, moms in Ethiopia are walking their kids to a little creek, filthy with refuse, and having them take a drink. It is all they have. We can do better. We can do SO MUCH BETTER! In fact, along with Emergen-C, we can help to donate $5 for EVERY PHOTO posted to Instagram of us holding something #40Pounds. That’s it! Three minutes of your time, one photo, one tag of Emergen-C and the hashtag #40Pounds donates $5. Why would you not do this? While you find something that is #40Pounds, like your kid’s backpacks (seriously, these things are heavy!), I will show some tips and tricks to organize those back to school items with an Easy Backpack Station!
Let’s start with Emergen-C, though. Years ago, my friend in Austin and I had a conversation about energy levels and how to moderate them a little better. I think we all hit a little lull during the day no matter how much rest we get. She told me about Emergen-C and how her husband drank it every morning. I checked out the package to get an idea of what it offers. Emergen-C® is packed with B vitamins, antioxidants† , electrolytes plus more vitamin C than 10 oranges^. With over 20 flavors, you have plenty of delicious varieties to choose from.” † Zinc and Manganese ^Based on the USDA.gov nutrient database value for a large, raw orange.
While Emergen-C is not used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease, it’s ingredients can help you maintain your energy level. My friend swears by it and I can attest that it does help me as well! I really like the Raspberry flavor and always pick up a pack at Walmart when I am there! I like it after lunch when I am most likely to feel that afternoon tired feeling hit!
Take the #40Pounds Challenge: To enter, upload a photo to Instagram with hashtag #40Pounds and tag @emergenc.
I will say that I am more inclined to purchase a product when I know they are giving back! So I love that a product I buy anyway is giving $5 per photo! You have to participate. You just have to!
Now, while you are looking around the house for something that is #40Pounds, allow your eyes to rest on your kid’s backpack. If they are like mine, they are everywhere that is inconvenient. Last year we could never find them, the lunchboxes and the kid’s shoes in a timely manner. Plus, I got the, ‘Mom, the project is due today!’ last minute surprises too! So this year I decided to try to make a blank wall in my kitchen into an Easy Backpack Station!
Here is what I bought:
- A large dry erase board and magnetic markers
- Three wire baskets
- Three double hooks
- An educational sign
I hung the dry erase board in the middle, low down so all of the kids could reach the whole thing. Each girls gets a third of the board to write anything educational. When is their next test? When are their projects due? Do they need to pack their lunch if they don’t like what is at school that day? When are their school club meetings? Anything. They LOVE IT! I see them writing things down daily and it really has helped to teach them responsibility and week management. We have yet to miss a deadline! THAT is huge!
The three hooks are strategically placed. I have had people say that they should all be even and in one area. But because the white board takes up a lot of space, and because they can not reach higher, I had the kids stand where they could reach and hung them that way. The double hooks hold sweaters and jackets as well as backpacks!
The wire baskets are for those items that can never be found. Shoes, lunchboxes and even their horseback riding helmets. We have yet to run around looking for shoes since I started this! It has been invaluable for the morning routine!
Lastly, I added an educational sign too. I want this to be a wall that screams, ‘School matters!’ so having it there just ties it all together!
Now, I know. There are prettier and more professional looking Backpack Stations out there. But I am all about efficiency and function. This has worked wonders for me and the kids this year and I think it can help the most crazed family out there, especially on a budget! I spent less than $100 on the whole thing!
Now that your backpacks are organized, it is time to take your #40Pounds photo and upload it to Instagram! When you do, come back and tell me what you help up in your photo!
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
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