Back to school...drop zone

This is back to school week for us.  Little Bit starts 2nd grade on Wednesday!  School supplies are labeled and the backpack is loaded up.  Do you have a specific place for backpacks in your home?  One thing that helps us function smoothly before and after school is our mudroom drop zone.  This is our entry off the garage that we use almost 100% of the time to enter and exit our house.  I just love this bench.  It is a great catchall area whether we are coming or going.  

Little Bit and the hubs have their bags hanging on the hooks.  We also hang our coats here during cooler weather.  I usually set my purse on the bench and there is still plenty of room to sit and put on shoes.

Speaking of shoes, Little Bit takes hers off as soon as she walks in the door.  They are also the last thing she puts on before we head out the door.  So it makes sense for us to keep her shoes by the door.  They previously were all over the floor and would get lost under the bench.  I recently put them in this basket and so far so good!

We also have a basket for library books.  We keep both public and school library books in the basket.  This way we always know where they are when it's time to return them. 

So when Little Bit gets home from school, she can kick off her shoes, unload her backpack and then go grab a snack.  Having everything right by the door makes our school days run so much more smoothly. 

Do you have any tricks to stay organized during the school year?