A couple with 12 children have shared their favorite back-to-school budgeting hacks, revealing how they cut costs while sending their large brood back to the classroom – from saving money on supplies to trimming back food bills.
As children across the US return to school, parents are facing the struggles of getting their children ready to enter the classrooms.
And the Storm family knows this struggle all too well; every member of their family is currently enrolled in school, including mom Iris, 38, and her husband Cordell.
Iris and Cordell, from California, have 12 children, seven boys and five girls aged 17 to three, and have since perfected getting their children ready to head back-to-school.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, the parents-of-12 opened up how they get themselves and their children ready to get back into the classroom.
Iris and Cordell Storm, parents-of-12, have revealed their favorite budget savvy tricks to help save money before sending their children back to the classroom
Iris, 38, revealed that the family makes a meal plan, chore schedule and takes an entire Sunday to prepare for the week ahead
The family-of-14 from California, admitted every member of their family is enrolled in school
‘We get ready the Sunday before the school week starts,’ the mom revealed.
Cordell noted that having one full day to get everything together has been a life changer for him and his family.
He added: ‘If you dedicate a full day to getting everything organized, then you’ll know exactly what’s going to happen the next day.’
He emphasized that their Sunday prep day ‘helps them do everything’ they need to do before the week begins, like ‘putting gas’ in their car.
Iris revealed that they begin by creating a weekly schedule and meal planning, which helps them to keep their family and their busy schedules on track.
Next, the parents who certainly have their hands full decide who is going to take and pick their children up from school every day.
They then make sure to make a cleaning and chore schedule along with an itinerary detailing exactly what each children will do once they get home from school.
The mom-of-12 told Fox News Digital: ‘You don’t want the children to be idle because when they’re idle and have no instruction, then that’s when they get into stuff.
‘So, you want to make sure that they always have something to do. We have a list of what needs to be done.’
When thinking about food for the week, the family will often write down each meal they plan to make throughout the week.
Iris noted that Cordell goes ‘grocery shopping Sunday’ to ensure the family has everything they need for the upcoming week.
Iris and Cordell have seven boys and five girls aged 17 to three, and have since perfected getting their children ready to head back-to-school
In an interview with Fox News Digital, the parents-of-12 opened up how they get themselves and their children ready to get back into the classroom
In addition to preparing on Sunday, they noted that they buy school supplies late and attend community events to save money on backpacks and sneakers
She admitted that her, Cordell and three of their children rotate cooking responsibilities.
‘I’m very, very honest and very transparent because not every big family does the same thing,’ Iris told Fox News .
She noted that the family wakes up at five in the morning, explaining that they’re a very ‘athletic’ family and often meditate and pray in the morning.
And when it comes to the dreaded back-to-school shopping, the family-of-14 have tips to help both big and small families.
Their first tip is to buy school supplies later rather than earlier.
‘I think a lot of people prepare too early, and you end up buying things you don’t even need,’ Iris told Fox News Digital.
They also revealed that all families should attend any community events that are available for local families for back-to-school season as they often distribute free school supplies such as backpacks and sneakers.
The parents admitted they often encourage other families to attend local events as its a great way to stay connected with their community.
‘That way you can get the information about what’s going on in your city that you can be a part of, to either help or benefit from,’ Cordell said.
And instead of over-preparing and purchasing fall and winter clothes when back-to-school season begins, the family wears their summer clothes and only buys winter clothes when the weather cools down.
‘Big families deal with things as they come and don’t try to pre-prepare [with back-to-school shopping] because it creates unnecessary stress,’ Cordell said.
The parents also revealed that they don’t over prepare for anything and wait to buy any winter clothes until the season actually begins
The mom-of-12 previously went viral after she took to TikTok to reveal she was pregnant every year between 2004 and 2019
Iris has said their family is filled with models, dancers and actors, and frequently documents their adventures on her TikTok
The family previously made headlines when Iris revealed she had spent 16 years being pregnant and recalled how carrying the babies gave her a ‘spiritual elevation,’ and admitted that it’s hard for her to ‘adjust’ to not being with child now that she’s done expanding her family.
She took to TikTok to reveal that she was pregnant every year between 2004 and 2019.
Despite their full plate, Iris – who now has her tubes tied – said she ‘would love’ to have another child.
In her video, which racked up over 900,000 views, Iris showed all of the years that she was expecting – which spanned over a decade and a half
She said that carrying a child gave her a ‘spiritual evaluation,’ and taught her how to be ‘patient’ with her body.
Iris, who is a choreographer, first met Cordell in 2005 when he was working as an international back-up dancer.
The two, who each had a six-month old son from previous relationships, quickly fell in love and blended their families – tying the knot shortly after.
After they married, they became parents to 10 more children – Jahni, 15, Trinity, 13, Messiah, 11, JoJo, 10, Love, nine, Seven, eight, Michael, six, Royal, five, Heavenly, four and Hope, three.
As their family grew, Iris, who said their family-of-14 is filled with models, dancers and actors, documented their adventures on her TikTok, and shared videos of the family dancing together as they prepared for back to school season.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk