Backpack overhaul 101: Your new best friend (Video)

Hey everybody, this is sethos sep.com, and I’m here today to talk to you about one of the best tips that I can possibly give you in terms of helping a struggling student turn things around.

So whether you’re a student who is struggling in school and you’re like, “Man, I don’t know why I can’t get better grades. I don’t know why I keep forgetting things and misplacing things,” or whether you’re a parent who has a student struggling, or even a teacher who really wants to help your kids out with some things, I’m going to tell you a little bit about the backpack overhaul—how I do it exactly, and why it’s so important and makes such a big difference.

First of all, I’m going to start with this: the students that I work with tend to be very right-brained learners. One of the big differences between right-brain and left-brain learners (and of course I’m generalizing here), or between linear sequential versus more random global thinkers, or you could say disorganized versus organized students, is that they tend to process the world differently.

You have your random thinkers—your disorganized students—who tend to be very global, big-picture thinkers. They tend to be what I call “overhaulers.” Left-brain thinkers tend to be what I call “maintainers.”

The difference is that maintainers are naturally good at maintaining systems. For example, when it comes to cleaning their bedroom, brushing their teeth, or other routines, they tend to remember and consistently execute these systems using their executive function in the prefrontal cortex.

Overhaulers, on the other hand, are not naturally good at maintenance. They tend to forget things a lot and struggle to develop habits—unless the habit is something very important to them. Even then, habits like homework, making the bed, or cleaning their room are much harder for them to maintain consistently.

One thing overhaulers are really good at, however, is overhauling periodically. They will suddenly clean or reorganize their entire bedroom, backpack, or hobby space all at once. The problem is that schoolwork has deadlines and due dates, and when you’re good at overhauling but not maintaining, you tend to miss deadlines, underestimate how long things take, fall behind, and feel like you’re constantly trying to catch up. This creates a lot of stress.

Here’s why the backpack overhaul is so powerful.

The backpack overhaul gives students a regular time when they know they will completely reset everything. Once they do it the first time, it becomes much easier to repeat. The first time takes about an hour, so you need to dedicate real time to it. After that, it takes about 15 minutes a week.

I recommend doing it on a Sunday night because it’s a natural transition point—you can prepare for the upcoming week and clean up loose ends from the previous one.

So here’s what I do.

Let’s say I’m working with a brand-new student. One of the first things I do is the backpack overhaul. I tell them to bring everything home from school—everything from their locker, every gum wrapper, every book, every paper, every single item. Even clothing. Sometimes there’s food that’s been sitting there for months. I don’t care—bring everything out.

If needed, put it all in a large black trash bag. Same for desks—bring everything home. I want a complete reset, like restarting a computer or a phone.

We then meet in a big open space—tables pushed together, or even the living room floor. We prepare three main containers: a recycling bin, a trash bin, and a box labeled “archive.”

Next, we empty every pocket of the backpack—every pencil, wrapper, piece of paper, everything. Shake the backpack out completely.

Then we begin sorting everything into piles. If it’s not needed, it goes into recycling. If it’s needed, it goes into subject piles like math, science, history, etc. Supplies go into a supply pile. Important items like wallets, IDs, phones, or chargers go into a separate pile.

We go through everything piece by piece.

If there’s a lunchbox, we check it and discard anything old or unnecessary. We just keep sorting and organizing everything carefully.

I also work with two types of students: some throw things away too easily and may discard important items, while others are afraid to throw anything away because they fear consequences from teachers. I try to balance both tendencies.

The goal is to remove everything they do not need. There is no reason for students to keep most of the clutter they accumulate.

As we go through items, I ask questions like: “Do you need this?” “Why do you need this?” “Why isn’t your name on this?” Not in an accusatory way, but to build awareness and patterns.

If something is not needed but may be useful later, it goes into the archive. If it’s not needed at all, it gets recycled. If it is needed, it goes into the correct folder. If something must be turned in, it goes into a “queue”—this is top priority.

Many students struggle with perfectionism and won’t turn in assignments unless they feel they are perfect. This is a problem because a zero is worse than a partial grade. They need the habit of submitting work on time first, and then improving quality later.

After everything is sorted, we organize folders and systems. I ask students how they want things organized, because I want them to develop metacognition—to understand how their own brain works and how they make organizational decisions.

I want them to become aware and intentional about their systems.

After the first overhaul, everything looks great—but within 3 to 5 days, it usually becomes messy again. That’s normal. The system hasn’t fully integrated yet.

So we repeat the process weekly. Each week it becomes faster and easier, usually taking just a few minutes.

Over time—usually around six weeks—you can see real change. Students begin to internalize the system. They stay more organized, keep track of homework better, and feel more in control.

This happens because, for 15 minutes a week, they consistently reset and reinforce the system.

I really encourage you to try this. Hope you’re doing awesome, and I will see you next week. Take care.