JoAnna Garcia Swisher is divulging the secret that keeps her household of four — and its various schedules — on track. It’s late July, and the Sweet Magnolias actress is on Zoom talking about all things back-to-school with SheKnows. But if you’re expecting some secret, celebs-only tip that magically makes A-listers’ lives easier,

prepare to be disappointed (or delighted). Garcia Swisher’s organizational tool of choice is … pen and paper.

“I write things down a lot,” she says simply. “I’m a big note girl, I like a to-do list. Pen and paper. I have notes in my iPhone, but for the most part, I write things down … the act of actually writing it out physically gets it in my brain a little bit more.”

Garcia Swisher may be an accomplished actress, businesswoman, and cofounder of a popular lifestyle brand, but our cover star is also a busy mom — and like most moms this time of year, she’s gearing up for back-to-school season with her kids: Emerson, 11, and Sailor, 8.

Managing the multiple schedules of a busy family, particularly as a working parent with your own jam-packed calendar, is no easy task; throw in a career that often requires travel and temporary relocation, and it can seem nearly impossible. Garcia Swisher’s family splits their time between Tampa, Florida, where she was born and raised, and their home in Georgia, where they spend summers and live during her shooting schedule (her hit show, Netflix’s Sweet Magnolias, is filmed in and around Covington, Georgia). “Both places very much feel like home, and [the girls] have friends in both places,” she says.

Filming for Sweet Magnolias’ upcoming Season 4 wrapped on May 29 of this year, so the family is back in Florida gearing up for the school year — and when school rolls around, so does the need to keep things as organized and streamlined as possible.

“We lay out the clothes the night before. We have the wake up time, the book bags are already packed, water bottles are ready to go,” Garcia Swisher says. “It’s a very quick routine, but it’s the same every day. Both girls have their own little morning ritual. There is a system in place, for sure.”

While she credits her husband, former professional baseball player Nick Swisher, with helping to keep their girls on schedule and out the door each morning — “He’s a very, very organized person. So they’re like little soldiers with him,” she says — there’s another way they work as a team where school is concerned, though their approaches couldn’t be more different.

“He does school drop off, and I do school pick up,” Garcia Swisher says. “There was a teacher last year that was like, ‘The vibe is so different when you drop off.’ I was like, ‘What do you mean?’ And she’s like, ‘Well, the music’s not blaring,'” she laughs. On the occasion when she does drop off, she’s a typical all-business mama: “When I’m taking them to school, I’m sipping on my coffee and asking them if they have all their homework. And it’s very civilized.” But knowing her fun-loving husband, she says, she isn’t surprised at the different vibe when it’s Dad’s turn to take them to school. “Nick loves to pump them up and get them ready. They come in hot every morning with Nick as their driver, raring and ready to go with their playlist, jamming music. They have, like, theme weeks … like it’ll be an all-rap week, it’ll be a vintage rock week, all of this stuff.”

For her part, though, Garcia Swisher prefers to pick the girls up; not for a music-blasting joyride, but for the precious opportunity to have a conversation with her kids. “I actually, selfishly, like that they talk more on the car ride home,” she says, citing the “hot gossip” she gets to hear: “I get the goods.”

Creating a Home Base

For all the ways she’s just a regular mom, Garcia Swisher’s career does present some challenges that not every family faces. She fell in love with acting as a child, and has spent most of her life in front of a camera; you’ve seen her in popular shows like Party of Five, Gossip Girl, Freaks and Geeks, and Reba. Currently, she plays single South Carolina mom Maddie Townsend, the central character in Sweet Magnolias, and even stepped into the role of director for an episode in the upcoming 4th season — a big milestone in her illustrious career, and one that allowed her to tell the Sweet Magnolias story from a different perspective.

Another unique issue: She and Nick travel a lot for work, often with little notice; sometimes their girls accompany them, and sometimes they don’t, but she says she’s inspired by their flexibility regardless of the circumstance. “Our life is really fast-paced at times, and they just roll with the punches,” she says. “I’m in awe of their ability to pivot.”

Even so, she tries to maintain as much consistency as possible, aiming to have one parent with them while the other is gone, and traveling as a unit whenever they can. Keeping the girls informed is also key. “They have that consistency of us [being there], mixed with a ton of communication, like, ‘This is what we’re doing, this is why we’re doing it, and this is where we’re headed,'” Garcia Swisher explains. “And also, I really do try to set up this feeling of ‘home,’ wherever we are.”

When she and Nick can’t be there, though, she is infinitely thankful for the network of friends and family that steps in to help manage the day-to-day logistics and, as she puts it, “fill a gap.” “We really do exist on the kindness of the village around us, and people [who] get that our lives and our schedules are a little bit unusual,” she says.

A huge part of her support system was sent reeling with the loss of her beloved parents, Jay and Loraine Garcia, in November 2019 and March 2021, so having that “village” ready to step in is a blessing she doesn’t take for granted. Though her parents may be gone, Garcia Swisher sees a lot of their parenting style in the way she raises her own kids.

“I had two very strong influences in my life in different capacities,” she reflects. “My dad was an OB/GYN, and literally the most incredible source of information and support and such a calming force in my life for that.” She describes her mom as her number one fan, and “a little kooky in the best way possible” — an eternally optimistic person who encouraged her to truly see others. “She was sassy, and she kept it real … but she also really saw the good in people,” Garcia Swisher says. Passing the best parts of her parents on to her girls through modeling their guidance and support is the best way to carry on their legacy.

Navigating the ‘Turn Into Tweendom’

As her daughters get older, Garcia Swisher is enjoying the new dynamic they’re experiencing. “For my oldest, we’re making that turn into tweendom. But it’s been really fun,” she says. “I’ve been trying to embrace each stage thoroughly, and these new conversations that we’re having, and all of the changes that are happening for her. It’s been really amazing to watch her navigate it, and to be there by her side for it.”

Any parent of older kids can tell you that it seems like they’re grown up in the blink of an eye — and Garcia Swisher is no different. “I think the biggest surprise was how quickly it all came upon us,” she muses. “It felt like overnight the conversations changed, the questions held different weight, and I could see Emme processing the world in a different way. But it’s been equally as beautiful as it has been surprising.”

Those changing conversations aren’t always easy, but Garcia Swisher strives to be as open, honest, and available as possible for her girls. “I want both Emme and Sailor to feel safe talking about anything with me,” she says. “There are so many physical and emotional changes that happen in the tween years and I know that can be a lot to process and sometimes even a little scary. So we talk. A lot.” But the talking isn’t left solely to Mom; she credits “ultimate girl dad” Nick with being just as forthright, even when it’s uncomfortable.

“Nick doesn’t bat an eyelash, even though I’m sure he has — and will have — moments that he has butterflies,” she laughs. He even works with Aunt Flow, an organization committed to ensuring everyone has access to period products. “He really talks about, like, dads being comfortable talking about periods and other stuff. And I literally look at him and I’m like, ‘This guy is a wizard.’ I’m just so proud of him.”

Aside from the support system within her own family, Garcia Swisher credits her mom friends with helping her navigate (and cope with!) the inevitable ups and downs that come with being a parent. “I have a very, very close circle of friends, and all of us are in essentially the same stages of motherhood as well. Even my friends that aren’t parents, we’re all still kind of in that same stage of life,” she says. “We’re all just stepping up for each other and, and I think that takes bravery. It takes a commitment to the people that you love, and knowing that you’re gonna just show up … time and time again.”

Though her father may be gone, she still relies very much on his calm, rational influence when the tween years throw her a curveball. “As my daughters get a little bit older, their lives are different. They think about life differently. They bump up against things differently,” she says. “And I really feel a lot of my dad in me, where I hear his voice — like ‘Jo, it’s OK; think about this moment, think about that moment in your life.” Using her own childhood experiences as a gauge helps her know what to do: “I trust my gut, and my instinct.”

Growing up means becoming steadily more opinionated, and though the girls don’t get much of a say in their back-to-school outfits (they have to wear uniforms to school — coincidentally, the same school Garcia Swisher herself attended, with some of the same teachers she had as a kid), they can personalize them with a little “flair” by way of the coolest sneakers … and, of course, they still get the back-to-school excitement of picking out just the right supplies. “We’re very much like, ‘What color is your calculator going to be?'” she says. “They’re involved. They’re very involved.”

Finding Her Happy Place

After meandering down a road of fond reminiscence about two Gen X staples, Caboodles and Trapper Keepers (“I still have a Trapper Keeper! I love a Trapper!” she enthuses), the conversation turned to something else that makes Garcia Swisher happy: her website, aptly named The Happy Place.

“It started very much like a design space, because that was my passion, and that’s what I love to do, and it was really fun to share that,” she says. “And then we started to create this community. I started to realize it was really fun to share these small moments and different crafts that I would do with my very small children — at the time, I had babies — so I just started to slowly share all of those things. And it’s really a glimpse into my life, into what brings me joy.” Over time the site has morphed organically into what it is today, with recipes, style and beauty tips, even its own book club: “It feels like a different world a little bit as time has worn on, you know? The highs and the lows, navigating grief, a pandemic, kids growing older, all of those different things have just inspired the things that I share now.” Above all, it’s a space where she can be authentic. “The Happy Place is not trying to be anything that we’re not,” she says. “It’s really what is in my heart, and it’s been this incredible, healing, warm, lovely place that has just brought me so much joy.”

Soaking It All In

More than a business name, The Happy Place is a good way to describe how Garcia Swisher is feeling in general right now — in her career and in parenting. The years are short — the older kids get, the more they seem to fly by in a blur — and Garcia Swisher isn’t taking this time for granted.

“I know that I may not always be the first person they will come to with all of their thoughts and feelings for the rest of their lives, so I am grateful that is the role I play in such pivotal developmental years,” she says. But as every mom knows, there’s no time limit on a mother’s love and concern: “I hope that both Emme and Sailor know I will always be there for them.”