The more organized my homeschool is, the less time and money I waste. First, I don't waste time looking for things because I know exactly where they are. Second, I don't waste money buying again what I already have but can't find. I confess that I am happier and calmer when everything is in its place. However, I have noticed two big homeschool organization myths that many moms hold. I’m here to bust these myths and encourage you if you want to be more organized.
But just because I love organization and have lots of ideas, that doesn’t mean there is a right and wrong about how to store books and supplies. Whatever works well for you and your family is the perfect way to organize your homeschool.
Myth #1: You need a homeschool room to be organized.
Once upon a time, I thought the only way to organize and store all my homeschool stuff was by having a room devoted solely to homeschool. My husband made our basement into a gorgeous homeschool room with plenty of room for all of our books, posters, maps, manipulatives, games, and supplies. It was a homeschool mom's dream come true. But here's what I found: The organization in our homeschool room was impeccable, but we just couldn't get comfortable enough in it.
Putting our homeschool room together made me realize that I had too many unused resources on hand, and we were far more comfortable homeschooling around our dining room table and our living room couch. Little by little, what we used daily in our homeschool ended up back in our dining room instead of our fancy homeschool basement!
The reality is you don’t need a homeschool room to homeschool. You simply need an inviting and comfortable place to learn together.
Homeschool Organization Tip: Downsize
If you have too many things to store, maybe it’s time to get rid of your homeschool clutter. Evaluate what you are really using (in practice not in imagination) and keep that. The rest can be sold, donated, or thrown away. We all accumulate homeschool clutter, get attached to our books, and just can’t part with them. I'm guilty too!
It helped me to stay organized when I chose to keep only what we truly needed and got rid of what we didn’t. We use our library card more, save money, have more space, and even made some money selling what we didn’t need, making around $300 selling unused homeschool books and resources.
The less you have, the more organized you can be.
Myth #2: You need a lot of money to organize your homeschool.
No, you don't. Rest assured that you can organize your homeschool beautifully with very little. Dollar stores are great places to find affordable homeschool organization solutions.
Before you hit the stores to shop for new things, shop your house first! Walk around your house and look for containers you can repurpose to organize your homeschool space. I had a lot of Mason jars in my cupboards and a few spare baskets in closets that I am now using to neatly store homeschool supplies.
If you are an artsy or DIY kind of person, you can search for projects on Pinterest such as how to turn cereal boxes into magazine holders or how to make beautiful kids' book shelves using pallets. But if you are not so crafty, like me, you can hit the dollar stores, craft stores, thrift stores, or even check resale sites to find what you need.
A homeschool space needs to be practical more than it needs to be beautiful. You simply need to think creatively about how to repurpose what you do have or what you can find cheaply. The bins may not all match a Pinterest-perfect color scheme, but if they keep the materials where you can find it when you need it, then you are on the way to an organized homeschool.
You can do this! You don't need a homeschool room and you don't need a ton of cash to organize your homeschool room.
For a peek inside one Sonlighter's home to see how she organizes her materials, check out the video below!
Imagine a more organized homeschool, starting with your weekly plans. Try three weeks of any Sonlight Instructor's Guide for free. Click here to get one for any level, preschool through twelfth grade.
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