Organizing our Homeschooling

Staying organized as a homeschooling family is important. At times, it can feel like learning is taking over every space of the home! Here are some of the ways that we stay organized during the homeschool year.

We hung magnetic ropes on a wall to showcase recent artwork. It is easy and inexpensive. We rotate artwork and then store them away. Eventually, some watercolors get cut into cards, gift tags, notebook covers and book markers.

We dedicate one open bookcase for current books, projects, supplies and reference material. We found some magazine holders at a thrift shop and added chalkboard stickers on the sides. Handwork is kept in a basket that may be carried anywhere. A large basket with commonly used art and other supplies is on the floor.

We dedicate a space for a nature table...mantle, bar, top of bookcase or other spot.

A table space is clean and available for written work and artwork during the day, and is cleaned up before dinner each afternoon. 

We found an antique caddy for all of our writing and drawing supplies. Reused food jars and cylindrical gift boxes hold pens and paint brushes.

Sometimes, organizing feels like it takes as much time as planning! Daily, we organize and clean the table space. Weekly, we organize the bookcase. Seasonally, we rotate the nature table, artwork and reorganize the magazine holders in the bookcase. Curricula and supplies that are not being used will be stored in a bin in the garage, sold, gifted or recycled.

Boosting our Creativity - Reorganizing the Craft Room

This past month, we took all of our craft supplies outside and reorganized our craft/music room! A daunting task, but one that has freed up space and created an energy flow, giving us a "boost".

On a daily basis, we are in this wonderful room, filled with art supplies, fiber arts tools, musical instruments, and a work table that Rick built years ago.

There is even space for a silk fort!

Now, our craft magazines, music, patterns are in files. We can quickly locate yarn by color. Art supplies are organized and easy to reach. 

We can find what we need for fiber arts workshops, lessons and sales. The room has a sink and a door to the backyard...both practical elements for painting and dyeing.

To keep from spending a fortune on this endeavor, we spent $30 at the local thrift store, getting baskets and magazine holders. We pulled out old food jars and wood bowls. We did splurge on chalkboard labels from Bradens Grace on Etsy to label the nooks, baskets and jars, and love that we can reuse them over the years.

We love this hanging fruit basket that we found at the thrift store.  Perfect for little balls of yarn!

Bits of leftover roving get their own space and baskets and can be used for felting or carding batts for spinning up Junkyard Fairy yarn.

And, we finally have a place to put our works "in progress".  It is much easier and neater to grab a basket full of supplies for the doll that we are sewing or the gnome that we are knitting when the supplies are all together.  

Space for the drum set and keyboard, various guitars, as well as our work desk and computer was carved out. There was space for one spinning wheel, but not our floor loom or second wheel.  So...perhaps the ultimate room would need to be an entire house for just crafts, music and art?