“This place is a wreck!” Have you heard yourself saying something similar lately? Did it make you feel like you couldn’t possibly homeschool until the house was spotless? Many parents feel like clutter around them clutters their mind, rendering them useless as homeschoolers. Here are four things you can do TODAY to tame the clutter and polish your homeschooling organization skills!
Homeschooling Organization Tip 1: Change Expectations
Instead of expecting the house to stay spotless, remember that having children home with you all day means there will be messes at various points. This is normal and okay. It’s a sign you’re having FUN with your children!
We all know that just having kids in a space will result in messes. Unless you’re cleaning ALL THE TIME, your home is likely already not the same level of “clean” as it was pre-children. Add homeschooling to the mix, and you kick that up another notch. Having “hands-on lessons” is great for learning…but not so great for keeping an immaculate
home.
A great thing to keep in mind is that “clean” is a relative term. Someone else’s definition may be different than yours, and that’s okay. It’s important to note that filth is not the same thing as mess/clutter. Don’t equate those in your mind. Your home may not be in pristine condition, but if your kids are happy and loved and learning, they will likely one day look back on their childhood with fond memories of a parent or parents who gave them a loving home and a safe place to be a kid. Realize this, and you’re less likely to become bothered at every little thing that is out of place.
Homeschooling Organization Tip 2: Daily Cleans
There are lots of different ways to do this. In our house, we call it the “dash and stash.” I set the oven timer for 10 minutes and I explain to the kids that if I had to do this by myself it would take 50 minutes, but because there are five of us, if we work together, we can be done in 10 minutes. We make a game of it. We set the timer and then run around like crazy putting everything back in order.
Some families do a 10-minute “easy clean” in the bathrooms each day. Some tidy the kitchen after each meal as a family rule. Some have their children go through the house and pick up anything out of place twice a day. Homeschooling organization doesn’t have to take a substantial amount of time either. Between the easy cleans, the routine tidy times, and the occasional “dash and stash,” the house stays reasonably clean.
Another great idea is to have a homeschool organizing chore chart. Having a daily posted chore will help kids know what to expect and what is their responsibility for helping maintain their home.
My biggest tip for you is to do a quick tidy after supper – even though everyone may be tired. This results in a tidy house in the morning, which reduces stress and allows you to start your homeschooling day easier and faster.
Homeschooling Organization Tip 3: Contain Messes
You may not have a dedicated “schoolroom,” but you can have a certain area where you keep the pens, pencils, markers, colored pencils, schoolbooks, binders, etc. Whether it’s the family room, the dining table, or your schoolroom, you may want to keep your homeschooling supplies contained in one area. Your learning probably takes place all
over the house, but it’s easier if your supplies are just in one place. You’ll find that it’s easier to tidy up one room after working on a project than it is to tidy up three different rooms.
You may be wondering the best method for organizing said area. Perhaps you have kids of different ages and levels of learning so that they each need different supplies. It doesn’t take much to feel as though you’re drowning in clutter. When that happens, it’s easy for frustrations to climb. Just like in every other area of homeschooling, what works for one family may not work for another. Finding organizational techniques that work for you will help keep homeschooling enjoyable.
Homeschooling Organization Tip 4: Reassess
Has your plan become a mess? Take some time off to restructure and reorganize from the top down. Consider keeping track of your homeschool organization with our free planner, or ditch the paper and make the switch to digital homeschool organizing. Another option worth considering may be trading your current curriculum for an online homeschool curriculum. If what you’re doing isn’t working, change it! You don’t have to stay frustrated to homeschool.
If your brain is cluttered when the house is messy, start doing some of these things and see how untangling your mind will straighten out your homeschool organization!
