A home for their hearts Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 I've been reading up on simplifying one's life in terms of living with less. A lot of our mess comes from homeschooling. Is there a way to truly live with less and homeschool? This has been on my mind a lot. The clutter from homeschooling is driving me insane. I must do something to stop the madness! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 How much of your stuff is actually due to homeschooling and how much to simply living with six children? I have not found homeschooling to increase the stuff we have by very much, except for a few books I would not otherwise possess - but I found that simply having children expands the possessions by all the stuff they use to play, craft, explore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A home for their hearts Posted January 23, 2015 Author Share Posted January 23, 2015 How much of your stuff is actually due to homeschooling and how much to simply living with six children? I have not found homeschooling to increase the stuff we have by very much, except for a few books I would not otherwise possess - but I found that simply having children expands the possessions by all the stuff they use to play, craft, explore. I think I big part of it is living with 6 children. Although I don't believe each of us has a lot of 'stuff', all the stuff does add up to be a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Yes, there is. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 We've been simplifying life for a while. For us, a lot of the clutter came from three things 1. paper, 2. books, and 3. manipulatives. I'd spend a lot of time looking at what you actually USE as opposed to what you OWN. I found that I've been able to get rid of about half of what I own and now use everything fairly extensively. What I am not currently using I have packed away right now. It's been so much more peaceful to homeschool without being surrounded by clutter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KeriJ Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Textbooks or "living" spines for the basics. The public library for the rest. Composition books, the internet and possibly www.notebookingpages.com. Simply Charlotte Mason for a free curriculum guide. (truly lives up to the name "Simply") :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 We've been simplifying life for a while. For us, a lot of the clutter came from three things 1. paper, 2. books, and 3. manipulatives. I'd spend a lot of time looking at what you actually USE as opposed to what you OWN. I found that I've been able to get rid of about half of what I own and now use everything fairly extensively. What I am not currently using I have packed away right now. It's been so much more peaceful to homeschool without being surrounded by clutter! I agree with this. I pack away a lot of what we aren't actively using, but I *still* have a lot out that could be boxed up until it is a better fit with what we are studying. I have the storage space to do so, and it would at least further decrease the visual clutter and streamline cleanup. This is my next big project in fact. Too many resources are sitting out on shelves but rarely used right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 I've got clutter problems too, and most of it really is just the number of people in the house. We don't have a lot of stuff per person... but we have a lot of people! For books and homeschool supplies, I have learned to cull things pretty severely; I try to keep the best and most useful books and resources and let go of what isn't actually being used. I also use eBooks where I can; much as I love real books, the benefits of eBooks in clutter saving are significant to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 I spy a home-business opportunity! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fruitofthewomb Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 I hate clutter too & have thought about this on & off-simplifying when I can. I find myself re-buying things (craft supplies & manipulatives mainly) so I am not sure I know what I am doing. I have 5 under 9 so I think that's part of the clutter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco_Clark Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Yes. But it's not going to look AS simple as a house with 1 or 2 children. I have three kids, two homeschooling. We live in a small house (ie, livingroom does not fit a 7 ft couch, kitchen workspace barely fits two standing adults) and do all of our school on the kitchen table - clearing it for every meal. All our homeschool "stuff" is stored on a single bookcase that sits in the space between those two rooms, art supplies, books, paper, manipulatives and all. Because of pure space concerns I just don't buy stuff unless it's going to pay for its space. What I do but gets donated or sold the millisecond it stops paying fir its space. Now, I have three kids, you have double that! And hopefully you have more room than I do. BUT the point is that if you are mindful when buying, and keep that old phrase "is it useful, is it beautiful?" in mind, and are a bit ruthless every few months with the donation box then yes...you can live simply. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 When education looks very different from the rest of your life, then one of the areas is being influenced by outsiders. I do not doubt that minimalist is the correct lifestyle choice for me. It has taken longer for me adopt a minimalistic educational philosophy without guilt and confusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy to monkeys Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 How much of your stuff is actually due to homeschooling and how much to simply living with six children? I have not found homeschooling to increase the stuff we have by very much, except for a few books I would not otherwise possess - but I found that simply having children expands the possessions by all the stuff they use to play, craft, explore. What she said. We don't have a lots of THINGS per person compared to most Americans, but it adds up! And while I'm working with one child, the others are getting STUFF out. And it piles up, so we're playing clutter catch up constantly. We're just doing the best that we can with it right now. I have twin toddlers that contribute hugely to the chaos. When spring time comes, we'll do another big purge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 I find that I purge and get more minimalistic when my mental health isn't as great. So, it's not always a great sign when I start purging, whether it's books/education or other stuff. Some homeschool methods lend themselves a lot better to an uncluttered home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smfmommy Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 We keep things as simple as possible with six kids. I have two large book shelves and that is where all the books live. If we get something new, something else has to go. I usually don't buy what I can easily find at the library. All papers and projects are either scanned or a picture is taken so I don't have to keep them physically. As others have said, we only keep what really gets used/read. It's been a process getting rid of the things I wanted to use in my "perfect" homeschool but never actually did. Kids can enjoy life with fewer toys than we think. Although I am still trying to convince my middle two of that. :) I find it helps to focus on quality over quantity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birchbark Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 You can, but you may need to approach things differently than you have been. You can't have lots of strategy games, math manipulatives, and science equipment and expect to be clutter-free. You can cut back subject load, teach language arts with real books in the CM/Beechick/Classical tradition to eliminate a lot of curriculum, and wait til students are developmentally ready to learn a subject so you don't need all those tiles and math manipulatives. The library and a Kindle can replace shelves of books. (Although I must confess, books are one area I don't minimize. I just strongly prefer paper over screens.) How about Easy Peasy, or Robinson for curriculum? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherry in OH Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 How much of your stuff is actually due to homeschooling and how much to simply living with six children? I have not found homeschooling to increase the stuff we have by very much, except for a few books I would not otherwise possess - but I found that simply having children expands the possessions by all the stuff they use to play, craft, explore. I agree. Children are clutter magnets. It does not matter if they are homeschooled, public schooled, or private schooled. They will have stacks of paper, supplies, projects, and treasures. When homeschooling, you actually have more control over the mountain of stuff, since you assign the work. If you don’t want to deal with sculptures made from recycled materials, for example, you simply don't do them. If your child is in public school, you would be expected to help your child collect the required items, somehow get them to the school, and then welcome the finished project into your home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 One of the things I am finding is that scheduling LOTS of books to read SLOOOOWLY makes for more clutter, than finishing just a couple books and moving into another couple books. One of the good things about the Robinson method is that a child FINISHES a book, before moving onto a new one. I'm getting better and better at finding eBooks, to purchase and to borrow. But, juggling 12 or so eBooks each for multiple students can be overwhelming, too. Gradually, I'm finding myself becoming comfortable with methods and lists that work well with a minimalist lifestyle, but I still will get temprorarily lured into something more complicated, until I start to crash under the load of books and activities. I step back and it's always the same thing that made me crash–too many pieces. Okay, so Robinson doesn't make a mess. PACES and Alpha Omega, let a child finish a few thin workbooks and then move onto a few more thin workbooks. LLATL can be completed with just ONE teacher manual for each student for all of language arts for the year, and the few needed literature books can be obtained for just the few weeks needed and then discarded. ELTL uses all eBook literature, so the TM and literature books can all be stored on Mom's iPad, but unlike LLATL, explicit spelling isn't included. So it can end out about even. Rays, Strayer-Upton, Harvey and similar vintage books were so concise and clutter free, but I often need to supplement the outdated bits. I really wish someone would publish little hardcover multi-year books that are up to date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 23, 2015 Share Posted January 23, 2015 Can someone PLEASE write a new Robinson reading list, using all free and cheap professionally edited ebooks, and an app to practice the vocabulary? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A home for their hearts Posted January 24, 2015 Author Share Posted January 24, 2015 Yes. But it's not going to look AS simple as a house with 1 or 2 children. I have three kids, two homeschooling. We live in a small house (ie, livingroom does not fit a 7 ft couch, kitchen workspace barely fits two standing adults) and do all of our school on the kitchen table - clearing it for every meal. All our homeschool "stuff" is stored on a single bookcase that sits in the space between those two rooms, art supplies, books, paper, manipulatives and all. Because of pure space concerns I just don't buy stuff unless it's going to pay for its space. What I do but gets donated or sold the millisecond it stops paying fir its space. Now, I have three kids, you have double that! And hopefully you have more room than I do. BUT the point is that if you are mindful when buying, and keep that old phrase "is it useful, is it beautiful?" in mind, and are a bit ruthless every few months with the donation box then yes...you can live simply. I love the idea of making your stuff pay for it's space. There are so many books/curriculum that I've hung on to thinking we would use it and never have. Having kids ranging in age from 1-15 I find myself thinking I should keep things that I never used with the older ones because I may use it with the younger ones. I usually have sellers remorse when I sell curriculum so it's made it even harder over the years to get rid of things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momacacia Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 My MIL had 9. Granted her oldest were out of her school/house before the youngests (new word ;)) started. But I do remember they each had a sterilite type bin that all their books/workbooks fit in and they just worked through that each day. Bookshelves held literature books, not school books, at least from what I saw. But, their curriculum was not very literature heavy until the last few kids and she did Sonlight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Just jumping in to say we have a minimalist social group! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smfmommy Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I agree with you Hunter. I love the idea of the concise vintage books, but never really got into using them and finally let them go. An updated Strayer Upton math would be wonderful. Living Clutterfree With Kids is a good ebook for 2.99 on Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Just jumping in to say we have a minimalist social group! :) I can' resist asking: is there a companion social group for "tiny house living" ?! :>) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smfmommy Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I can' resist asking: is there a companion social group for "tiny house living" ?! :>) I totally day dream about tiny house living but I don't see it happening until we graduate at least four or five of the kids. So I guess I will be day dreaming for at least a decade. Lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I spent some time living on a boat, when I was 12/13, in another country. People in that country didn't have many belongings anyway as the humidity level was so high even our shoes would mold before we outgrew them. I guess maybe humans need more, when they are surrounded by humans who have more, so they can fit in and be a part of the local culture. But outside of that, humans don't really need that much stuff, even in fairly affluent cultures. My country wasn't poor, it was just moldy, infested with cockroaches, and had a population density so high, that people lived on boats. We had few schoolbooks. The teachers just talked and wrote on the boards–when it wasn't too humid to do that–and we copied into thin composition books. Teachers tended to be specialists, though, rather than general teachers, so it was easier for them to just teach a single subject that way. Our toys were the ocean and each other. And all the boats had piles of waterlogged paperbacks, that people freely traded around. Some boats didn't even have electricity and just used Kerosene. We had electricity. Moving back and forth internationally, even when not living on boats, we repeatedly lost all our toys. I remember one move when I was 6 when all I had was 1/4 of a large suitcase. Another move a few years later, all I had was what I could carry in a trashbag for both my little sister and I. After my divorce, I was homeless twice and lived out of a backpack. Having too many possessions makes me nervous, now. Today was a nervous day. I gave away and threw out a ton of stuff, a lot of it books–probably about 50. The bookshelves look better, and now there are just a few books stacked on the floor. I think more is going to have to go. It's like all these books are making my skin crawl. I don't doubt I'll have to repurchase some at some point, but I don't care. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 We've been simplifying life for a while. For us, a lot of the clutter came from three things 1. paper, 2. books, and 3. manipulatives. I'd spend a lot of time looking at what you actually USE as opposed to what you OWN. I found that I've been able to get rid of about half of what I own and now use everything fairly extensively. What I am not currently using I have packed away right now. It's been so much more peaceful to homeschool without being surrounded by clutter! This is the key for me. I don't work well with clutter, so I work to minimize it as much as possible. Every few months, I take a good, hard look at what we have in our homeschool room. If we are currently using something, it can stay. If it's just been sitting there, it can either go into storage bins in the basement or out the door to the homeschool group. I am fortunate to (finally) not have a musty basement, so we can store a lot down there in covered bins, on shelves up off the floor. We purchased bookshelves from Staples when they were on sale for $30 each. They're listed at $60 each now, but they do occasionally go on sale for $30, and ours have held up for years and through two moves. We have two in the basement (white), and those hold whatever children's books we have on hand for free reading. We have three (cherry) in the homeschool room, and they hold most of what we use each day for school, such as binders, Bibles, pencil boxes, math manipulatives, teacher supplies, and more. We also have three of these lower shelves (cherry) in the homeschool room, and they hold our History and Science books. They were on sale when we bought them, I know I didn't pay that price, but I can't remember what I did pay. The shelves have been so helpful in organizing what we use each year. Because I have three students, we have three sets of these drawers, each set stacked two high (so we end up with 12 drawers per student). Only the bottom drawer has wheels on it, so we can move the stacks out for cleaning. We put each student's workbooks and other materials in these labelled drawers, like so: Reading--they keep their current selection for Guided Reading in this drawer Writing--they keep WWE and cursive copywork in this drawer Spelling--they keep AAS and/or PZ in this drawer, along with All About Homophones Grammar--they keep their Grammar binder in this drawer Latin--all Latin materials French--all French materials, including CDs Math--main math materials here Kumon--one or two Kumon workbooks here Science--they have a separate Science binder on a shelf, but the books they are reading each week go in this drawer, along with Daily Science and Health & Safety History--they have a separate History binder on a shelf, but the books they are reading each week go in this drawer Art & Handicrafts--they keep their drawing materials and books in this drawer, along with any specific craft they are currently working on (e.g., patchwork, crochet, embroidery, bracelets) Music Theory--they keep their music theory materials in this drawer, but have a separate binder on a shelf These drawers have simplified (for us) the question of "where to put it back." The girls know where to go to get things, and where to put things back. I also think it's easier for them to get their materials out of the drawers, rather than off a shelf. With a shelf, things fall over, fall off, get disorganized. The drawers are easier for children to manage, IMO. We aren't using them as "workboxes." They are simply labelled storage drawers that make it easy for me to say, "Get out Grammar, Spelling, Reading, Latin, Kumon, and Math, and let's get started." I also think the boxes are pretty. They hold quite a bit and actually do hold a 1-inch binder, too. A good investment, if you have the space for them. They did not cost $21.88 each in the store. I think we got ours for about $18.00 each, but that was a few years ago. They've held up well, with near daily use. We have another stack of nine drawers (a 3-drawer + a 6-drawer) that we use for storing musical instrument materials (x3), and teacher materials for Latin, French, and Music Theory. Each child has a color-coded school box, for holding pencils, pens, an eraser, small ruler, crayons, highlighter, and probably a hairband. I also have a school box, with pens, post-its, highlighters, a small stapler, scissors, tape, and extra pencils that are sharpened (so no one has an excuse to get up!). ;) Everyone is responsible to have her school box ready before school begins, including me. Each child has a school room job, which is posted along with their household, meal, and pet jobs. These rotate every three weeks. This helps to keep our school area organized and tidy. We clean up at the end of every school day. We don't have piles of papers all around. Clutter makes it harder for us to function. Everything not in a workbook goes in a binder, if it's worth keeping for a while. Each student (and the teacher) has a separate binder for: Christian Discipleship (Bible Reading Plan, JBQ study assignments, Bible Memory Work, Faith Traditions, Prayer & Devotion) Literature & Language (Book Club [chapter book RAs], Vocabulary, Idioms & Sayings, Poetry Memory Work, Read Alouds) Science & Health History & Geography Music Theory Choose only the best and most necessary resources for each level you are teaching, and keep those where you work. Put anything you are not currently using somewhere else, even at another person's house, if possible. Do you have a grandparent or friend nearby who has a spare closet you could use? I've seen some blogs where each student's materials must fit in a file crate. The children keep their crates somewhere in their bedrooms, in a closet, or on a shelf out of sight. Every morning, they bring their crates to their work area and begin to work. Every afternoon, they pack up the crates and cart them away. Would that work, at least for your oldest two students? HTH. Edited because without caffeine, I apparently can't count to three, in spite of frequent practice. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 We have four kids and a relatively small space- 1100 sqft. All of our schooling must be done at the kitchen table, which obviously serves as... the kitchen table 4x a day as well! We have wall to wall shelving along one wall of the living room, mixture of school and non-school books, and I have a buffet type thing behind the couch (L shaped couch, serves to divide living room from diving room) that holds our day-to-day school stuff. It finally feels uncluttered to me. It wasn't for a long time, but as I got the hang of the rythym of our day, I figured out what I needed access to, what could move to basement storage, etc. Now past/future math books, etc, etc, can all go to the basement, and I keep a running list of what I own in Evernote so that I don't accidentally re-purchase something I have in storage. I have an inbox for papers, and a working filing system. There is also the idea to sort the filed papers once every month or six weeks, scan the "best of" to make a digital portfolio, then trash the rest. I think Mystie has some info on that somewhere on her blog Simply Convivial. We are not there yet, but I think we're going that route! I really really really like the book Simplicity Parenting. If you haven't read it, it's worth the read. It's not specifically geared to HSing, but it is full of great stuff for living simply with children. I now give it out whenever I go to a baby shower. :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Ironically the internet ate my response so I'll try to keep it simple :) - I totally agree that more children = more mess- the basics to this to me are: *to a certain degree you have to learn to "let it go" there will be moments of clutter, that is life with kids *you have to be more diligent with paring down what you do have, since we have more each kid will have less than if we just had 1, I have less as well *you have to find a system/structure that works for you, some like to be very regimented with their space and time- others are free-flowing- I think it is easier to have more structure, in the long run but it takes time to set up and you have to find the amount that fits you and your kids As to the actual hs'ing I think it depends on you simplifying could mean- *Using all workbooks and only workbooks- downside- it may not match you or your kid's style *Using lots of ebooks - downside- some don't do well/like ebooks and find them harder to keep track of what they are doing *Using the library tons- downside- you have to keep track of when you need what books and returning them to the library and the library might not have what you need *Using living books- a combo of workbooks for some skills and living books and homemade curricula- downside- requires more work from mom *Using more on-line classes *Using a box curriculum with schedules and everything lined out- downside- not everyone fits in the box and tweaking sometimes negates the cost *Following a method like Charlotte Mason and using something like Ambleside- downside you may not like their choices or the number of subjects done could feel anything but simple to you For us we are doing a combo of living books and work books. I have a bookshelf in my great room that has 16 sections, like this one but bigger. Ds has his own section and my 2 daughters share a section: dd-2nd- spelling books(TE and student), religion books, reader, math workbook and a binder that has math practice sheets and mom made writing- there is a labeled divider in between, finished sheets go to the back and will go to a folder when the binder is too full. Dd-pre-kish- has just a mish-mash of her own "books" so she can do "school" too. Coloring books, a couple of kumon books and some we were given- I don't do school with her. Ds has spelling books (TE and student), religion books, math books (guide and practice-BA), TC for the teacher's manual for me and a binder for his student sheets for TC and a folder for completed math sheets. The other sections are different things- one is for ds' science books, one for dd's science books, a couple house art, poetry and lit, there are 2 big bottom section and one has lit, mom/dad books and bibles the other is history books we've already read. This year I bought nearly all the books we were going to use for history and science and as we've went through them they've rotated down the shelf. Any book we're currently in the progress of reading is on the bottom shelf of my coffee table or in the book basket. Ds doesn't fill up his section but the girls fill up theirs together, as they do more school each kid will have their own section and I will have to be more discerning on what is kept upstairs, which would be good as it is now I have some things up here we don't use, so having less space makes a person think more and prioritize. I don't hardly do worksheets, what I wrote is generally what we do, science and history so far is reading, watching and exploring the world around us. Ds will be starting to do some of his writing next year in relation to his history and science and that will then be his output and will go in his binder in place of the TC student sheets, dd is still a couple of years from that. I keep some papers from each year, we don't have to report but are expected to keep some so I keep the past 3 years in hanging folders in a filing cabinet downstairs- along with records of our hours, just enough to fit in there, nothing more. Anything else gets tossed. Ds has never really been a project kind of kid but the girls like to do more, I generally keep a few pictures on the frig and if there is too many they get to pick what gets kept. If they make something it might get displayed on the table a few days or week and then it goes to their room. They are expected to keep their rooms reasonably clean and if they can't we go through it together and see what we need to prune down. Both girls have desks in their rooms and have colored pencils and drawing books and such in there as they often do that on their own. I have an old buffet that houses our supplies. It has 3 shelves, on the bottom I have a 3 drawer plastic bin which has sections for pencils, crayons and markers. A big 2 section plastic snap together case, that houses math manipulatives- I've got them loosely grouped by age, so younger ones in one section, older in another. On the top shelf houses our various papers- painting, construction and cardstock- the other side is our microscope and slides. The second shelf is half- preschool games in a 3 shelf plastic container- lacing beads- puzzles etc, the other half is 2 bins with painting supplies and on the side. It is right behind our table so it is easy to grab what we need. Downstairs I have 2 basic shelves which house adult books and curricula we are not using. Ds has 2 bookshelves in his room for books at his level and interest. Dd1 has some shelves in hers but she only keeps a few books as she is not reading on her own much yet. Dd5 and 2 have a shelf in their room that houses all the picture books. Whatever doesn't fit in those spaces is too much. I read a book recently about simple living that really drove home the idea that it isn't so much about the amount you have but the mindfulness of your choices and I'd totally agree. I think as well that a main point, which has been made previously, is that you use what you have and only have what you will use. Stop holding onto things for what-if, if you've had it for so many years and not used it the chances are that you won't in the future. I think it was 2 years ago now I did a big purge and I decided that I would only buy what I could finance by selling old material, I'm doing the same this year and I've already went through my shelf. You have to let go of things you think you should use. I'm keeping some things that I really, really liked but if I tried it a couple of times and it didn't work or I bought it but couldn't even bear to use it at all then the chances are it will never work and if I do need it I can buy it again, the chances are though that I won't. Sometimes holding onto stuff is just holding onto guilt and then you end up using something you don't even really like in the first place. I think as well that a large part is the mindset. Do you know what you are doing and why? Do you have a plan? Are you going from here to there? If you have a clear idea of what you want to do and why you are more likely to stay on track, if you don't then everything feels disorganized because it is and you are more likely to end up buying or using what you don't need or really like anyway. We tried using downstairs for school and I missed doing it upstairs. We school at the dining table but we eat at the kitchen table during the day, ds sets the table at night and part of his job is clearing it for the next day so it is ready for school. It generally isn't a big deal to put away or school books, they have a place to go and we have clean-up times built into the day. * A final thought, caution, I wouldn't rush out and buy a bunch of organizers. I think too often the Americanized version of simplifying is just finding ways to fit more stuff into the space they have with organizing. We are very adept at filling up all the space we have and sometimes need to question if we really need that much space. Try to make do with what you have, sometimes you do need something to put it in but sometimes you need to shift your brain instead and reduce what you have instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Meant to add... I only have two lower elementary kids... obviously your family is generating a LOT more paper than mine, so I'm no expert! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I * A final thought, caution, I wouldn't rush out and buy a bunch of organizers. I think too often the Americanized version of simplifying is just finding ways to fit more stuff into the space they have with organizing. We are very adept at filling up all the space we have and sometimes need to question if we really need that much space. Try to make do with what you have, sometimes you do need something to put it in but sometimes you need to shift your brain instead and reduce what you have instead. :iagree: :iagree: :iagree: I LOVE being in a small space because it sort of protects me from clutter insanity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 :iagree: :iagree: :iagree: I LOVE being in a small space because it sort of protects me from clutter insanity. I agree, ours isn't what I would call small, 1650 upstairs and about 1000 ft downstairs, mostly finished. We had just around 1000 before the house burned and if we weren't planning on having a larger family we would have kept that size in a heartbeat, we loved the smaller house and really could have done smaller, even now we really have wasted space but some of that is design flaw. No matter if you can keep it all organized or not it is still more stuff to keep track of, more to clean, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamamindy Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I haven't read all the replies...but I bet they were good. I come from a family that keeps EVERYTHING. Seriously, my mom has spent her LIFE organizing her cr*p. And it all looks amazingly organized and labeled perfectly. Thing is, it overcomes her. I just don't want to end up like that. Fortunately for me, I married Mr. Purge. And we moved 13 times in the first 10years of our marriage (and I'm talking cross-country and overseas moves), so that helped us purge even further. Honestly, in all of those moves/purges, there is only 1 thing that I really miss that he talked me into getting rid of. Just one thing. So, that's pretty good. Sorry for that rabbit-trail. I have 5 children, but they're all pretty young, so take this for what it's worth. (AND, I have a long way to go to figure out the best methods for us.) Color-code your children if you aren't already. My kids have binders, boxes, and magazine holders (for teacher manuals or storage of books not using that day) that are "their" color. I write chores in their color. My intention is to get solid bath towels in their color when the budget allows. Everything in their color, or even put colored tape on it to hold them accountable for their stuff left out. Not sure if this is practical if your kids are doing lots of schoolwork, but I like to have actual space/size limits on their schoolbooks, or I'll fill up the bookshelves with tons of stuff we don't need or use. So, their work for the day fits in the letter boxes I linked above. The teacher manuals fit in the magazine holders, etc. If the books don't fit on our bookshelf, I need to rethink and maybe use the library for extra books or something. This isn't really school-related, but my kids have their own "special box" that's under their bed for their extra things, but it's mostly junk they want to hold onto that otherwise I'd throw away. (Think dollar store toys, church crafts.) When their box is full, they have to cull some stuff because if it doesn't shut, then *I* will have to cull it. (I'm really not mean!) Somewhat related to the special box is a drawer (again, colored drawers) for their papers. They go there if they want to keep them from the recycle bin. (They do a lot of crafting/drawing.) Since I have 5 kids, they have a drawer for their crafts/supplies, and one for their works-in-progress. Similar to what Sahamama mentioned above. I love what Soror said about going out a buying a bunch (more stuff!) to help you get organized. I have done this so many times! And really, it's been best if I've worked on one thing, a little bit at a time, and figured out what the best method was for our family situation. Often I already had on hand what I needed to get organized - or I used some shoe boxes until I did! - and I was much more likely to stick with it since I'd made it my own. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 Penelope Trunk wrote about this question. It isn't simplicity if it makes your life harder, KWIM? So if I own fewer books but am frustrated because it is hard to get them at the library, it isn't simple even if the photo looks good. Can you pinpoint what drives you nuts? I did a bunch of decluttering and then cleaned up all those "overlooked" messes (ie random box on a shelf of pictures to frame, pile of papers next to a book) because we rented out our house. It looked *so* good because all the junk I overlook was taken care of, and I really didn't get rid of much actual stuff. It might help to have a very honest friend come through and say what needs to go. If you know a good real estate agent, they could tell you all the things that would have to go for the house to look OK. Unless you've gotten through the invisible clutter, don't get rid of things you still see. Emily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stm4him Posted January 24, 2015 Share Posted January 24, 2015 I have been on a quest for simplicity for the last year or so. I have downsized to a house half the size of the one we had (though in all fairness we have a garage full of boxes and a 10 x 20 storage unit mostly full of papers I need to go through and throw 95% of away and things I don't want but haven't had time to deal with yet). We have no schoolroom in our new house and my entire curriculum fits in one pantry (not walk-in), one large kitchen cabinet, and one small kitchen cabinet (and this is for 6 children). Now, this does not include living books, but just curriculum, flashcards, manipulatives, and office type supplies. We do have some craft supplies in the garage right now, but we hardly get those out. My point in saying that is that I am not "there" yet, but I'm headed in the right direction. One thing that has helped me in terms of simplicity is keeping it simple in my mind. By that I mean that I like to pick one company and stick with it for most (if not all) subjects from preschool-high school. For the last three and a half years, that has been CC for us but due to my health we needed a change. Recently I found CLE and after lots of research I really feel that I could trust them to provide all subjects for our family from preschool-high school except for other languages, but I already have most of my choices for that worked out in my mind. Knowing that I have one company to go to for my homeschool orders and that my students will move through the books at their own pace makes things simpler for me. And each will have a stack of workbooks for the day and that should be simple enough for us to execute our day. They also have science kits available to buy so I don't have to think about gathering science supplies. The only thing I have to figure out is art supplies (because you have to look through the art book for the supplies) and supplies for my little ones to keep them busy, but over the years I have probably collected most of what they would need or could get it at the dollar store. So this also simplifies things. I have a home library for everything else so wonderful books are always available but don't have to be scheduled out. Each child can have one or two tidi files (like magazine file boxes that stand up vertically) to keep their workbooks in and we share community supplies on the table as we work. When I open my school pantry it will have a one or two of these labeled for each child and ones labeled for me by grade to pull out as I work with each one. I will have a few boxes of flashcards and bare minimum math manipulatives. That should leave room for things like construction paper and puzzles for my littles. I will have one report type portfolio for each child to put in anything they create that is original and maybe keep one file of tests and/or quizzes per year per child. The workbooks can be thrown away at the end of the year leaving very little to save. I have a ton of "good" or even "excellent" school materials, but if all they do is clutter up my house and make me feel guilty and overwhelmed, then it would be better for me to gift another family with those things and breathe a sigh of relief that everything I need is organized and contained in a reasonable space behind closed doors :-) And that the next time someone is ready for the next grade level in a subject ordering is a "no brainer". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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