Spring into Organization: Simple Ways to Tidy Up Your Homeschool Space

I don’t know about you, but as soon as Spring hits I feel like a new person. I love Spring and all that it brings, from the sprouting flowers to the cute little baby animals. There are so many things changing in Spring so it’s the perfect time to change up your homeschool space with a little decluttering and re-organizing. Over the winter holidays we tend to accumulate more “stuff” and then lose time and motivation to put that stuff away. A little decluttering can really go a long way in making a space look a little tidier.

There are several benefits to decluttering, one of them being the reduction of stress. As a parent, I know we all have our stressors and for me, trying to work in a cluttered space really drives me bonkers. Decluttering your space can also increase focus and make homeschooling overall more enjoyable with more space for crafts and fun. Decluttering is the first step to organizing so let’s go through some ways we can do a simple declutter to our space.

1. Go through books, worksheets, and supplies-donate or recycle what’s no longer needed.

   • Go through all of your old and current textbooks and see if there are any you can sell, donate, or recycle.

   • How long you are required to keep materials is dependent upon your state, however, every spring I go through all of our worksheets, printables, and materials to ensure they are still relevant. I keep a few special worksheets in a tote in the basement and typically recycle or toss the older material unless I’m keeping it for reference.

   • Check your supplies, such as; glue sticks, markers, printer ink, paints, and other items that are likely to expire or deteriorate with time. I do a big comb-through of all of our craft supplies at the beginning of Spring and make a list of what needs to be replaced or replenished. If you have anything worth donating, local daycares and preschools would typically gladly take them off your hands.

     
     

2. Create a “keep, donate, store” system to simplify the process.

   • I typically start these three piles (trash being a part of the donate pile) and it really helps get through things quicker. Sorting all of your materials and supplies into these three piles continuously, as you work through your space, will simplify the process of boxing/transporting all of the items at the end.

     
     

3. Involve your kids by allowing them to have a say in what materials they wish to keep or donate.

   • Homeschooling is just as much about freedom as it is allowing your children to have a say in their education, right? Giving them the option to donate their materials and supplies is not only a great character building task, but gives them a solid foundation of cleaning and organizing along with prioritizing current needs and wants.

     
     

Now let’s discuss the organization aspect. Organizing can be time consuming and a little tedious, but if you have a good system in place, you really should only have to organize once with minor adjustments as you go. There are 3 main categories that we have split our homeschool space into: books & curriculum, manipulatives & art supplies, and papers & worksheets.

1. Books & Curriculum are divided by subject then by grade in milk crates in our basement on shelving units. We broke the five bins down into the basic 5 subjects: ELA, Math, Science, Arts, and History. We have little laminated markers in between each grade level to make them easily located and accessible.

2. Manipulatives & Art Supplies can be a little trickier to organize as there tends to be a lot more pieces and components that are often smaller. We use clear storage bins from the dollar store for things like magnatiles, crayons, markers, and extra scraps of paper. We also use tackle boxes, also from the dollar store, to organize the small craft pieces, such as; googly eyes, pom-poms, beads, and sensory bin items. Rolling carts are a favorite of mine as I am able to fit most of the bins and tackle boxes right onto the rolling cart to keep them in a central, portable, location.

3. Papers & Worksheets can be organized in a variety of ways. What has worked best for us is binders. We hole punch EVERYTHING and recommend getting a heavy-duty 3-hole punch if doing this method. Each child has their own large 3-ring binder for the quarter (we homeschool year-round). I print off each month of curriculum at a time, put it in the binder, and always keep last month’s curriculum in the back in case we need it as reference. These binders are easily stored in totes or on shelves when no longer needed. Scanning documents into a digital filing system is also a popular method of organization as it frees up the physical space completely.

   
   

When organizing your homeschool space, ensure you take a step back and look at your current set-up, furniture, and large manipulatives to make sure they are still working for your current homeschooling journey. Take lighting and comfort into consideration as well. The whole point of homeschooling is to create an educational environment that works for us and that includes our homeschooling space. We use our dining room for instruction and we have tons of bright natural light, plants, and other calming decor to limit distractions and increase focus and productivity.

I think a big part of being organized is that everyone involved in the homeschooling process is on the same page. In our home, we have our weekly schedule pinned up on our whiteboard where everyone can see it. This schedule includes lessons, activities, appointments, and field trips. This way there are no surprises, everyone can see the expectations for the week and prepare in their own ways.

Another form of organization and tidy-up that we have developed is the “Friday Clean-Up”. Every Friday afternoon, when we are done with sit-down instruction for the day, we all do a tidy up of our homeschool areas. Everyone has their own responsibilities and it ensures that we begin the new school week with a clean and organized area.

Doing any or all of these practices can greatly enhance the focus, productivity, and motivation of your homeschooling environment. With homeschooling comes uncontrollable chaos at times, but your supplies and materials don’t have to be that way. Try implementing one small organizational change per week and make those new habits and routines. Organization and routine takes time to develop and master. Do keep in mind the flexibility that comes with homeschooling and remember that it is OKAY to change things up that are no longer working. Homeschooling should work for YOU.