{ HOMESCHOOL ROOM SET-UP I // STEPS I TAKE TO DECLUTTER + ORGANIZE OUR HOMESCHOOL SPACES...
“organization isn’t about perfection; it’s about efficiency, reducing stress and clutter, saving time and money, and improving your overall quality of life.”
the absolute first step that i take when it is time to set up our homeschool room for the new year is D-E-C-L-U-T-T-E-R!!!! it’s an absolute must in order to get my wheels turning + creative juices flowing. imagination has such a huge role to play in how we move from one year to the next.
last years set-up was full of reimagining homeschool life amidst the surge of the pandemic and we did ‘all the things’ to cope with the delay in our original plans of adventure beyond the walls of our home when we found ourselves sheltering-in-place for a little while longer.
clear it all out //
is the way that I start to declutter. I find it incredibly overwhelming to begin working through books, resource, manipulative, old papers and things… when I am surrounded by it all. so I always begin with moving everything out in order to wrap myself in a blank slate. I empty the bookshelves and baskets, clean out the cabinets, clear off the desks, and remove what I can from the walls.
break it down //
i move all of the things into another spot in the house and slowly start to make piles of ‘like’ things. this helps me to break the decluttering down into bite-sized pieces making it more manageable to work our way through one step at a time. (all while refusing to be overwhelmed or take on more than one section at a time.
don’t rush //
while there is a massive temptation to get rid of things while making your piles at the same time, i try and pace myself. i’m sure to toss the obvious but leave the things that require more thought and consideration for later as not to burn myself in the earlier stages of the process.
look for open ends //
as I start working my way through each pile, one at a time, tossing the obvious and adding a bit of extra consideration to the rest, I judge our books, resources + manipulative based on their ‘open-mindedness’ (if that’s even a thing, lol). basically, their ability to be utilize in several different ways. flashcard become sentence builders, which can double as story writing prompts and be turned in board game pieces.
take inventory //
stacking up ‘left over’ supplies from the year before, this is when I start a list of markers, highlighter, chalk, pencils, sticky notes and other items i will need and around the time I will need them. I try not to make a habit of buying things until we need them which will really add to your bottom line homeschool budget when i’m looking to purchase the things in our homeschool life that really bring the fun and creativity (like walkie talkies, glow-in-the dark paints, green screens and more, lol)
while i filter through and funnel out quite a lot during this process, I hold onto the things that remind me of exactly what makes our homeschool magical.
and finally, are sorting through, making piles, purging, repurposing and sorting through yet again… I regroup and reorganize/contain and find our things a new home.
below is our 2020-21’ clean and declutter video while this years look quite the same.
what have you found helpful in cleaning and decluttering your spaces at any given time throughout the year?
with all the love,
syreena