A lot of homeschooling families have a room that is designated for doing school work. A lot of homeschoolers just do school in their dining room or living room. Whatever you have to work with, that’s okay. We happen to have an extra room in our home (an addition built on before we ever lived here). I use it for all of our school supplies and to do our actual school work in.
Lately, it’s been a bit hectic in there. I have a love for books and my library sells old or donated books for 50 cents each. Yikes! I bought too many. I also had a friend give me a bunch of books. Did I mention I already have a huge bookcase full plus a whole entire wall of shelves filled? It is too much. I have a problem saying no to more books.
But, the time has come to get rid of some of them. They are literally on the floor at this point. I have no space for them and it’s gives me anxiety having them strewn all over the floor without an actual place to put them. We are getting ready to move in the next six months or so and I find it the perfect time to downsize my school room.
It won’t be just books going though. I have workbooks and supplies and costumes and so much more. I am going to start from scratch and keep it simple. I know what I like to use for curriculum so there is no use in keeping old stuff for the future. I won’t use it so it will go. I plan to donate the books back to the library after some friends look through and get what they want. I also plan to give away any curriculum and supplies to homeschoolers in need.
My goal is to have mostly living books and classic books in my home library. I will get rid of all the twaddle and fluff because the library does carry most of those. We read all kinds of books so I am not putting the twaddle books down. I just want to have a certain selection in my home and something has to go. I will also organize my books so they are easier to find on the shelf. Right now, I have to search for books and sometimes I end up buying a copy of something I already own because I can’t find it. That will not happen anymore.
I have a huge shelving unit that holds all of my homeschooling supplies like arts and crafts stuff and the current books my children use daily. It has gotten a bit junky, to put it lightly. Things have gotten out of sorts and misplaced. I will do an overhaul on that shelving unit as well.
My husband and I have been getting rid of a lot of the things we don’t use over the last few years. We are going for a more minimalist lifestyle. We have done this with several rooms in our home as well as our boy’s toys. They have a couple of small bins as well as Legos. That’s it. We don’t give them toys for birthdays and they get one toy each for Christmas. We ask others to not give toys either. Instead we ask for games, good books, drawing and art supplies, and experiences.
Downsizing my school room doesn’t mean getting rid of everything. It means getting rid of the things we don’t use and won’t use. It means being more organized and intentional with the things we do have. I don’t like chaos and clutter. My children don’t like it either (although they tolerate so as not to have to clean it). They learn better and I teach better in a more organized environment.
Whether you have a huge school room with lots of space or a shelf in the dining room, utilize the space to be more productive and efficient. Get rid of things you don’t use or need and be more intentional about what you do bring into the space. My new motto is “a place for everything and everything in its place”.
