Organizing Your Homeschool Space

By Jodie Perry of Life Unboxed

When your home is both a living space and a learning space, the line between chaos and calm can get blurry very quickly. Whether you have a dedicated homeschool room or a corner of your kitchen, you can create a homeschool space that works for your family.

If you're constantly searching for books you want to read and buying them twice. Or you lose the quiz book for months, and the missing favorite pencil causes daily tears. Then it is time to structure your homeschool space for functionality, flexibility, and peace of mind.

A disorganized space can really lead to a lot of frustration for you and your kids. Missing supplies or excessive clutter in a workspace significantly increases everyone's frustration. Whether you have a large luxurious space to homeschool in or you feel like sardines in a can, an organized homeschool room is the key to a frustration-free homeschool year.

The Only Things You Really Need—Bookshelf and Storage

Your homeschool space doesn't need to be Pinterest worthy. I know, some of those homeschool rooms even make me jealous. They are so cute, but we have to work with the space we have. Instead of pining for the cute matching furniture, take a step back, evaluate your space, and just get a bookshelf and storage bins.

There are so many ways to use a bookshelf to organize your homeschool space. You can give each child a shelf and that is where all the school books go. Or you can designate each shelf by subject—art supplies go on the bottom shelf, read aloud books on the next one, math books on the next one, etc.

One of my favorite organizational tools that I use with my bookshelf are magazine holders. You can organize the curriculum in them, label the front, and they keep your shelf looking neat. This is a great way to keep everything organized, especially if you are homeschooling multiple kids.

Storage bins are another must have for homeschool organization because you need a place to put everything when you are done. If you are saving curriculum to use again, then you need to keep it organized but out of the way when you aren't using it. Keep each bin to one grade level (don't mix the grades) and then label the bin. You will thank me.

It is easy for us to get stuck in the mindset of wanting everything to be perfect. This is for our kids, and we want to give them the best. But the best thing you can give to your kids is your time and influence. You don't need to give them the perfect homeschool room, you just need to give them you.

A Place for Everything

Homeschooling multiple grades means you have a lot of curricula and books. You need a place for them. Whether you homeschool at your kitchen table or everyone has their own desk, creating a designated storage space is going to save you a ton of frustration throughout the year.

The key to organizing your homeschool space is to give everything a place to live. If everything has a designated space, then everyone gets in the habit of putting it back in that space. This saves a lot of time, but most importantly, it frees up your brain space.

You have a lot on your mind, so limiting the number of things you are thinking about or keeping track of will lower your levels of irritation. Creating a habit allows you to do an action without thinking about it. You just put the book back where it goes. That also means you always know where it is without thinking about it.

Give everything a place to live. Whether everyone has their own desk, so all books stay in their desk, or you need to get creative with your bookshelf or China cabinet (these make great homeschool storage units), your space is going to be organized if everything has a place.

Out with the Old and in with the New

When we first started homeschooling, I had the brilliant idea of saving all the curriculum to use for another child. I put it in a bin, left it in the basement, and immediately forgot what I had. I discovered that I never used the curriculum for the other child. It wasn't the right fit, or we did something else.

Whether you keep the curriculum (and remember you have it), or sell it, or pass it to a friend. Any curriculum that you aren't using needs a different place to live—out with the old and in with the new.

Simplicity helps a lot with organization. If there are fewer things to organize in your homeschool space, the easier it will be to keep it organized and to find those pesky quiz books that seem to grow legs of their own.

If you are going to store it, then put one grade level in a bin and label it. It is amazing how much can be forgotten year to year.

This also applies to school supplies. Yes, it is time to toss those itty-bitty pencils, the dry markers, and those tiny pieces of paper that seem to be everywhere. They are just taking up space.

Look at your homeschool space, with a garbage bag in hand (or a bin at the ready), and toss out the old to make way for the new.

Conclusion

The best homeschool spaces aren't the ones that look Pinterest-perfect, but they are the ones that are going to make your real life easier. You don't need to create a space that will impress anyone else, but a space that supports your family's learning and keeps you sane.

You don't need perfection—you just need what works for you.