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How can I teach when I’m a mess?
For those of you who’ve been following along for the past few months, you know I’ve been working to get more organized. There are several reasons for this, among those my kids are getting older, and while I can fudge my way through kinder and 1st, I don’t think it’s right or fair to my kids to do that at this point.
My boys are halfway through elementary and there’s a few areas they are not as strong as I would like them to be. Mainly in reading and writing, and some of that is my fault, and some of that is their natural bent towards not being organized or sitting still.
So, this coming week, I’m going to be sharing what I’m doing to overcome my messiness and disorganized life. When I was teaching elementary schools, my lesson plans were always nice and neat, but my classroom was not. It was functional, but it had some areas with piles.
Now I’m homeschooling, and have been blessed with a nice big house. But, I haven’t kept it up the way I should, and I’ve rebought things because I couldn’t find them. I’ve paid many library fines because I lost a book. And I’ve not held up what I said I’d do because I didn’t write it down.
My first steps towards this:
All that you see piled here is what we’re selling in our garage sale. The kids are helping me organize this, and we’re going to donate most (the kids are keeping part) of the proceeds to our church’s land campaign (or a local pregnancy center, there has been some debate recently among the kids).
See, I’ve learned you can’t organize clutter. It sits there in boxes and bins, and you don’t use it. So, we’re getting rid of it. Whatever doesn’t sell is going to Salvation Army.
Find a system that works for you (here’s mine so far):
What to do with kid’s books
pantry organization (I’m going to be doing similar for kids toys soon)
Independent Learning homeschool room
Organizing craft supplies with what’s already in your house
For more ideas click on my organization button:
So you can see, I’m slowly working on it, though you can’t tell from my desk, which sadly still looks much like the picture for this series.
Here’s my plan for the “How can I teach when I’m a mess?” series:
My prior attempts at organization
Teaching reading to multiple levels
Your tips on homeschool and life organization
Now, go see the other series on “How Do I Teach?” There’s something for everyone there, and I’ve got some great friends writing on different topics.
Comments
14 responses to “How can I teach when I’m a mess?”
Ticia…oh girl you are preaching to the choir! LOL! I am sooooo naturally messy. But I want to teach them to be neat…and that means setting a proper example. How can I get on them for leaving stuff a mess when they see me do the same thing? Sigh. I will be curious to see your posts this week as it seems like you are dealing with the same thing.
Setting an example, oh that is the bane of my existence.
Just moved from a flat with built in storage to a smaller house with none, will enjoy reading your tips as I continue to downsize stuff so I don’t have to buy expensive storage units! Clutter does seem to accumulate so very easily 🙁
One thing you said really struck me. “You can’t organize clutter.” I’ve tried! It just keeps resurfacing. I think you’re on the right track with all that purging! I am not naturally neat, so this is hard for me, too. One thing I’ve tried to accomplish is to have a place for everything so that when it’s out of place, it has a place to go back to. Make sense? If you can’t find a spot for it, maybe you don’t need it. Or, maybe you don’t need other things that are stored in those valuable storage spaces.
This year, I’m trying something new. I made file folders for each week (labeled 1-34). I inserted our weekly school papers into the proper folders. Then, I just have to pull out the folder for the week. It’s simple and saves me a little time in finding the right papers for each kid every day. So far, it’s working great.
We use binders for each kid with dividers for each subject to keep the school papers orderly. No 2-pocket folders! Those are just a disaster for unorganized children and parents! The only thing we use these for are co-op classes, or extra papers like word searches or other educational printables I find on the internet.
Artwork is a biggie around here! What to keep & where to store it? I have a large box for each kid that rests on top our bookshelves, labeled with each kid’s name. That’s where the artwork goes. The boxes are about 16″ x 22″ and about 7 inches tall. Perfect for larger papers but not so large that they are hard to store. Got them at IKEA. They might be considered under the bed boxes. And I’ve been much more selective as to what we keep.
This year, I bought a clear plastic box to store anything we might need for science or art: toilet paper tubes, straws, plastic tubs, etc. You know, all the little stuff that just gets lost with everything else when it’s not organized!
We have a library basket for each kid, and a return basket. We haven’t lost a single library book since I organized them this way! The baskets are all placed on a shelf with square cubbies where they perfectly fit.
We have a long way to go, but at least some things are organized! Good luck!
Looking forward to some great ideas! I have to get creative with our space issues right now.
I know how hard it must be for you, and I admire you. My only trick is same – make a plan and stick to it (which, unfortunately, I am not always able to do)
I soooooo need this! I also need tips on how to get the hoarders you live with to give up stuff! lol Starting with the playroom now though!
Looks like you are making serious progress!
When I get overwhelmed with clutter I get rid of stuff until I stop feeling overwhelmed. But that’s easier to do when your house is small, I think, because it is ALWAYS in your face. Growing up moving every few years (and decluttering every few years) also makes it easier for me to part with stuff.
Last year I started labeling everything from homeschooling supplies to books to cleaning supplies. It has helped tremendously!
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