Clutter Free Homeschool Classroom

One of the most frequent emails I get is over our  Homeschool Classroom.

And the most common question is, WHERE DOES IT ALL GO?

(as in, is that REALLY all you have in your homeschool classroom?)

And the answer is YES.

And the answer is also NO.

You see, we homeschool in our dining room.

so our classroom must be used for learning and eating,

It MUST be clutter free.

It also MUST be  a warm and friendly environment for learning.

I keep only what is necessary for daily schoolwork in our classroom.

The rest is very loosely organized in other less “busy” areas of our home

Today, I thought I’d take you on a photo tour of our Homeschool Setup, including MY BEST TIPS for keeping your home/classroom clutter free.

Tip #1: Throw Homeschool Classroom Envy out the Window.

Do it now.

It’s easy to get bogged down by all the beautiful amazing homeschool classroom photos online.  I hesitate even posting because I KNOW  what it’s like when your classroom is disorganized and chaotic and frustrating.

Tip #2: Purge

Purge like you’ve never purged before.

Take a deep breath.

And then purge some more.

I KNOW that you have a huge pile of homeschooling resources that you picked up at yard sales and used curriculum fairs that YOU JUST MIGHT USE SOMEDAY.

And you know what.  You might.  But for now it has no business in your classroom.  Start a “Homeschool Rubbermaid”  and throw anything and everything you don’t use on a daily basis into it.

Yes, I said ONE Rubbermaid.  You must be able to lift it.

Now if you have more then 4 children, you might need to purchase TWO,

but you don’t need to store a zillion workbooks on your kitchen table.

Tip #3:  Furniture

Now, I realize that everyone has their own taste in furniture.  I have a sort of “Shabby/Antique” style of decorating.  Decorating this way is very inexpensive.  In fact there are exactly 3 pieces of furniture in my home that I actually purchased new.  Four if you count our Patio set. The rest of my home has been furnished with items from hand me downs, garage sales, vintage resale shops, and *gasp* Goodwill.   Many of these items I’ve breathed new life into with various painting and refurbishing. (Check out my DIY projects here).    Why is this a homeschool tip?  Well it’s two fold;  First, buying old furniture means your getting REAL furniture….not some particle board or flimsy structure you can put together with a hex wrench.  Your classroom furniture is going to get beat up.  It just is.   Second, I find that many old pieces of furniture have amazing storage capacity without breaking.  Your shelves won’t  bend in the middle, and your drawers won’t sag from all the homeschool materials you’ll be shoving into them.

Tip #4: Hiding & Disquising all the Homeschool Mess

It takes a bit of time to find just the right furniture pieces for your classroom.  In fact, you’ll soon realize that your classoom is ever changing and you’ll often need to accommodate the new curriculum, or child that is ready for more formal instruction.  So when you’re furniture shopping, look for pieces that are versatile.  You want something with drawers, something with shelves, and something that can be covered up.  Instead of a bookshelf, look for a  cupboard, or a secretary.  Re purpose an old dresser as classroom storage for supplies.

Over the years I’ve learned to be very strategic at what types of furniture and decor I purchase for this space.

If this were only a dining room I’d put up velvet wallpaper and monstrous crystal chandelier.

(I’m old fashioned like that)

And if this were only a classroom, my walls would be covered in alphabet posters, I’d have four separate computer workstations and rows and rows of manipulatives.

But because it must function as both, I’ve found a happy medium that I can live with.

at what items I keep in our classroom,

and what items I keep in the garage.

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