organization

Sartorial Saturday–A Simple Closet Hack

It’s not often that I have a closet hack to share that makes storage easier/more efficient, but today I’m taking a look at how I store my dirndl aprons:

If you’re thinking to yourself, “That looks like an over-the-door shoe organizer” you’re right! I have actually used this particular trick to store my collection of cropped cardigans for years, but recently, I thought about trying it out with my aprons, too…I had been hanging them over my dirndls, and the ties were trailing everywhere, plus it was hard to see what I had, because they were layered on top of each other. I used one of the larger pocket shoe organizers, because I didn’t want to roll the aprons so tightly that I’d have to worry about ironing them, and it worked out great…no more tripping over apron ties hanging down to the floor, and I can see my entire collection with one quick glance!

Do you have any tricks you use to make your closet more organized?

Sartorial Saturday–Splendette Stackurday: The Complete Collection

I finally have a storage solution for my Splendette Duchess Bangles that isn’t cardboard boxes! I also finally received the new spring colors I ordered (after the USPS temporarily misplaced them)…I love how beautiful they look displayed neatly!

If you closely, you’ll see that the rest of my Splendette collection makes an appearance, too…a few necklaces, two pairs of earrings, a bangle case, and a very fun “I Stack Therefore I Am” pin!

The Teacher’s Desk

We’ve been rearranging some furniture this week, which allowed me to get my desk out of our closet, where it’s been since before Chickadee was born. There isn’t room for it in the school room, so I had to put it in our bedroom where it originally was, but it’s so nice to have my own workspace again! I’m even going to try to keep it neat and organized…we’ll see how long that lasts!

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Book Review–“The Organized Home Schooler”

I received a review copy of The Organized Home Schooler by Vicki Caruana from Crossway Books. I was pretty excited about reading this, as I’m always looking for new ways to organize, and because we’re in the midst of transitioning our school room to a new space. I have to say, though, I found the first 10 chapters to be pretty dry, and not particularly helpful. The “Heart Matters” at the end of those chapters (example–remembering that I’m a steward of the school supplies God has given me), seemed way too preachy and patronizing to me.

Six of those first chapters dealt with different things in our lives that need to be organized (thoughts, time, space, supplies and materials, paperwork, and family), and I didn’t take away much from them. There was an interesting section about public vs. private space in the home, complete with a list of ideals Frank Lloyd Wright had when designing spaces, (I really liked “the house shelters the family not only from nature, but from the world itself”) but I found that to be a more general home design issue than a home school one.

I did benefit from the last three chapters, however. These focused on the actual organizing of the school room (great suggestions!), a filing system, and a whole chapter of lists (I love lists!). This was all very useful information, and I definitely have some ideas to implement in our school–including a hard one to hear: “if you can’t keep it neat, you have too much stuff.”

I wish the whole book had been as useful to me as those last three chapters, but even so, the content of those three chapters was excellent and very helpful. I don’t know if I’ll actually become more organized, but at least I have some good ideas from another homeschooling mom who’s been there, and is succeeding!

www.crossway.org/blog

Getting Ready

I have now purchased all of my “need” items for our homeschool (I, of course, still have a list of “want” items a mile long, but I’m taking it one thing at a time!). Most of it I have in hand–I’ve been to the parent-teacher supply, and gotten a calendar and an alphabet line (and a fantastically loud, old-fashioned school bell, to ring at the beginning of our school day–not a need, I know, but I just had visions of taking a bell in hand every morning, and since they had one, I couldn’t pass it up!). I got our basic supplies from Target and Wal-Mart–everything ranging from an extra bookcase to safety scissors to finger paints. I’ve placed three (I think) orders from Amazon, and have all but one–I’ve received all of the Little House on Rocky Ridge chapter books already (and my very own copy of The Well Trained Mind, which I can’t wait to take a highlighter to!), and am just waiting on my classical music compilation and a new printer cartridge (so I can print the Olympics lesson stuff I found online). Ryan picked up my CPH stuff for me, so now I’m just waiting on my Sonlight order (which may arrive as early as tomorrow–woo-hoo!) so I can really delve into my materials and get organized!

Speaking of getting organized, I’m planning on using my evenings next week to set up the school room (also known as the guest bedroom, but I think I can make it work for both). I have to set up the new bookcase (which has a great, no-tools assembly–thank you Target!), and get all the books and CDs organized between the two bookcases we’ll have in there–I’m thinking of using one for core materials and school supplies (I got a nifty little storage box for crayons, glue, scissors and such, which conveniently fits perfectly on the bookshelf), and one for “fun” books and CDs (but aren’t they all fun?!? I love books!). I have to hang up the clock I got (and it would help to remember to put the battery in first, I’m guessing–better put that on the to-do list, too) as well as the calendar and alphabet line. What else? Hmmm–need to drag up the card table and chairs, as that will be Turkey and Bunny’s desk, at least for this year. Also need to move the bed and changing table into their new locations, and set up the surge protector so that it’s in the right place for the lamp, CD player and phone. I think that’s all…but I’m probably forgetting something! Anyway, I’m really looking forward to getting it all set up, and if I’m feeling really ambitious, maybe I’ll post a photo of it when I’m done (read: maybe I can get my kind husband to do it for me, since I don’t know how!)