Does anyone else have "school" drawers and cabinets that are starting to take over? The kids each have their own drawers, and we have the main school drawer, and then there is the top of the old stereo cabinet where curriculum, workbooks, and things like encyclopedias and readers gather, added to the little corner of a chest of drawers where completed work lands, and the coffee table ... oooooohhhhhhhh, the coffee table. It's a magnet. A FlyLady hot spot.
Decluttering has magical effects, well beyond the bathroom and bedrooms. All of that school junk you've been collecting might be weighing you down. It might be dragging down the enthusiasm and creativity of your children.
Pay attention to what you have, compared to what you actually need. Can everyone find things and get to them easily? While you all drool over a shelf of books, are you able to actually USE the books on the shelf? Do you have more scissors, glue, colored pencils and erasers than would be needed to supply classrooms across the globe?
You don't have to trash everything. Package and store things clearly, so you can pull them out when you need them. For instance, on my recent Thanksgiving trip, my mother gave me a bag (a big, phat bag!) of markers. I'll go through to trash those that are dried up, pull out an appropriate amount for daily use, and then store the rest out of the way to replace as needed. Things WILL break, and you might very well need that extra pencil sharpener in the future. You just don't need to dig past it every single day until its moment has come.
I'm guessing most of you know all of this. So, just take it as a little reminder. Get in there and simplify. Enjoy the freedom of some more space. Fill the nooks and crannies with creative thoughts and laughter, instead of one more workbook or 400 pencils.
And then don't forget where you put it all!
(photo by dimitris petridis - stock.xchng)
Monday, November 26, 2007
Decluttering is not just for housework
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
Great ideas! I am an organizing FREAK! My grandfather used to say,'Everything has a place and everything in its place!' Drove me nuts as a kid, but as an adult I have taken it to heart. In our classroom, I have a locker (even though it was almost impossible to get!) It is a double locker. Top for my curriculum, bottom for my sons curriculum. I also have plastic tubs under the desk that are labled: envelopes, art supplies, writing utensils, etc. We also have a paper holder. You know, one of those cardboard thingies from the office supply store. It has small rectangular compartments. We put one type of paper in each compartment so when we need notebook paper or construction paper or printer paper it is within reach and we dont have to go digging for what we need.
I have to admit, the coffe table is a bit of a mess though! Drives me crazy!
See now that is the biggest problem around here! I will declutter and promptly forget where I put everything. *sigh*
I'm in the middle of de-cluttering right now! See, I believe I inherited a "clutter gene" from my dad's side and a "clutter-buster gene" from my mom's side. It just depends on which one is working at the moment! Decluttering is so freeing. It makes my house look nicer, too.
This is a great idea! For the last six years, I have added and added and added...I have held onto stuff that my older son has completed in order to use them with my daughter. I have been given stuff and because I was given it, didn't want to get rid of it because that would be wasteful. And I picked up stuff at yardsales and such...well, no more. This summer I went through, made a plan that both of my children could do as far as curriculum and I got rid of everything else. It not only put some money in my pocket, but it took some of the guilt away from me. I was feeling guilty for the things I had been given and wasn't using...geez!
Post a Comment