Getting Organized:
In your home and homeschool
Dear Friends,
Throughout this week I have shared with you about taking small steps to organize various areas of your home. Today, I wanted to wrap it up with the encouragement that you can have an organized home while you are homeschooling.
Some of you think this is a myth. Some of you are just starting to see a glimmer that it is possible. Others of you are living it now.
Organizing your home does not happen overnight. There is not a magic pill or cure for a cluttered home. It takes small, daily steps to declutter and let things go. Going through your home one zone per week will add up over time. I know it is hard to believe, but it is true.
When you start something, you want to see instant results. You are more apt to keep things picked up and decluttered if you work in small steps. If you paid someone to come into your home to help you get organized, they could get you to where you wanted to be in fairly quick order. But if you have not developed the routines of picking up behind yourself and decluttering regularly, your home will not stay in order.
Unfortunately, it is not the natural way for things to stay orderly. Add in a homeschool family who is home all the time, and you have many opportunities for things to be put in disarray. Your routines are essential to an organized home.
Teaching your children routines will help you now, and later, it will benefit them as adults. Routines will set you free from the clutter. Each day commit to 5 minutes of decluttering in the Zone of the Week. You can do this Morning, Afternoon, or Evening. It does not matter when you do it, but it does matter that you do it.
Decluttering is something that will be a part of your routines as long as you bring new things into your home. If you bring home a new pair of shoes, declutter one or two pair. If you bring home new clothes, declutter at least as many items as you brought home if not more.
When you clear a flat surface, put something pretty on it. That will deter some of the piles that like to grow on flat surfaces. If you have a favorite color, get some flowers and put them in a vase. Then put them in a place that you will see often during the day. I bought some inexpensive silk flowers recently, and it makes me smile every time I walk past them.
You are busy with your homeschool, but if you will just budget a little bit of time daily to decluttering, you will see a difference. The trifecta of homeschooling is to get school done, house picked up, and dinner on the table all in one day. It’s a bonus when the laundry is done, too. You can do it!
Start practicing your Before Bed Routine tonight. It’s the new Habit of the Month, and it sets you up for a peaceful start to your morning.
For some additional encouragement, listen to this recording of a session with Marla Cilley, The FlyLady, and me from a homeschooling conference. You CAN Homeschool and Have a Clean Home.
Today’s Zone Mission is to declutter the top of your dresser.
Your Home Blessing for today is to empty the trash, sweep, and mop.
My menu plan for Friday is chicken alfredo.
Have a wonderful weekend!
