- Let's look at three keys
to keeping your home school organized.
(gentle music)
Welcome to the Simply Charlotte Mason Podcast.
I'm Sonya Shafer.
Today, my friend Laura Pitney is joining me
to talk about organizing our home schools.
Now, often when we think about organizing, at least me,
I think about everything in its place.
To me, that's organizing.
But there's much more to it than that, right?
- Yes, there's a big scope of what organizing is
that, whether it affects your homeschooling directly or not,
it's just part of life.
So if we want to talk about, or look at,
the three keys to organizing your home school,
we need to talk about the things, so our possessions.
- And that's, a place for everything
and everything in its place applies to that.
- Correct. - Okay.
- Right. Yeah, so that-- - So that's just one area.
- Correct. Correct.
We also want to talk about our time, organizing our time.
And that's super important, especially as life gets busy,
and oftentimes is probably more busy than calm,
just because that's the way life is.
And then also understanding triggers or disruptions
to our organization helps us be more organized.
So it kind of, they all are interwoven together.
- So let's look at each of those areas, just in brief today,
and we can dive more deeply into those in future episodes,
but okay, let's talk about things.
Why is it so important to have a place for everything
and everything in its place?
- That is a great question.
The first thing that comes to my mind is function.
If we are burdened down by all the things or possessions
or it could even be all the books, if we're burdened,
I know, it hurts, I know.
But if we're truly overwhelmed by all of it,
how is that really functioning in your day-to-day life?
So even though you have maybe five books,
or you have 500 books, as long as they function in your home
to where you're not necessarily like stepping over them,
do you see what I'm saying?
Going back to having a place for everything,
the function of the possessions.
So when we talk about that
I think about your home as a whole,
knowing that this is where I always put my purse,
or this is where I hang my jacket,
or this is the dirty clothes hamper
that these kids will use.
And this is the clothes hamper these kids will use.
Whatever the function of all the rooms and all the places
really feed into helping us be more organized
when it's time to sit down for school.
- Yeah, because you're creeping outside of the schoolroom.
- I know, I know, I know.
- But as you say, it can all be related.
- Yeah, yeah.
You want things, just like when we talk about
Charlotte Mason and habits, having good habits,
it makes for smooth and easy days.
So if the organization of your bathroom,
like where your hair dryer is, where are your toothbrushes?
You know, if that makes a smooth and easy morning,
it makes sense that's going to feed into your school day.
Or if it's where things are kept
so that you can have easy access to things that you need
and maybe things that you don't use that often put away,
you're not stepping on it.
So the possessions and how they all move about in your home
really does affect the school time and how your day goes.
And that's hard because sometimes that is more natural
for people to be able to snap it all into place
and it makes sense.
And then sometimes it's just like,
"I don't even know where to start."
And I've helped lots of moms.
And I always start here, and I know it sounds so silly.
I always start with, "Where do you put your mail
and where do you put your keys?"
Because a lot of times the mail stacks up
on the kitchen counter,
or they're always looking for their keys
to get out the door.
So just creating that small little organization
of possessions, of "This is where we put current mail,
this is where we put our keys," like start there,
and figure out where that needs to be in your home
to where you're not having to hunt for it.
I mean, basic, bottom line.
- That makes total sense. Yeah, yeah.
Because it's like getting two little habits going
that are going to set you up
for good, smooth function in your surroundings.
As you said, the difference is, how does it work for you?
- Correct, correct.
- And making your things work for you
rather than against you, yeah.
And that reminds me of Charlotte's quote about,
that the effort of decision is the greatest effort in life.
Because if you're constantly trying to decide,
"What do I do now? Where do I look for this?
Where did it go?"
you're using up all that energy fighting your atmosphere,
fighting your surroundings, rather than being able
to use that energy toward your homeschooling.
- Right, right.
So, thinking about, I mean,
if you're at that beginner 101 level with organizing
that would be where I would say to start.
Think about where your car keys go and where your mail goes.
Just like basic, super beginner level.
The other thing is, go room by room
and figure out your dead space.
- And what did you mean by dead space?
- Okay.
Let's say you walk into your living room
and you have your couch and your coffee table
and maybe your bookcase and maybe a TV,
whatever is stuff you normally function in.
And then let's say over in the corner,
or maybe against the wall there might be another table,
or let's say there's a cabinet that you never open.
So that would be, to me, dead space
that's not being used, that you never touch,
that could be used for something else that you do need.
So even just going room by room, thinking,
"Oh, this is, everything in this room,
every piece of furniture functions for some purpose."
And then let's say, you go to a different room
and you have, oftentimes there's a cabinet
or a table somewhere that all it has is dust.
You know, there's no reason--
- That's its function, to collect dust.
- Yes, practice something in it. No.
- Like copy work, yeah.
- So even just trying to mentally take note
of "Does everything in each room serve a purpose?"
And if it doesn't, then that's the next thing is, "Okay,
what could be here that would help me?"
Or "If I take this out,
does it free up more room for something else?"
- Or "Could I use that in a different room that needs it?"
- So shop your house first.
- Nice, nice.
- So that's just the general overview
in my mind of the possessions, of the things.
And I totally agree with what you said
that we want it to be right there walking beside us,
helping us versus dragging us back.
And sometimes it just takes some thought
and you'll realize real quick, "Oh yeah,
I could do this or that, and tweak it."
So just putting some time and effort
into thinking about your things because we all have them.
- Yes, we do. - And we have a lot of them.
- And I love the word function that we keep coming back to,
that it has to work for you.
This is going to look different for each of us.
Your house looks a whole lot different than mine does,
but it functions, yes, absolutely.
All right. Let's move on to time then, organizing our time.
I don't often think about that aspect of organizing,
but it is a key to having a successful home school.
So describe what you mean by organizing your time.
- Well, I think we all know that as moms,
as teachers, as employees, as church members, as friends,
all of those are different hats we wear.
We've heard that talked about.
And I am all of those people, but I don't give all of me
to all of those things at all times.
So to organize your time,
I know that I'm going to give four hours
to my children every day for schooling.
Let's just round up here.
- As an example. - Yes, yeah.
So that is time that I'm giving of myself
for that specific purpose.
Okay, then it's like, kind of guilt-free the rest of the day
because I know I have done what I'd said I would do
and what the children need.
And then, okay, now it's the grocery shopper,
I'm going to put 30 minutes into meal planning today.
That way the rest of my week is scheduled out
like it should be for meals.
And just thinking about
all those different roles that you play,
figuring out when you need to really put dedicated time
to focus on that area.
So it's not necessarily creating a schedule
for yourself for the week, per se.
It's more understanding that each of these parts of me
need to have some attention.
And if I am not giving the attention
I need to to meal plan planning,
then our meal times are probably going to feel more chaotic.
Or if I'm not putting enough effort into my job,
then I'm going to have to play catch up at some point.
And therefore, it's going to cause
something else to be neglected.
I kind of think of it as building blocks,
just to keep that sure foundation
of our days going smooth and easy,
all the pieces just kind of need to be there and secure.
Obviously, managing your time with your school schedule
and the flow of your school day is a big part of that too.
But again, just the broad picture of all the things.
If we know we're going to have a potluck lunch at church,
I need to make sure Saturday,
I already have my groceries bought
to make what I need for Sunday.
So just kind of staying ahead
of what time I'm going to have to give to things
and making sure I'm prepared for that.
That's what I see when I think about organizing your time.
- That makes sense, because again, going back to function,
if you're not thinking ahead and dedicating your time
to these different priorities,
then everything's going to fall apart
and you're going to be in the middle of chaos.
And it's very hard to homeschool in the middle of chaos.
And it's very hard for the children
to learn in the middle of chaos.
- Right.
Another important factor of that is,
when disruptions happen, because you know they will,
if your home is functioning like it should
and let's say you're staying ahead
with your time management for things on your calendar,
then when disruptions happen it's a lot easier
to maintain some sense of routine
and function in the midst of whatever that distraction is.
So that being aware of what triggers could come
that would offset other things that you have in place.
- And that's the third area,
the third key that you mentioned was triggers.
So talk a little bit about
what kinds of things you view as triggers.
Because, I mean, anything,
one thing came to my mind, I'll start off.
I've had a lot of moms tell me during the pandemic
when their husbands started working from home
that kind of threw off their routine for a little bit
until they got to a new understanding
of how we're going to make this work.
- Right, right.
- Because you'd have interruptions,
just because we didn't know what needed to happen.
The husband didn't know the wife's routine
during the day at home.
And so stepping into that,
they needed to communicate with each other.
Is that what you mean by triggers?
- I do, I do. Triggers like that.
And then on a practical level,
let's say a trigger could be...
How to put this nicely.
(laughing)
So you've worked really hard to function,
to make your home function like you want it to
and like it needs to
and then you have certain things
that maybe certain people in your family do
that goes against these things you've tried to implement.
So let's say you have a shoe basket at the back door
and you want all loose shoes
to be thrown in that shoe basket.
Pretty simple, but yet there's always the shoes
that don't make it into the shoe basket.
And so that could be a trigger for me
to start being angry or just,
"My children don't appreciate me.
I'm trying to function
and I'm trying to get everything organized."
And yet that was a trigger for me to have a bad attitude.
So I do agree with what you're saying
as far as the disruptions and the triggers
of what we consider our normal routines,
but then there's also triggers that cause a negative effect
on the mom who's working so hard
for things to function like they should.
- Emotional triggers. - Yes, yes.
Or it could be something as,
I need to get out of the house at a certain time
and the last person that drove the car didn't put gas in it.
So therefore it's a trigger for me
that's just going to offset my whole day
because I'm going to feel like I'm running behind.
So just understanding the things
that kind of set you off in a negative way
to be prepared to combat it
and to try not to be negative about it
and to just show grace there.
Just, I feel like if we're more aware
of the things that tempt us to respond badly or act badly,
it will, if we're aware of those things,
then we can try to overcome them.
- So I can see how knowing your triggers
affects you emotionally
and affects the atmosphere of your home.
How do you see that relating to organizing?
- That's a great question. That is a great question.
I'll let you start.
(laughing)
You're welcome.
- Well, just one thing.
When I mentioned atmosphere,
the organizing of your things and of your time
both contribute that atmosphere.
And your attitude, I think,
even trumps your things and your time.
So if we're talking about the atmosphere of your home school
and keeping it organized,
I think mama's emotional status levels
can really play an important role.
If mama is emotionally down,
because like "I set up this area to function this way
and they aren't doing what they should to keep it working,"
if that can beat you down then it's easier to give up
and say, "Well, nevermind.
I'm not going to be the bad guy all the time.
I don't want to mess with it."
And even with your time, if triggers happen that sabotage,
in your head, sabotage how you had planned your day,
if you let that beat you down,
you don't recognize it and respond correctly,
just let it beat you down,
then it's easy to give up on the organizing of your time.
So I think the triggers,
knowing what triggers you emotionally
affects those other areas of organization as well.
Does that make sense?
- It does. It does completely.
It does completely.
And another motivation to create
those good habits of organizing
would be that when you are emotionally down,
we all have those times where we're just done
or whatever the situation is.
Then if those good habits are in place
for the function of your home and everything has its place
and there's a routine for the school
and you know Thursdays are mama's grocery day,
it will help you carry you through
those hard emotional days.
- Yes.
- So they definitely are intertwined.
- It's almost like it forms the safety net
so that when you start to drop emotionally,
it's still going to keep running,
and not, the bottom's not going to drop out, in other words.
- Yeah.
So, and that's a key thing about habits is, yes,
creating habits is that repetition of,
the keys always go here, the keys always go here,
the mail goes in the mail basket,
but the motivation is a big part of habits as well.
You have the repetition and the motivation.
So for us who are trying to create good function
and organization in our home and our homeschooling,
understanding that on the bad days,
those are also going to help us carry through.
Or another motivation would be,
this is good things we're teaching our children,
as far as managing their things and managing their time
and them understanding that, yeah,
there's bad days, but there's also good days,
and how to manage those emotions.
So there's life lessons in these three areas, for sure.
- And all three contribute
to functioning well in your home school
because ultimately that's the purpose of organization.
It's not just so we can get on the cover of a magazine.
- Sure, yeah, definitely not.
- Not happening here.
It's so that we can function more,
as you said, smoothly and easily through our days.
So things. - Things.
- Time, and knowing your triggers
so you can respond in an appropriate way
and keep those good habits rolling.
- Yep. - Great. Thanks Laura.
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