Working Toward Back To School. I’m In A Pickle!

Are you ready to send the kids back to school? I’m not. Yet.

I have a bit of a disaster on my hands and I thought I would share ALL of the ugly specifics with you over the next couple of weeks as I belatedly pull my act together to get ready for the school year.

Now, school starts at the end of next week. I am pretty doubtful I will be able to get everything done before school starts. As you will see, I am starting from a place that is on the worst extreme on the overwhelming scale. I just thought that seeing a disaster like this one, might make those of you that are more together feel a lot better and inspire those of you that are not.

And I finally have pictures!

Today, all I am going to do is give all of you the back story of my starting point and my recommended Back to School Prep Step #1. After this, the articles in this series will cover my projects for the day and updates. I have them outlined, and I am pretty sure that all of the tips and projects can be adapted to fit anyone including those of you that are home schooling AND those of you taking classes. When the series is complete, I will list it out as I have with the other series I have gone over so far.

The Whole Story and Upcoming Events On LPO

I’ve told you before that our family is big into DIY. With my back being out since mid Spring and continuing to give me problems all Summer, we have fallen way behind.

If you have read My Cleaning Routine, you will know that we inherited a home and ALL of the stuff that was in it from some very dear loved ones that were severe hoarders.

It wasn’t that they were messy, but they enjoyed the act of acquiring. Their biggest hobby was actively perusing antique stores, oddity shops and rummage sales. By active, I mean they purchased. A lot. Anything that they found odd or interesting.  They had a great time and I am glad they did. While they had a good sized house, the majority of their activities centered in a very small part of it. That part of the house was kept impeccably. The problem was that the rest of the house was free to use simply for storage of their many found treasures and they readily filled those spaces.

Before we moved in, we sorted through everything and had time to reduce the stash in the entire house by half and remodel my son’s room. After that, we boxed the other half up and completely filled the garage to deal with later so we could go ahead and move in. Not the best option. Not the option I preferred. The best option our time restraints would allow.

Since we moved in, we have spent the majority of our DIY family project time in the yard. We are just now getting around to another turn through the interior. There are a lot of repairs and remodels to be done so that the house meets our needs.

So, as I work through the house on this project and others, I will be able to share lots of scary pictures and progress with you. Sound like fun? Too much Information? Irrelevant? Let me know so I don’t bore you.

My Back To School Starting Point

Our spring project was to refurbish the space that will be my craft room. Here is a picture of the room before we moved in. It was obviously one of the rooms used for storage.

Future craft room before we began to go through it.

Here are pictures of it right now.

This room should have been completed – and I mean completely – by the end of June. Instead, it has taken me all Summer just to prepare the plaster for repair.

So what does all of this have to do with getting ready to go back to school? Prior to the remodel, I had a large portion of my craft supplies stored in boxes in the corner. The things I was actively working on were organized in a makeshift craft closet. When we started this remodel, I commandeered the dining room for temporary storage of my active projects and as a work space and used the closet to store the boxes of the rest of my paraphernalia. We do not currently and will not for quite a while use our dining room as a dining room.  We have extended plans for it. Until then I thought it would be perfect to set up as an at home school room. That was suppose to have been my project for July.

Back to School Prep Step #1 – Find a specific, consistent place for each child to do their homework.
You can choose a desk in their room, the kitchen table, whatever works for your family.
Further Considerations:

• Do you want a common space or a private spot? I prefer a common space where we can be nearby to encourage long term communication and togetherness as well as to encourage them to quickly ask when questions come up. I feel when a child gets in the habit of asking questions and for help at home, it is likely they will participate more in the classroom. But some children feel too much pressure when they feel someone is watching over them to complete their assignments well. There may also be difficulties for an older child (read as teenager) that has been use to doing their homework while lounging on their bed. They may misconstrue you having them work in a common space as a statement of trust or control issues.
• What distractions does each space have? Where are the distractions minimized? Small children who are suppose to be doing homework at a desk in their room may be too drawn to their toys to concentrate. Older children will be drawn to use their sanctuary more for private socialization than for studying.  Having multiple children all doing their homework in one area has its own difficulties. There are bound to be small squabbles and one irritating the other either out of boredom or unintentionally. There are some things you can do for many of the other distractions, and we will talk about them more in a few days.
• Where is there a work surface with enough space to layout all of their things while they work?
• How comfortable are the chairs available for each space? How long will the student be able to sit in the chair before they start wiggling and losing concentration?

Now here is my disaster. Because the craft room was not completed, the dining room/school room is still commandeered for all of my junk as well as a stash depot for a few things I was thinking of using to decorate the craft room. Want to see?

Makeshift Craft Space

Notice how my stuff fills all of the space around each of the walls? Here is a closer look.

Active Craft Stash and Surplus

I know, it looks horrible. It was suppose to only be there for three or four weeks. I’ve said it before, it is the unexpected events that are often behind a clutter disaster.

AND On the last wall is where Hubby infrequently uses his computer at home, Little Man occasionally plays computer games (almost all of them are educational) and a handful of office supplies are still half boxed on an old shelf waiting for me to convert this room to a homework space.

Makeshift Craft Rm - Hubbys Corner and More Stash

(The extra old computers are for an unknown project Hubby has planned for his future space. I’m not saying a thing considering the other side of the room. Those computers do not belong to me.)

Over the next couple of weeks, I need to stash my active stash and set this room up effectively. I also have a whole list of additional regular things that everyone can do to prepare for “Back to School”. This series is going to be all about systems and practices to make the daily school grind run a little smoother. For you and for the kids.

P.S. Be forewarned. I will not be decorating the room. I love pretty functional spaces, but it would be a waste of time. The room is slated in our adjusted DIY schedule to be remodeled in the next two years unless something else causes further delay. It probably will not be pretty when it is done. Try to overlook the plainness. Focus on what is working and most importantly the things you can adapt for use in your own home.