Project: Homeschool Station

When I started homeschooling Kady I had to come up with a way to store our work and supplies. This is my solution. It is kinda pretty as well as kind of organized since it sits right in our kitchen!

The board is adapted from http://www.1plus1plus1equals1.com/Calendar2.html. We also use their wipe-off Calendar Notebook ideas. The big pages are Bible verse lessons and a song. The smaller ones are the basic foundations of our week but I don't focus too much on them. Just a guide. She uses the notebook for these things as well as ABC's and counting, month, day, year and shapes and shape drawing.

The cart used to be a basic white cart. I painted it gray-brown and added chalkboards on both sides (mostly to entertain Kynzie while helping Kady!)

Inside we use a workbox system. The bottom shelf has learning toys for Kynzie and the top has Kady's to do boxes. I only use 3 for Kady because most of the stuff I have to keep up high away from little inquisitive hands! The drawer holds supplies that are easy to get for Kady whatever her project is. Everything has a place and she is good at putting things away when she knows where they go! Less clean up for me. My coat closet also holds a hanging shoe organizer that keeps my stuff up high, but that is not very neat yet so that post will have to wait!

My ideal organized kitchen.....

This is what my ideal kitchen looks like.

This is what my kitchen really looks like. Please don't tell anyone. Do you see why Pinterest is my best friend right now! I knew before I saw that pic that I wanted a more organized space but I didn't know how much.

And here is the finished....well life is a work in progress and so is my home, but this is what I have done so far!

Now doesn't that look much better! I just wish I had white cabinets. But for a rental house in a border town this will just have to do. Although, shelf liners would be a nice touch. In the next house for sure. 

I found these labels here. I edited them, printed on regular white paper and attached with contact paper. I used plastic ware and mason jars to store it all. I thought of using label stickers but I am a messy cook and I thought they should be covered. Also, this was much more thrifty!

Feathering our nest (well cleaning it first!)

I found Pinterest.....I know, I know....it's about time. I found Pinterest and with it a whole long list of projects I want to start. Actually, I want to finish them. I decided to start this blog with some of these projects. This is my attempt at making our home more peaceful and organized, feathering our nest. But I have to do this is a thrifty way. I am also working on being content. In my mind, being content means savoring every moment of each day and seeing the wonder in God's beautiful world around us. That doesn't equal going out and buying lots of cute decorations from the store (even though that would be fun too!) It also doesn't equal adding to the wasteful lifestyle we can all sometimes lead. So I am attempting to feather our nest in an economical and green way!

The first thing I am going to try is organizing and cleaning. You have to start with a clean house right? I found these products online while searching for organizing and cleaning tips. I have tried every homemade and/or natural product you can find and to be honest....none of them work as well as I would like. With a dirty Army man, two dirty kids and a dirty dog most cleaners don't stand a chance. I actually used these products years ago when I started cleaning houses. They worked really well from what I remember so I reactivated my info and I am trying them again. You can view a video here that was on Rachael Ray...

And then you can click here to learn about all the products.






So I am going to try them and give an honest review on how they work. It seems ideal....organized, green, economical (they last FOREVER!) and effective (from what I remember!) I ordered a few to try out and I will let you know the results asap!