The Best Homeschool Organization Ideas That Work for Everyone

You don’t have to be organized to homeschool, but it does make it easier. Learning how to organize your materials is a pretty big part of the homeschooling journey. After deciding to homeschool, and determining which materials you’ll purchase, the next big question is ‘Where can I put all this stuff?’ Today, I am sharing great Homeschool Organization Ideas with you.

Homeschool Organization Ideas

A quick Pinterest search will reveal beautiful and elaborate homeschool rooms with various design and storage options. Having a designated homeschool room has lots of benefits, but it’s not realistic for everyone.

We don’t all have the extra space for a schoolroom. Some of us barely have any space as it is! Fortunately, it is possible to homeschool in a small space and equally likely to learn at home with no space at all.

Keep reading to discover how you can organize your homeschool and get busy learning even without a schoolroom.

How do you organize for homeschooling?

My mom always said, “a place for everything and everything in its place,” as she sent us off to clean our rooms growing up. It was true with our toys then, and it’s even more true with school supplies. Things can get messy quickly when you homeschool, so it’s important to have designated spaces to keep books, manipulatives, and other supplies.

Need storage ideas? Here are a few suggestions from a veteran homeschool mom:

Bookshelves– Giving each child a shelf for their individual supplies can be a great way to keep things organized. Bookshelves are also a great place to store games, manipulatives, and craft supplies like scissors and glue.

Drawers– Big or small, drawers are perfect for keeping things like paper clips, staples, sticker sheets, and flashcards organized.

Storage Bins– Plastic or fabric bins make it easy to store clay, paint, and crayons. Plus, they’re easy to stack on your bookshelf.

Having a designated spot for all your items saves time by making it easy to find the supplies you need for each lesson.

Organization Ideas for Small Spaces

So, how do you organize a homeschool room when you don’t have one? The good news is that homeschooling in a small space is totally doable. Yes, families homeschool in tiny houses, in apartments, and even in RVs! How do they do it?

First, change your mindset. We all know that learning can happen anywhere and everywhere, but we still tend to marry the idea that we need a special schoolroom for real and meaningful learning. It’s just not true. One of the most important things to remember about homeschooling is that homeschool is NOT school at home. Embrace the beauty and freedom of homeschooling, where you can read great literature while snuggling on the couch, practicing handwriting while sprawled on the floor in pajamas, and learn chemistry from your kitchen. You can homeschool from your bedroom or move all over the house! You can even homeschool outside; I highly recommend it.

Check out these practical tips for learning in small spaces:

Be realistic. Now is the time to think about what will actually work in the space that you have. Daydreaming about a fabulous schoolroom can be fun, but it won’t help you prepare for teaching your kids in the dining room.

Prioritize. Think about the items you will need and consider which things you can do without. You’ll need books, paper, and writing materials. You can probably live without a fancy globe, an art easel, and a giant whiteboard. Okay, maybe get the whiteboard.

Find Storage Solutions. There are tons of creative storage solutions for just about any space. Take a trip to IKEA and explore your options, or spend some time on Pinterest discovering ways to hide extra storage in the spaces you have available.

Stay on top of clutter. Once it gets out of hand, you’ll find yourself wishing you hadn’t let it happen. Putting away items as soon as you’re finished with them is one way to cut back on the clutter. Another idea is to commit to getting rid of one item for every new item you bring in.

Remember, comparison is the thief of joy so don’t compare yourself to others. Spending too much time drooling over dreamy spacious homeschool rooms on Pinterest can make you feel self-conscious and inadequate. So, get real about your space and find ways to love it even if it’s smaller than your dream schoolroom.

Creating a Distraction-Free Zone

Even without a designated homeschool room, you can create a space for your children to learn and complete tasks that require focus. Sometimes, we all get distracted. If you have children with ADHD or Autism, it can be especially important to provide a distraction-free zone where they can focus on the task at hand to the best of their ability.

Here are some ways you can keep it simple to keep them focused:

Remove obvious clutter. Keep the table clear for school work. Don’t hang too many distracting posters on the wall. Clear away any toys in the room that might be distracting.

Limit screens. Only keep the screens you need. A television playing in the background would likely distract any child, so working on assignments in the living room with cartoons on probably isn’t the best idea.

Choose music carefully. Sometimes classical music or music without words playing in the background can help kids drown out distracting noises. However, pop music and sing-alongs should be off-limits while you’re reading and solving equations.

Get outside. Can I tell you a secret? Having school outside is my favorite. When it’s possible, taking lessons outside can have an amazing effect on everyone.

Having a calm homeschool space is an excellent place for learning to begin.

Check out 5 Ways to Have a Peaceful Homeschool Room by clicking here.

Homeschool Room Ideas

I’ll be honest, homeschooling can be chaotic even with the best organization. If you’re a minimalist, you might wonder how it’s possible to live a minimalist lifestyle and homeschool. Just as minimalism has seeped into other areas of your life, you can apply the principles to homeschooling too.

Taking a minimalist approach to homeschool can be a fantastic way to create a learning space in your home when you’re short on space. But it’s also a great way to help minimize the stress and anxiety that clutter and disorganized materials can create.

Minimalist Homeschool Room

How can you use minimalism to create the perfect homeschool space? Try implementing this minimalist principle: It’s not just about the physical stuff. There is a difference between homeschooling with few materials and being a minimalist homeschooler.

Decluttering can be helpful. Going digital fits nicely into a minimalist lifestyle too. Homeschooling like a minimalist is about much more than that! Minimalist homeschooling doesn’t just affect your materials and set up. It involves the subjects and activities you include in your schedule. Carefully curating the subjects and activities you pursue with your kids will help cut down on physical and mental clutter.

Then, check out these tips for getting started:

Start with a clean slate. When you begin with a clean slate, you can see all the room’s possibilities. As an added bonus, clearing the room forces you to question everything you put back in and determine whether you need it or not.

Define your goals. If you have no idea why you are homeschooling, take the time to really define that. If you don’t know what your educational goals are, your schedule will be subject to whims and whatever anyone else says you “should” be doing.

Understand that less really is more. You don’t have to do every subject every year. Minimalist homeschooling allows you to arrange your schedule in a way that makes sense to you and your family. Minimalism gives you the freedom to really focus on a few things and do them very well.

Trust the process of homeschooling. Remember, homeschooling is a journey. Homeschooling is a lifestyle. When you decide to homeschool your kids, their learning will follow a different path than most public school students, and that’s totally okay.

Wanna know the best part of homeschooling? We can be creative!

Learning at home doesn’t need to look like learning in a classroom.

We can be creative not just with our schedule and materials but also with our spaces. Sometimes small spaces require extra creativity, but we can make our homes work for homeschooling with or without a designated school room.

Homeschool Room Organization Ideas

Take time to talk with your kids about what they want and need, and write down your thoughts. Spend some time in your space (even if it’s a small one) thinking about the possibilities.

Then, if you need to get some inspiration from Pinterest, remember to not stress afterward.

If you are doing seasonal shopping, add this back to school clothes inventory and shopping list to keep track of what you need and have.

I hope the suggestions above gave you some great ideas to get started, but I promise you can create a space for learning in your home without a Pinterest-perfect homeschool room.