Organized Simplicity...the plan

So I found this new book and the title caught my eye...Organized Simplicity. There has never been a book title that could so accurately reflect my desires for my home. Both words indicate peaceful living and hospitality.

Then a friend of mine ordered the book and posted it on Facebook. Like the generous person she is, she allowed me to peek at it. It only took an afternoon of glimpsing through the chapters to know this would be worth my time to read. So I came up with a plan.

Two very dear friends and I have been wanting to plan a trip to my hometown in Florida. We wanted to unplug and spend time leisurely enjoying walks around the lake and share great conversation over good food. So for the next 10 weeks we will be reading through Part 1 of Organized Simplicity. Then we will load up my van and head down chomping at the bit to share our lightbulb moments and of course relax! When we return we will begin Part 2 which is the practical application of the book. I am truly looking forward to all the aspects of this little bookish adventure and can not wait to share it all with you.

Organized Simplicity...Writing the Purpose Statement

As you may have previously read, I am enjoying reading through Organized Simplicity. I find myself working through drawers and closets a little bit at a time and feeling like with each effort I am working towards my goal of simple living.

Recently I added myself to my husband's work schedule and booked us a staycation getaway. Tucked away in my suitcase was my book. One of my goals was to just sit and talk with him and work through a family purpose statement. Over a leisurely breakfast in the hotel lobby, we sat and discussed our family. I listened as he shared his thoughts and opinions...he was a patient man to do this with me. As he spoke I wrote down what he said and have spent the past few days mulling over our conversation.

Our family is entering a new season as one more prepares to leave the nest but two still remain. I have been deeply challenged by this task. As I put our conversation in to a simple timeless purpose statement I find words like intentional, service, and love surrounding the goals and ideals we are raising our family in. I am pondering, at least for a while, putting our statement in a framed chalkboard to rest on our kitchen table. This is the place where we school, where we eat, where we build relationships. It seems only fitting.

Organized Simplicity...the family room

Why is that when you have company coming the desire to spruce things up and decorate always magnifies? As the end of the school year continues to eek its way ever closer I find my mind filled with ideas on how to fix up the house before our upcoming graduation. This time it is a bit different though because I am also hearing the words from the pages of Organized Simplicity flow through my mind.


This past week my personal decorator, my sister, visited and in between baking every sweet known to man in some new contraption called Babycakes and a spa visit we managed to tweak a blue accent wall I had painted (we did repaint it!) Balance and simplicity had been achieved.

But wait...shopping around the house worked out great for my living room and dining room but my family room was crying for some attention. Over time, it has become the family dumping grounds for all the misfit and "not sure what to do with items." My 17 year old even called me in to the room for a conference where she then laid out a plan to get this room back in gear. First she said I needed to take everything down. Then she replied that I would need to just start over.

What? Start over? Ugh that sounds so tiring. Are you sure?

My family room has lost it's purpose and so it is time to clear out this room of all the pictures, little knick knacks and only return that which fits our family purpose statement. I will examine each item and ask the question, "Is it useful or beautiful to anyone in the family?"  My goal is not to go and buy a bunch of new stuff but rather incorporate what I have. (side note: I hear that's the definition of redesign)

And so our journey begins...

Organized Simplicity...the calendar

Words can not describe how much Organized Simplicity, has been rolling around in my mind. It seems like each week a new facet is brought forth for me to consider. This week it is the calendar.

With four kids we can easily spend much of our time in the car shuttling them here and there. There is no doubt that our life is filled with seasons and there are times when commitments overlap and it is necessary but overall we can over-schedule ourselves. For our family a compromise was to allow the children to play sports but only one child per season. This decision was brought about after a particular sports season where several nights of the week were spent at practices and Saturdays were spent criss-crossing town while mom and dad tag teamed which child's game they would watch. We were out and about more than we were in. As a result, we were all feeling the stress this stretched-thin calendar. I longed for peaceful evenings with my family and dinner around the table and so our compromise was reached.

Recently we again had to spend more time in the car than I would have liked driving the older children. As we finally emerge from this season I am reminded once again how precious the calendar truly is and how we should diligently guard it. Free time is valuable time for a child as well as a family. It is in these moments when we process the events and knowledge of the day. Charlotte Mason calls this materly inactivity.

'Masterly Inactivity.'––A blessed thing in our mental constitution is, that once we receive an idea, it will work itself out, in thought and act, without much after-effort on our part; and, if we admit the idea of 'masterly inactivity' as a factor in education, we shall find ourselves framing our dealings with children from this standpoint, without much conscious effort.
Charlotte Mason Volume 3 Chapter 3

Post-holiday To-do's...

The last few hours of 2011 have expired and the decorations have all been packed away. New toys are being played with and we have said good bye to our guests and relatives. The party season has ended and life can now return to normal.

This past week, we began the joyful process of reorganizing and putting life back in order. I pulled out an old favorite, Organized Simplicity and started the task. The first day we worked in the kitchen moving things around. My thought process was to discard the clutter and make simple changes.

Switched cabinets and created better zones for cooking.

I was merciless with my Tupperware, no mate...not staying

After that we moved on to our den. This room has been a work-in-progress for months so it felt good to get in here with a trash bag and Pinterest for inspiration. We played around with our family gallery wall and rearranged my desk area. I even had fun getting crafty. This is still unfinished but now I have better vision of what needs to be done to complete. I can now enjoy the journey without all the frustration.

Thankful for a talented husband who tolerates my ideas!

I have been playing around with this for a long time. I saw just what I was trying to achieve in BHG magazine.
Can't wait until it is done.

Our final day of 2011 we spent our afternoon in the living room and dining room. Our donation box has gotten bigger and our trash can is full and it feels so good.

As we ring in the new year, I am rereading Organized Simplicity and contemplating once again the atmosphere of my home and how best to manage it. I would love to have some company and maybe even a fun book club night and share. For now I am armed with my favorite things and ready to tackle the new year. This week, I am switching gears and spending time preparing for school.

Organized Simplicity...the home

ReDesign Concepts

As I mentioned previously we are reading Organized Simplicity and as I continue to digest this topic I have been struck by the notion of the simple home.

When we were newly married, we were stationed in California. I sold my car so that I could be a stay-at-home mom and we made adjustments to being a one car family. The kids were young and we walked everywhere we needed to get to. Fridays were set aside to clean the house and catch up on laundry which I could have finished before school got out. Our weekends were also simple. Long leisurely nights sitting on the back porch swinging, looking out over the fields and talking into the wee hours.

Often my husband and I comment how much simpler life was back then. The house was less cluttered, our commitments were not so scattered.I think I have always had a desire to live as simplistically as possible, but life tends to happen. Children are born, we collect more things, we make more commitments and before we know it we are tired and worn out. I certainly recognize that life is full of seasons and as I am currently leaving one and entering a new season, I can not help but ponder the simple home.

What does it look like now?

First of all I would like to say that God has blessed me with some incredible women in my life and I glean from them all. First my mother. I describe her as June Cleaver. She made our house a home. Her housework was never displayed as a burden. She took great joy in being a homemaker, wife, and mother. The atmosphere in our home was welcoming and filled with happiness.

Then there is my sister. I describe her as the ReDesign Fairy. She is so talented and just an all-round wonderful person. A few years back she took what little I had and made both my husband and I fall in love with our home. She set the wheels in motion. Paint, a few pictures, and creative decorating made our home something we loved. Before long she has transformed our home in to a place where we could school, put it all away and enjoy dinner by candlelight. I am thankful for that gift. The decorating was the icing on the cake but the real joy came from the atmosphere she helped me create for my home.

When my husband is not travelling we try very hard (stress the word, try) to have the main living area cleaned up before he comes home from work. For me this is a simple act of love telling him that we appreciate all his hard work and long hours to provide for us. I don't want him to feel the stress of housework or schoolwork when he walks through the front door. Making sure that everything has a home is important to me. Clean up should be simple and can be beautiful as well. It's all about the atmosphere you create in your home. Having homes for our things and putting all together with fabrics and textures and paint help create the right atmosphere.

Education is a Life...Mornings

As I continue to meditate on Organized Simplicity, I find myself seeking more intentional schooling. I can look back over the conferences I have attended, webinars I have participated in, and books I have read I see that this is what God has been preparing in me for a while...intentional schooling! With that said, I thought I would share the evolution of our typical school day.

This is mainly what the later half of our week looks like. On Monday we host a co-op here in our home and I try to stick to the idea of the schedule but am realistic enough to know that things happen and that my schedule is meant to be my guide not my dictator. On Tuesdays we are out of the home for a different co-op and after school activities.

Mornings:

We begin our morning with dictation.
I use the Well-Planned Day for our choices.
I do love that planner!
After dictating the selection, we read over it again and punctuate the sentence.
This is where we briefly discuss grammar. We will get more grammar during writing.

This is my youngest's handwriting book.
He copies an English proverb in cursive and then practices saying & writing phonograms.

In order to give our hands a break, we switch gears and read aloud a lesson.

After our Thinking Toolbox lesson, we pull out our respective math lessons and work quietly.

Sometimes I will turn on a Pandora playlist depending on our mood!

Then on to my favorite subjects.
Honestly I could spend hours here and try really hard not to be overwhelming.
I let Tapestry of Grace "drive" the subject.

We read a variety of books and work in our Century Charts or History notebooks.
In this picture, my youngest is reading Story of the World while listening to the CD

Once again, Tapestry of Grace is my resource for Literature study.
I find that the pace is a little ambitious for our family so we do slow things down a bit.
Planning helps in this area.
I have also been having great success with the Go!Chart and like pulling this out on occasion.


Afternoons:
One area of weakness I have is science.
Knowing this about me, we have chosen to seek co ops that offer the sciences.
During the week, each one works on the reading and labs and/or activities are done in co op.
This has been a great help

This is the core of our year. We have languages, music study, art study, etc. but these are not daily activities and so they are interspersed throughout the week.
We also have books we read and our Bible study time before school or in the evenings.

Each year our typical day looks a little different as our needs and schedules change. Only recently have I been able to turn over the responsibility of driving the older ones to their work and activities. This has certainly helped to keep the atmosphere of our day in order. I try very hard to guard our calendar and truly pray over our long-term commitments. Each year has different priorities and goals. I am enjoying our mornings quite a bit more but a huge part of that is being prepared myself. It is not enough to say you want to live simplistically. I think the other part of that must be organization. When things become crazy I still have a plan. I still have a system that I can rely on with minimal effort. I am truly enjoying seeing all the threads of my life weaving together and am finding great peace in knowing the God has been the one behind it all. I am finding great joy in my mornings!

Purpose Statement...

I have really been enjoying Organized Simplicity. I think this has been a topic near and dear to my heart for quite some time. I am currently on the topic of creating a family purpose statement. As I read, this got me to thinking about my educational philosophy for my family when we first started. I remember stating clearly what my desires were for their education and how this has helped guide me in my decision making. So now this week I am faced with the challenge of asking my husband and I to define our purpose as a family. I am looking forward to some quiet hours, time with God, and time with my husband as we search for this.

What would your educational purpose be? What about your family purpose? Could you put it in to a simple, timeless statement?