… who really should be having her baby, instead of reading blogs and cleaning light fixtures! 😉 I didn’t even need to “mess it up a little!” When I take pictures in the kitchen, there is usually at least one counter surface that is carefully excluded. Who wants to remember the messes?!? I can assure you, we have plenty in our home, even if I don’t take pictures of them very often. 🙂
And… If anyone has any great tips for all the paper clutter, that goes along with home educating, I’d love to hear them. I’m hoping to tackle the disaster that is in our school room this weekend!
Thank you for keeping it real. You have a beautiful kitchen, mess and all.
Thank you! It wasn't long ago that my kitchen looked dirty and messy, even when it was clean! After living in our home for 10 years we finally remodeled our kitchen. It has been such an incredible blessing!
Even non homeschooling moms have regular messes. I just managed to finish picking up all the wrapping paper and other Christmas leftovers that are in our downstairs office. Things just don't get done with new babies. Your kitchen looks really beautiful! The pendant lights are lovely!
Carla
(Big, big smile)
You're awesome. 🙂
Are those neatly stacked books and papers the mess? If they are I might cry. I've been fighting a losing battle with cluttered countertops for the past two and a half weeks.
I have to admit, I think your kitchen looks lovely! When I had littles, that would have been my kitchen on a really great day! But I love that it looks homey and lived in. And I am seriously coveting that mixer on the counter.
lol. i was thinking the same thing. i'm beyond crying. shouts of praise to you, jessica.
Ad Jesum per Mariam
lovely home, "mess" and all.
i just spoke to my girls about how my messy house is for God. i'm serious! i can't do it all! as result, my house takes a back seat. dad encourages me to focus on seeking Him in the people that He has placed before me. i'm working on embracing each season that He wills for me. it's really just another opportunity for me to die to self.
i got two words for you, as far as schoolroom clutter goes — locked doors. i don't know what i was thinking when i sought to display my school supplies as art. i'm getting ready to implement a multilevel security clearance for the school room and school supplies. another option, that i'm actually considering, is a MAJOR purge. i'm waiting to hear back from the principal as to which option will be implemented. 🙂
i can't wait to see what you come up with for your schoolroom.
I have researched and used all kinds of curriculum and just couldn't keep the clutter or my homeschool under control. The planning was also a nightmare for me. I just started my kids with the Classical Liberal Arts Academy and I LOVE it! It's such a great program and it's so easy and there is no clutter because all the lessons are on the computer. I don't have to plan anything or keep buying books every year. At first I thought it was going to be "too boring" but my kids really love it and they aren't distracted by all the "stuff" in our home anymore because I've gotten rid of it. It has really helped us simplify and I can still add in some fun cooking or art projects a couple of times a week.
We have all kinds of paper clutter even though we don't homeschool (except the summer when I supplement). I have found a tickler system to be working for time dated stuff. You write the info in the calendar with a circled t. Then you have a paper tray of 12 folders for each month. You stick the paper in thebappropriate month. And, when the date arrives you know where the paper/info is.
As far as other paper we do wall envelopes. Two for each child works right now. One for things I want to keep and another for things I won't keep. The won't keep gets photographed before being trashed. I'm sure it will evolve as they get older. Paper clutter drives me nuts!!
But, your paper clutter even manages to look organized. Haha!
hhhmmm I have some thoughts on paper and curriculum overload (aka clutter). But I'll have to comment on it later today. So I'll be back 😉
It seems we are all birds of a feather! My hubby was just giving me a talk about all my piles again. I decided to make war on them but we will see how long it lasts! Baskets and bins have been blessings of ideas here for containing all those books and papers that seem to show up. At least the pile is organized in something pretty 😉
Jessica your kitchen is beautiful even if it is 'messy'. I'm afraid my kitchen is always piled with clutter of which I've been trying to tackle! I know you are a fan of Pintrest and there are a ton of organization ideals on there for homeschooling and homeschool rooms. Seems to be a topic that everyone is trying to figure out! I think we are all in the same boat. Most homes were not really made to live in. It seems they were more made to sleep in and the livng was done some where else along with the cooking. But God gives us everything we need, sometimes it just takes some creativity to figure out how to use it!
We recently gave our tv away so we could focus on other things but were left with a handbuilt huge tv cabinet that was a wedding gift. And in moving our TV we had school stuff scattered all over the place. I ended up turning the tv cabinet into my school storage center. Putting some shelves in the hole the tv was in (it was one of those big clunky kind) and putting bins in it for our school books, a couple of filing crates for file folder games and paperwork and then some magazine filing boxes for books and magazines. The drawers are filled with school supplies, notebooks, file folders, paper, binding supplies ect. It still lives in our bedroom but it is all contained now and looks decent. God gives us everything we need! Just prayerfully we have the eyes to see it with and take His inspirations to heart. Our family quote at the moment seems to be "Do what is necessary, then do what is possible and suddenly you are doing the impossible." ~ St. Francis of Assisi
I'll take your mess over my "neat" any day. My pantry (read: Ikea basement shelves I've shoved into a corner of my kitchen) is almost always filled with everything that doesn't have a place anywhere else in addition to the things that do belong there. You're kitchen is lovely!
Jessica – I have a counter like that and it is driving me CRAZY. I am currently brainstorming things I can do to fix the problem. I even have a small bookshelf under my bar, but it still isn't helping. (Might if I didn't have a grabby 2yo, but that is reality right now.) Love your kitchen, though. Very beautiful.
Oh, puh-lease, that is NOT a "messy" counter!! 😉
lol! I agree with Jennifer above. I have an organized mess Jessica. My kitchen is so in need of repair. It's where we eat, school, and gather as a family. Years from now the mess won't matter, it's all the Love and dedication of schooling and feeding our lil' ones that will bring back the memories for them and for ourselves. Blessings to you! =)