February Refreshing – Focus and Rejuvenate
I’m focused around here right now – considering our space, refreshing shelves, booklists, and setting out February reading baskets and displays! It’s been busy because it has prompted some honest question/answer time with myself…and the consequence of that time spent means addressing those things that may not be working, or bending things to fit better!
One of the things I had to finally admit was that my learning room storage had become un-manageable, cluttered, and a general mess. So, I spent a week emptying my storage closet, sorting, trashing, and re-organizing. Contented sigh.
But it was a lot of work!
February can be a very reflective time, as well as a very active time (sorting, purging, re-organizing) in home educating circles – a time to consider how the year has been going, and what hasn’t been accomplished what’s left to be done.
If you’re refreshing this February and considering spaces – how they fit (or, as in our case, how they didn’t fit us any more and needed to be reworked) – if you’re considering booklists and perhaps considering tweaking them a bit, or if you’re just looking around and not even sure where to begin…I invite you to revisit:
Focus and Rejuvenate: A Plan for Short-circuiting the February Blues
Lovely, Jen! No February blues here because the weather is lovely, I’ve completed a few big tasks, and there is little baseball (the calm before the storm.) But I am looking at one space, my home office, to get in complete working order. Thanks for inspiration!
No February blues here either, Angie – but it’s not because the weather has been super lovely! 😉 Merciful heavens – this has been a brutal winter for the south! Still…I do love the challenge to refresh and turn toward smoother days! Good luck on your home office! You’d be amazed how much more inspiring and enjoyable a space can be once it has been reorganized and refreshed! Happy freshening!
I’m taking a 5 minute break in my sunny office. Next up? Hanging cork boards and sorting books 🙂
GO Angie!!!!! Next up: blog pics of your sunny office, friend!
You know it! And I’ll have Ian take the pics because he’s quite a good photographer 🙂
Re-organised space, oh bliss! and fresh books on display:) btw our library is auctioning its furniture soon and I’m so hoping to win the bid on picture book display stands
How exciting it would be if you could get one of the picture book displays, Erin! My fingers are crossed for you! I have loved having ours around for our littles! It’s so cheery and inviting! Keep us posted – I’ll be watching your blog for pics if you get yours!!
We’ve been freshening here because we are trying to move! Our house has been on the market for a couple of weeks. One can accumulate an enormous amount in 10 years with 8 kids! It was a stressful beginning, but now my husband and I both appreciate our uncluttered space. We are reading more, if that makes any sense?! I feel like I have so much more time to sit on the couch and read to the littles because I am not constantly pushing clutter around (which I used to call cleaning)! Your blog is such an inspiration! Thanks! P.S. I can’t express how giddy I get when you post pictures of your book cart! Love, love, love it!! It is on my wishlist!
There is nothing like an impending move to help you BRUTALLY de-clutter, Judith! And that really DOES feel great! I’m so glad you’re enjoying those fresher, simpler, more intuitive spaces! Good luck on the house sale and move! And so glad you enjoy the picture book cart, too! It is so inviting and charming!
Love your blog- esp the ideas for organizing an inspiring & beautiful space for learning. Could you please tell me where you got the book display case in the 2nd to last picture above? Thank you!
Hi Lisa,
Thanks so much for your question! That picture book display cart is one of my favorite things! I’ll warn you: it is an investment piece! When I found it online (almost 6 years ago), it took me a couple of years to save up for it, but I have not regretted it! I love the wheels on it and being able to move it around the room as needed! And, my littles and I just delight in the seasonal picture book displays we can create! It’s a way to anchor our reading to the liturgical and natural seasons and display our books beautifully! I have started a Favorite Things Page for my learning room (I’ve really only just started adding to it…so it’s quite bare now!), but the picture book cart was one of the first things I had to add!
Jen, coming back to say this is one of my favorite blog posts of all time! I had a quick question-maybe it will lead to a post..lol…how do you remember what is in your home library (or supplies for that matter)!! In starting to pack up to move I am sad that my books are unorganized, not categorized in any way . Do you keep a list of all of your book titles? Also, where do you buy your books and how do you find such great titles? If you’ve already answered this a hundred times, I’m sorry to ask again!
Sorry, Jen! I meant to leave the above comment on the “Learning Spaces” post! Ugh..doing too many things at once. You can disregard the comment though, as I found detailed posts on a 4Real thread from you and several others organize books and wishlists! Thanks!
No problem, Judith!! And you know, I’ve never really given a detailed post here with pics of my shelves and books – and how I organize them. I think that would make a great future post! I’ll add it to my list! Thanks for making the request…and glad you found some ideas on 4Real in the meantime!
Hi Jen, your blog is inspirational – thankyou!
Could you tell me about the Feb Calendar page in the photo please? Not the E Holden picture the other next to it.
Hi Emma!
That calendar is from Natural Science Through the Seasons by James Partridge. The book contains wonderful monthly calendars that contain inspiring ideas to follow along with the natural seasons. I highly recommend it!