If you haven't done so already, get rid of unused items in your home and store little-used ones out of the way.  This will make things a whole lot easier for you all year long!

The “Four-Box Dejunking Method” below is recommended by many experts to help you identify and dispose of clutter.

 •  Get four boxes and label them:
1)  Throw Away
2)  Give Away or Sell
3)  Storage
4)  Put Away

 •  Clear your home, room by room, and item by item.

 •  Make a decision about each item you pick up and place it in the correct box.

 •  Schedule time before you stop working each day to appropriately dispose of box contents.

In Newsletter #246, read tips about how to become motivated to get your house in order, plan your decluttering strategies, find a place for everything, and keep clutter out of your home.

A thorough house cleaning from attic to basement may be easier to do during summer break.

 •  You might want to set aside a week, or a full or partial day each week, for cleaning until it is done.

 •  As you clean, continue using the 4-box method of getting rid of clutter.

 •  Find professional cleaning products and notes on how to use them at Don Aslett’s Cleanreport.com.

 •  Clean each room and and deal with each and every item, nook, and cranny.  See a week-by-week, room-by-room cleaning plan.

 •  Clean as a team.  Assign each member of your family a chore (some may want to specialize) and see how much more you can do by working together.

This is another foundational back-to-home-school preparation that will pay dividends by making your home run smoothly during school months.

Each member of the family can and should have responsibilities that make a contribution to the success of the whole family.

When you can, schedule chores so that the whole family is actually working together at the same time.  This is not only extremely encouraging to each one, but it also provides a good example of your attitude towards work and your diligence in doing a good job.

We can use chores as double duty – to keep our homes running efficiently and to teach our children responsibility and life skills.

Your children's training and practice in various life skills will grow as they work with you.  When able, children may take responsibility for entire areas, thus rehearsing for adult life.

Assign chores. A chore chart on the refrigerator makes sure everyone knows what their duties are, and checking off the jobs that are done provides motivation.

For a simple list of chores, read "Magic Minimum: Cleaning Secret of Organized Families."

"Service Opportunities Chart" from Doorposts will help you simplify chore assignments and teach your children biblical principles of work.

Describe chores.  Write out a 3x5 card with the name of the chore, what it entails, check points to tell if the job is completed, the estimated time the job should take, and what supplies to use.

Consider homemade, nontoxic, and low-cost cleaning products.  See recipes at www.OrganizedHome.com.

Also keep supplies close to the job, even if that means two sets of supplies (e.g., for the upstairs and downstairs bathrooms).

Take time to train your children how to do each job to your standards and on time.  Have your child watch you do the job as you explain it, then have him do the job while you watch and offer confirmation or correction.

 •  Read "Speed Cleaning Tips from Cleaning Pros."

 •  Read "7 Ways To Teach Responsibility through Chores" in Newsletter #45, "The Advantages of Habits" in Newsletter #89, and "17 Ways To Form Good Habits" in Newsletter #90.

Determine what space you will use for school.  This may vary from subject to subject or from child to child, but might include:

 •  Kitchen table for math and writing.

 •  Couches in living room for multi-age classes or reading.

 •  Desk for older child's independent study.

 •  Computer stations.
The safest option is to keep Internet use in an open area, often frequented by family members, or be with your child when he is on the Internet.

See "Ergonomic Considerations" in the sidebar at left.

Also establish space where those not in school (preschoolers, husbands with a day off, etc.) can be free to enjoy themselves without disturbing students.

Set aside space for school books, reference books, supplies, and records:

 •  Use shelves, drawers, or sturdy plastic crates or boxes

 •  Label clearly (with a child's name, subject, or item) so everyone knows where to return things

 •  Ensure spaces are easily accessible and ample enough to add more items without crowding.

Find many innovative and practical ideas in "Storage Strategies for Homeschool Families."

Homeschoolers never have too many books; they just don't have enough bookshelves!

To organize your library, first go through all the books in your home and sort them:

 •  Throw away any books that are not worth saving.

 •  Instead of keeping boxes of old workbooks that your children have done, consider removing the cover and a few sample pages from each one, then staple them together and file them.

 •  Give away or sell duplicate books unless they are really great, hard-to-get books that you want to keep to loan out or save for your children’s future libraries.

 •  Check with friends who might want to trade curriculum.

 •  Sell books in a yardsale or on the Internet on ABE Books or Amazon.com.

 •  Clean books as you go with safe methods that will help preserve them.

 •  Store like books together in different places in your home.  Examples:

 •  You might want to safely store books that your children want to take with them when they start their own families.

When you have completed work on your library you should be able to find and use your books better!