How to Organize Homeschool
Learning how to keep all the homschool materials organized so you don’t lose your mind with mess is an art. It’s important to let the kids learn and explore and that takes a lot of stuff… but how do you keep it together when shool is not in session? Learn exactly how to organize homeschool! Even if You Live in a Small Space and Hate Clutter as Much as I Do
**This post contains affiliate links to the items we’re using to organize our homeschool. You can read the disclosure here if you want.
Homeschooling is messy
There’s nothing you can say otherwise… it just is!
There’s curriculum on the table, science experiments in the kitchen, glue sticks and markers without lids, paint where it shouldn’t be, books in the bathroom, and someone always losing their pencil… again. And don’t even get me started on the random little scraps of paper that end up everywhere by the end of the day.
If you’re anything like me, clutter makes your brain itch. I need order. I need structure. I want things to have a home—preferably behind closed cabinet doors—and I need to be able to clean it all up in ten minutes flat when company’s coming (or when I just need to feel like my house isn’t a never-ending craft store explosion).
And yes—this need for order? It doesn’t exactly pair naturally with homeschooling three girls ranging from kindergarten to high school. But here we are, 11 years in, and I can finally say: I’ve found systems that actually work.
Systems that keep everything in its place (mostly), make it easy to clean up, and won’t drive you crazy—even in a small space like an apartment.
So today I’m sharing exactly how I organize our homeschool life so that it supports our learning without taking over the house.
Because yes, you can homeschool without losing your mind to the mess.
1. Designate a Homeschool Command Center
(Even If It’s Just a Corner)
You don’t need a Pinterest-worthy school room (but no judgment if you have one—go, you!). You just need one central space where everything lives.
This could be:
- A cabinet (I find dining room cabinets or pantry cabinets work REALLY well especially if you have the room and a lot of supplies.) I our last house the entire wall of our dining room had built ins and it was ALL homeschool stuff and craft supplies… it was nice.
- A bookshelf or cube storage (I prefer the latter BY FAR)
- A rolling cart
- Dresser drawers (they work well believe it or not) or plastic drawers (here’s the one we picked this year so it looks a little nicer).
There’s no right or wrong answer to which of these will work for you but consider how much your kids like crafts (you’ll need drawers for all that), whether or not you plan on having a lot of math manipulatives or science kits (that stuff gets messy… I like bins or cupboards to hide it), how much space you have, how much work you’re doing online, etc.
We have homeschooled in 8 houses across 3 states… from a tiny apartment to a big ol’ house. Right now we are in a mid-sized apartment, but we just lost all our things to toxic mold so I got to build a brand new school room in a brand new space this year!
Our dining room has a lot of extra space because I don’t like putting bar stools at the bar (I see fights between the kids and tiny people falling if I were to do that). So I added in an 8 cube storage unit and a nicer plastic drawer set. I lined some of the walls with whiteboard sticky paper, and got bins to organize.
2. Use Bins and Baskets Like Your Sanity Depends On It
(Because it does.)
I swear by bins and labels. Each kid gets their own bin for daily morning work—folders, notebooks, current books, all of it.
We also have bins for each subject within the cube storage. Then I’ll have drawers for electronics and chargers, for crafts and home ec supplies, for manipulatives and science kits, etc.
I’ll have short bins for our other subjects too like Girl Scouts, mental health, reading, etc. SOME bins at the Dollar Tree are ok (some have gotten so cheap as of recently) but you can spend a tad more and get thicker bins at Walmart, Target, and the like too.
3. Store Curriculum You’re Not Using Right Now
Don’t let the stuff you might use later take over your everyday space.
I only keep out what we’re actively using this term or unit. Everything else gets:
- Filed in a labeled bin
- Stored in the closet
- Or put into a box
Less visible clutter = less stress. It also helps keep everyone focused on what we need now, not what’s coming in February.
4. Create a Morning Basket (or Morning Crate)
Morning time is the heart of our homeschool—it brings us together before the day splinters into subjects and independent work.
But trying to gather everything we need each morning? Gets a little chaotic especially because I’m using juggling waking everyone up and getting them ready and fed, trying to squeeze in an hour or so of work before school, AND setting up homeschooling… so having a “go bin” for mornings helps! (I also like to write the plans for the subjects we are doing that day on the white board so everyone knows what to expect and can mark stuff off. Not everyone likes to be so organized and structured with homeschool, but it works well for us.
I keep all our morning time resources in one easy-to-carry basket:
- Devotionals or bible study
- Mental health workbooks
- Flashcards (like yoga ones)
- Basically we focus on different branches of health whether it be spiritual, mental, physical, etc. for OUR morning warm ups.
When we’re done, it all goes right back in the basket. Done. Clean. Simple.
5. Don’t Over Buy Supplies
Here’s the thing: You do not need every cute supply you see at Target.
We keep it simple:
- Crayons
- Markers
- Scissors
- Glue sticks
- Construction paper
- Tape
- Rulers
Everything pretty much fits into the mugs and decoupaged cans that I set up for organization of the school room. Most of the fun kits you’re gunna buy like science kits, craft kits, and even subscription boxes (our fave has always been Ivy Kids Kits but I’m trying out a couple new ones that are animal focused this year too) come with gobs of supplies… it adds up fast, so don’t buy too many on your own if you plan on getting kits like those.
6. Create a Monthly and Daily Clean-Up Routine
(And Get the Kids Involved!) This part is hard for me actually… I tend to just whirlwind around and clean everything all the time. I have to actually remind myself and force myself NOT to clean, be more patient, and make them help. It’s good for them!
Every month, we reset:
- Kids empty and reload their bins
- Papers get filed or recycled
- Loose supplies get returned to their homes (I don’t know how these add up, but they do!)
- The cart and command center get wiped down and re-organized
Organization and responsibility and even learning how to let go of things you’re done with are all learning lessons, so we do this ON our homeschooling time.
Maybe weekly resets might work better for you, or just doing it completely every single day. Everyone works differently. I DO make sure everything is cleaned up with the kids’ help at the end of the lessons as we are always eager to get outside or onto some sort of adventure after school.
7. Use Vertical Space
Small space homeschooling means every inch counts. Don’t forget your walls and doors!
Try:
- Pocket organizers over doors
- Magnetic boards or whiteboards mounted on walls
- Wall-mounted magazine racks for notebooks or folders
- Stackable cubes or vertical drawer towers
When in doubt? Go up, not out.
Final Thoughts: Give Yourself Grace
Homeschool organization isn’t a “set it and forget it” kind of thing. It’s fluid. It shifts with the seasons, the kids’ ages, your curriculum changes… and your energy level.
You’ll adjust. You’ll find what works. And yes, you’ll still have chaotic days where it feels like the entire house exploded in learning. That’s okay.
Remember: A little mess means learning is happening.
When it all feels like too much? Shut the door to the supply closet, grab a cup of coffee, and breathe.
You’ve got this.
