How do you keep your homeshcool supplies that you aren't using in order? Do you keep all of your hoemschool source books on a bookshelf, or do you store them away if you aren't using them at the time?

I feel like such a dork. This summer Jodi was looking for Teach Your Child to Read in 10 EZ Lessons. Well... I had just seen it that week in a pile of books beside out bookshelf. No problem. She sent me the paypal. I went to get the book. Searched. Couldn't find it. Blamed dh countless times for misplacing it. Then I forgot about it (had surgery in August and everything slipped my mind). Well... a couple of days ago Jodi reminded me, and I told her I would refund her $$. Felt like a huge dork. Then my Paypal is all messed up. (there is a cc pending and the same one also says completed... like it's taking it out twice!)... so my account is in the red. grrrrr.

So today I go to homeshcool 4H. We were talking about teaching reading... a few of us moms were. Well, one goes, "OH! Heather, I still have your 100 EZ LEssons book. I'll bring it to the next meeting."

So... long story short... I'm wondering what you do with books you aren't using. How do you keep trak of what you have, what you sold, what you lent and to whom.... all that kind of stuff.

I have everything on book shelves laid out. Storybooks are together, readers are in a seperate section, History and Science are grouped together and so on. I have 3 small bookshelves for everything.

If my bookshelves start to overflow, then I start selling stuff. This is what works for me. If things go in storage, I forget about it and never use it again.

I don't know Heather. I have a hard time keeping books in the bookshelves. If i get them all organized they don't take long to get messed up. It no different from the rest of my house. :o

I do keep all my books out because if I pack them away I forget what I have and I'm going to need them again really soon.

I'm just trying to keep them stacked up rather than spread out all over the floor. ;)

I have a hard time selling books. Readers are hard to find and my kids don't like to read the same book twice when they are learinging to read. I just keep collecting them. I'm afraid I have a book (and fabric) addiction. I just can't get rid of very many books.

Currently used books are on the kitchen bookshelves -- each child has a shelf. Dictionaries and other reference works are also there. The office bookshelves have education book shelved by philosophy -- all the Waldorf books are together, as are Montessori, Charlotte Mason, classical ed. In the basement are shelves holding stuff for future use, like 2 years worth of Rod and Staff English I found on used curriculum sites. Stuff I'm ready to offload is stacked in a basket which travels around the house from computer desk to basement storage. Seasonal books are in the living room stacked on an end table -- we are currently featuring Thanksgiving books -- this includes our own books and library books. All other library books are piled in the family room -- we have a huge basket under an end table, then stack the rest next to it.

The tough ones are the loaners -- as soon as I loan something out I tend to forget about it. Then if someone else wants it I can't remember if I sold it already or if it's just "elsewhere". I do have a pretty good memory for the trivia of book location, though (I'm also good at remembering where shoes and small stuffed animals have been left...good thing I became a mom so I could use this talent).

I was thinking last night, that Some type of log would be good to keep track of borrowed items. I bet the donna youndg site has sme type of form that would be good for this.

I also wanted to add that I have a separate shelf in my office for things I intend on selling.

Please excuse me, I'm just brainstorming. When someone brings up organizing, I just can't help it :)

We use our china cabinet as home school central. I only keep books that we are actively using there. All other books that have been used or will be used later, go in a plastic bin(s) that I keep under my bed. THis way, if its not on the china cabinet, then I know its under my bed.

For library books, I have another plastic bin (Rubbermaid is my best friend) that I keep beside our couch. After a book is read, it goes straight in the bin. I usually have two library bins going because we use two different city libraries.

Art supplies I keep beside the china cabinet. I have a 3 drawer plastic bin (lol) where we keep construction paper, paint, stamps, coloring books, etc at.

Right now it's not hard- Morgan's books to be read to her/for her to look at are on a bookshelf in her room, all the how-to books, etc are on my bookshelf in my room and the 'workbooks' she loves are on a shelf in the hall closet.

When we move we'll have a large playroom/schoolroom with an incredible built-in bookshelf. I can't wait!! ;cool:

It was a terrible problem until we finished the basement this summer. There was the perfect place for built-in shelves and cabinets under the foyer. Now, I keep art supplies, books we use a lot, like reference books and science books, the play-doh globe, etc, on the shelves. Board games go in one cabinet. Then, each child has a square basket with his or her books in it in the other cabinets. Keeps their books organized, but out of sight when we aren't using them. Jacob and Brianna's Sonlight books are too numerous to keep in the baskets, so we keep them in a nearby closet, in boxes, already in order for use- that is, the ones we aren't currently using.

I also got one of those double-sided frontface bookcases on wheels for a really good price online. We keep all of Lauryn's Sonlight PreK books on one side and books Jacob uses a lot on the other. That way they can see the fronts of the books and grab them without making a mess.

I got a great deal on a bookcase at Pottery Barn Kids that had been on display. Bought some of their baskets that were made to fit in the bookcase and that's where we store playthings, such as playsilks, blocks, etc. On the bookcase sits the Explorer Globe (a favorite and we use it all the time to find countries, etc.) We have maps, a bulletin board with that week's Sonlight schedules, and a dry erase board there. I just painted a long board with a slot/groove in it that I'm going to put at chair rail height for Lauryn's letters. Above the letters will go Reid's word wall words.

We sound terribly organized, don't we? We are not, it just sounds like it. Finishing the basement was a huge help, though. It gave us a place to put our stuff.

I have a huge 25 cubbie Ikea shelf for school books, art supplies toys etc...I keep everything we are currently using in those shelves. I keep those sterilite 56 quart boxes in the garage with books that we aren't using. I keep a 3x5 card stapled to the wall right above our school table with names of friends and what book they have out.

The Ikea shelf is the key though for my organization. It's really nice and spacious. I have several friends who went out and bought one after seeing mine. One friend bought the smaller version (20 cubbies) and put in in her kitchen. She used the top two rows for pretty decorative things, and the bottom two rows for books.