One Room Craftroom/Schoolhouse

Last year I felt like an insane person, trying to keep up with both boy's elementary handouts, homework, and any other paper that the school sends home.  [I'm quite positive, our school alone, is responsible for deforestation in the amazon.  I digress.]
The last few weeks of summer, I spent re-structuring, purging, and of course reorganizing.  I was thinking the best possible way for me and the boys to work out papers, homework, etc.  Here's what I've come up with.
In my craftroom/office I have 2 utility tables (ugly, i know, but super functional).  There is room at the tables for homework to be completed.  Also, if we have dinner, and for some reason we're not finished with homework, we don't have to clear anything off, we can just come back to it.  I know what i did on the doors, isn't sightly, but it's functional [plus I want new closet doors anyhow].

my 'classroom wall'  That is the homework caddy.  papers, rulers,  etc.

homework box with the 'essentials'.

each drawer in this chest holds something school/educational related.

money, flash cards, word cubes.

Voila! This is how I'm staying organized this school year.  Bring it on First & Second Grade!

Garage sale Gems!

Who doesn't love a garage sale find?  You can imagine how happy this makes Jeremy to come home and find more 'projects' for me to complete.

It goes something like this: 

Jeremy, "Hey, what is that (insert newest project) out in the garage?" 

Jenn, "Oh, that's my new (blah blah blah), I'm gonna do (blah blah blah) to it, isn't it going to be great?!.."

Jeremy, [insert extreme sarcasm] "Oh, yeah, it's gonna be great! I'm so glad you have another project. I was worried you might run out."  

These things come home, smelling funky, looking TI-RED!!  Lucky for me, I'm able to see past that, see the lines, structure; how it will look with fresh whatever it needs.  Here is one of my favorite finds.  I paid $20 for both the chair & chest.  The before is so Marcia Brady. The after is pretty fab, (i think).

It has dovetail joints - very heavy. 

that chair was in sad shape.  nasty.

so cute. sassy.  i love that fabric.

Now, I have storage for all the homework accessories.

it makes me smile when I walk into the craft room and see these sassy pieces.  I especially love all the men in the house use the chair when they're on the computer.

What to do, when the pool is 102?

It's in-escapable.  This summer is brutal.  Satan's called, he wants his weather back.  Even FB peeps are cranky when others post about the heat.

The boys' attitudes.. hmmm.... (inhaling, exhaling : yogic breathing)... When I ask them to do their workbooks, you'd think I'm asking them to relinquish their toys and replace them with a rock collection.  I've begun dramatically limiting wii, computer, and tv time.  They are forced to play with their toys. Can you imagine?  Sometimes I really loathe technology.  The thought that they are incapable of contentment without it, makes me cringe.  That doesn't seem like progress as a civilization to me.  What do I know?

Anyhow, I've really started tacking my projects I've procrastinated on.  Here's one of them:

I call it:

Recipe Book Clean out & Consolidation

They are organized  by category, etc.

The folder holding recipes I've collected.

These recipe books were my grandmother's.

I took these to staples to hole punch for me. 

 

Voila!  A cabinet fit for Real Simple