The Environment

The environment means something very different to the Montessorian than it does in general usage. The environment is where the children are.

My environment has been slowly degrading over the past few months. I'm beginning to loathe it. Time to take a stand!

I've signed back up with FlyLady, but I have to say, I'm just feeling rather frustrated with her. SOOOO many adverts for her products. argh. I may just follow the tips on her website in terms of preparing Morning and Before Bed Routines and gradually work up to all the other stuff.

Here's what frustrates me most about my home at the moment--that is, what I need to tackle before school officially begins on Sept. 5:

-the den: horrible piles on the filing cabinet, clutter/papers on the desk
-laundry room: all kinds of stuff just laying on the floor or put in a shopping crate to keep it tidy looking (that is, visual proof of procrastination)
-the 'school room': this is the room where the two oldest put their bags, where various texts are kept and other stuff. It became the storage area while we were repainting. Not everything has left and more stuff has been added.
-the basement: this is probably the scariest of all. Toys everywhere. Too much stuff in general. Dh is going to bring the junky, falling apart desk down there to the dump--that'll help open up the space a bit. But what is really needed is a toy sorting, with a bunch being chucked or given away.
-the bookcase in the living room should be tackled, too, as it's stuffed, but a lot of the books don't even have to be there
-the school shelves (in the family room) need to be reorganized

So, my plan for today: work on the den piles this morning. I have errands to run today but I should be able to get all the stuff sorted and put away properly this morning. This afternoon, I'd like to tackle the school room. I think I'll do it all crisis cleaning style so I don't get too overwhelmed: I'll set the timer for 15 minutes, then do something else for 15 minutes, then come back.

First, though, I need to go take the promised pictures of my long rods and cylinder blocks!