Once in a while I get the bug to be more organized - particularly in homeschool matters. I start to feel like maybe I’m not doing enough to keep everything together, especially after I read a few homeschool blogs or go to one of any number of sites that have all sorts of organizational pages for me to download.

In my last nine years of homeschooling at least one and sometimes all of my children, I have put together probably 47 homeschool organization binders; filled out 8,000 assignment sheets; and posted all sorts of charts designed to make our home run more efficiently.

Let me first just say Kudos! to those who find these items really worthwhile. I am, however, a miserable failure when it comes to keeping track of these sorts of things. Instead, I have found that a good, old fashioned chalkboard in the dining room (where I put the week’s known events: games, practices, etc.) and a calendar that can be written on for events ahead of time are a great asset. In addition, I have become a huge fan of my Yahoo! calendar. Mostly because I check my email every morning first thing and the calendar lets me know what’s going on - as long as I’ve remembered to tell it what’s going on! Yahoo! also adds info from various homeschool groups I’ve joined so that I know when their activities are happening too.

It seems like everywhere I turn someone is trying to sell me a new system for getting organized. Somehow, getting more stuff is going to make my life simpler. Well, quite frankly, I don’t buy it. If I need a “chart” or an assignment page I make it myself. It’s really not that hard. In addition, using something like a chalkboard (for the household) or my Yahoo! calendar (for just me), is a frugal and green way to keep on task.