Shameless Plugs Clutter

I love books. You know that Marie Kondo book that has been going around for a few months now? How tidying up is a life-changing magic? Haven't read it. But I have heard enough about it that I get the gist. And when it comes to books, I have no feng shui or desire to purge my house and life of that sort of clutter, as she suggests in her bestselling book.  Books are my friends, and I invite them freely into the walls of my home, clutter though they may be.

So when I recently heard of Out of Print Clothing, I was immediately in love. Who wouldn't want to sport their favorite book cover on his shirt? Or tote bag, or coffee mug...I jumped on the bandwagon and ordered the Mouse and the Motorcycle shirt for a birthday present for one of my kids who is reading that book. He has worn it every day since he got it.

Not only do they make unusual and attractive clothing, they also donate a portion of the price to buy books for needy communities in Africa. And the replica library card hang tag is too cute to toss. Ahh, so much for purging clutter.

I came across a book recommendation over at Modern Mrs. Darcy that piqued my interest, being a mother of six boys and all. It is called That Crumpled Paper That Was Due Last Week, and it claims to help me know how to help distracted and disorganized boys straighten out their bad habits. Another one added to my must-read list, which is growing more cluttered. I need to learn how to prioritize those better. Seems that every time a "must-read" comes across my path, #1 on my priority list changes.

One last recommendation, this time not something that costs money--using notebooks to simplify homeschooling. This is new for me this year, and though I resisted it in the past, I finally surrendered. And it is working nicely for our family. Each student has a notebook that I write daily assignments in, with boxes to check when they have completed the task. Two boxes means that I have to check off when I have evaluated their work. It takes a little time each evening, but I have discovered not only the obvious benefits of keeping them on task but also another avenue of communication I can have with each kid. We sometimes write jokes back and forth, or write little notes to each other. Of course the system is not without challenges, such as, "Where is my notebook," or "Why didn't you check off the boxes?" but we are working those out.

So there it is. A little glimpse of my happily cluttered life.