The three great destroyers of motherly mentoring are cleaning, cooking & chauffering. You need to decide between your stuff and your education. Too much stuff in the home clogs up the education of everyone who lives there. I know this well. When we moved a year ago, we took 5-7 truckloads of stuff to goodwill and another 4-5 loads to the dump...WOW!
When we moved into our new rental home last week, it was quite refreshing to not have as much stuff to care for. Not only did I get rid of my stuff, the kids got rid of their junk. After this recent move, my son made a box of things he wants to sell on eBay (always the entrepreneur) and a bag of his stuff to give to goodwill. Now, he has less stuff to keep clean in his room. This is a great way to promote non-materialism with your own children. Summer is a terrific time to de-clutter.
Being a pack rat is a sure way to sabotage the Fundamental Phases of learning. Tne great classics on the shelf are better than a hundred (or a hundred, thousand mediocre) books. Here's one for the girls of the family: If you haven't worn a piece of clothing in two years, you aren't likely to wear it in the next two years. Send it away!
Managing your stuff takes time, effort, resources, space & above all the brain cells to keep track of it all...and I need every brain cell I can find for mentoring and education. Lighten your load and free those brain cells.
One tip: Keep a donation box at the back door, in the garage, in the back of the van or somewhere easy to find. Use the donation box and de-clutter.
taken from Core & Love of Learning lecture notes
Kerry | 
