I was absolutely adamant that I would not use a homeschool cart. We homeschool in the dining room of our small, 1935 Craftsman bungalow, and I felt like a cart wouldn’t fit in with the décor. Not to mention the fact that most (though not all) pictures of homeschool carts I saw looked…messy. As someone who already struggles with clutter, I felt like the cart would be one more space piled with stuff.
But in the end, practicality won.
Pre-cart, I was pulling out our book basket, our pencil holder, and our manipulatives and dragging them to the dining table every single day. And then putting them all back when school was finished. That was annoying, but it worked.
And then we downsized our dining room table from a large, rectangular table to a smaller, round table. At that point, there was no room for everything and I knew we needed to make a change.
Enter the homeschool cart.
I LOVE MY HOMESCHOOL CART
When I first decided to give the whole cart thing a try, I dragged my old, black IKEA cart up from my basement office. Since I already had it, I really tried to make it work. But it was just too small.
So I decided if I was going to really commit to the homeschool cart, I should get one that I liked and that worked well. I bought this cart from Michael’s (in white). It’s longer and a bit deeper than my IKEA cart, so all of our books and supplies fit nicely on top and I can put my Latchmate totes on the lower shelves where Little Miss can reach.
And I LOVE my homeschool cart!
I honestly didn’t think I would, but because it’s white, it’s pretty, and I’ve actually managed to keep it organized, it’s made my life so much easier! I just roll it over to the table each morning, and that’s it! All of my supplies are right there at hand, so I don’t have to drag a half dozen things out and clutter up the dining room table.
HOW ABOUT A LITTLE HOMESCHOOL CART ORGANIZATION TOUR?
So here’s how I have our homeschool cart organized.
On the Top Shelf
MAGAZINE HOLDER · PLASTIC BINS · PENCIL POUCH · HOOKS · RINGS · MAGNETIC CONTAINERS
The top shelf houses the bulk of our daily supplies. I have to keep most of it up out of Little Miss’s reach, and obviously, the top shelf is the easiest to grab from.
I have these two magazine holders from The Container Store to hold all of our workbooks, notebooks, and teacher’s guides. I turn the cart around and store it with the book spines toward the wall, so when the cart isn’t in use it doesn’t look cluttered. There is a binder and my Singapore Dimensions Teacher’s Manual that don’t fit into the magazine holders, but that’s okay.
I also have a plastic bin similar to these where I keep our All About Reading cards and a pencil pouch like these for smaller things I don’t want Little Miss getting her hands on.
HOOKS · RINGS · MAGNETIC CONTAINERS
On the front of my shelf, I have our recitation cards, daily schedule cards, and some memory statement cards hanging on these small suction cup hooks. I just print off our cards, laminate them, and attach them to these rings. And I have a few of these IKEA magnetic spice containers where I keep magnets, paper clips, and subatizing dice. I have to keep this side turned toward the wall, otherwise Little Miss loves to yank the cards down and scatter the hooks.
On the Middle Shelf
4-TIERED ORGANIZER · THINK TANK SCHOLAR FLASHCARDS · PLASTIC BINS
I have a few books that we use regularly stacked on the middle shelf. So far, Little Miss mostly ignores them. And they’re short enough to fit upright on that shelf.
I also have this white 4-tiered organizer I keep cards in for quick access. This has proved to be challenging with a toddler in the house, but I know she’ll eventually lose interest in getting all of the cards out and scattering them around the house. I hope.
And in case you’re interested, we use these Think Tank Scholar math flashcards and absolutely LOVE them!
On the Bottom Shelf
I LOVE these Latchmate storage totes. I keep one of these on the bottom shelf, and it has all kinds of manipulatives and small parts in it. Because it latches, Little Miss can’t get into it, but I can grab the whole tote and get whatever I need.
I also try to keep our abacus on the bottom shelf, although I’m often having to track it down because Little Miss has toted it off. But it’s durable and she enjoys playing with the beads, so I don’t mind.
Oh, and don’t mind the adorable toddler who’s sneaking into the shot! 😉
