UPDATE 12/24/2015:

So this is crazy but it looks like this little post is getting a lot of attention right now & that is nice and all but I should warn that I am not great at responding to comments–Sorry. This post is really about documenting my boys and their life, it’s their scrapbook. With that being said, this idea and project is still in use today. The only issue, the cars sometimes still get misplaced so it isn’t as full as it once was. We solved that issue by replacing cars with Sticky9 magnet photos. The cars that we do have, the magnets are still in place, unless some little kiddo has ripped it off the car, and they will roll fine on the floor or on Matchbox set. Enjoy. Oh and Ikea would be a great option for the magnet bars, we didn’t have one in our city until recently.

Again, awesome that this post is getting so much attention but I’m sorry if I don’t respond to your comments, I haven’t or probably won’t realize they are there.

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We have been working on the playroom for awhile now. Its been a process and a long one at that. But we are finally finding ideas and pieces that we want to incorporate into the room. In the coming days a few pieces of wall art should be arriving and I’ll have one more thing to share but until then, I thought I would share our project from today.

I saw a really cute idea on Pinterest on how we could display the boys’ Matchbox/Hot Wheels. And since the idea is pretty simple and straight forward there really wasn’t a way that I could add my own twist to it–I just went for it.

But before I get to unveiling the project let me tell you how we went about it. We purchased 4 21-inch stainless steal magnetic knife bars from Amazon. As soon as they arrived I pulled out Kaden and Logan’s cars and went to show my idea to the hubs. I took the first car out and as I showed him how it would work, the car, it fell immediately to the ground. Wasn’t this suppose to stick, it was magnetic and all & thats how the picture showed it! I went through our entire stock of cars and not a single one would stick, the cars weren’t metal, they ALL had plastic bottoms.

(I believe if you have the older Matchbox or Hot Wheels cars you should be fine since they were made with metal bottoms).

To the drawing board I went. I needed to find a magnet to adhere to the underside of the car. It couldn’t be too thick because then the cars wouldn’t roll. It had to be just right and I needed to be able to cut them to size so I headed to JoAnn’s to see what they had. I ended up with magnetic tape that you could adhere to the back of business cards and such.

I raced home to try to it out. The first car fell. The second car fell. The magnet wasn’t strong enough. I decided to double it up and what do you know the first car stuck, the second car stuck and so did the third for about 10 minutes before falling to the floor leaving the gosh darn magnet behind. I needed glue. Crazy glue—ended up using a type of Gorilla glue. A few dots later and we had ourselves a functional piece of art right by their train table. All we need now are a few more cars! Vroom, Vroom.

The Importance of Having Everything in Place for Successful Study Results

Although organization is sometimes disregarded in successful learning, it is absolutely necessary to get outstanding achievements. More than just a clean desk, a well-organized study area helps to improve productivity, lower stress, and enable concentration. From personal experience, I have discovered how much having things in order influences study results. Here’s why it’s important and how you can set up a neat study area fit for you.

1. Minimizes Distractions and Boosts Focus

An orderly study area might be rather distracting. Books, strewn papers, and twisted cables can all draw your focus away from your study materials—what really counts. When everything is in order, the clutter around you less likely will cause your brain to stray. A clean desk corresponds to a clean mind, which helps you to concentrate more precisely on the current work.

For me, a calmer, more focused environment resulted from just cleaning my desk and grouping my supplies in a logical manner. Entering a state of “flow,” in which I could focus entirely on my studies free from pointless distractions, became simpler.

2. Saves Time and Reduces Stress

Searching for a pen, notebook, or charger has cost you precious study time how many times? Maintaining everything in its proper place helps you to easily and fast find what you need. In addition to saving time, this helps to lower stress and frustration—which might develop when you’re trying frantically to locate anything in the middle of a study session.

By grouping my supplies—such as notebooks, textbooks, stationery, and digital devices—into categories, I discovered that I could design a dependable method. It also meant I could start learning straight away instead of squandering valuable minutes searching for supplies.

3. Enhances Productivity and Efficiency

A well-organized study environment maximizes your workflow rather than only looks good. You spend more time studying and less time arranging when everything has a home. Having my laptop, notes, and reference materials close by, for instance, kept me in the zone without straying from focus.

Using shelves, storage boxes, and organizers also helps your study space remain neat. Whether digital or analog, a strong file system guarantees that all of your notes and materials are readily available, therefore facilitating more effective study sessions.

4. Creates a Positive Study Environment

Not only is a neat study environment practical but also inspiring. You are more likely to be driven to sit down and study when you know where everything is and your area is tidy and neat. This is especially crucial in periods of unmotivation or overwhelm. A well-kept area can support a good attitude by helping one to feel in control and orderly. This can be soothing.

Once my study space was set up, I found myself more likely to sit down and start working. It made the surroundings friendly enough for me to feel more at ease and prepared to start my chores instead of paralyzed by the disorder all around me.

5. Encourages Good Habits and Discipline

Keeping up a neat study space helps to develop discipline and excellent habits. It exhorts you to keep a schedule, put things back in their proper position, and tidy after every study session. This schedule affects your mental discipline as well as your physical surroundings, therefore enabling you to keep dedicated to your study objectives and practices.

Developing the habit of cleaning my study environment at the conclusion of each day turned into a ritual that helped me psychologically go from study mode and ready me for the following session. This small deed helped me develop discipline that transferred into my study sessions, therefore increasing my consistency and concentration.

6. Reduces Anxiety and Promotes a Calm Mindset

Stress and anxiety might arise from a disorganized surroundings. On the other hand, a well-organized area might encourage control and peace. When everything is in order, you remove the visual noise that can cause anxiety or overwhelm, thereby enabling you to approach your studies with a clear, concentrated mind.

Particularly around test times, I found that my anxiety and overwhelm become more pronounced when my study area was disorganized. Maintaining organization helped lower that anxiousness and enable me to start my study periods with peace and optimism.

Practical Tips for Keeping Everything in Place

• Regularly declutter: Spend some time at the end of every study session cleaning your surroundings. Sort your supplies and purge extraneous objects.
  
• Apply storage solutions: Invest in drawers, shelves, and organizers to properly keep your notes, books, and stationery. This keeps items from gathering on your desk.
  
• Create a filing system: Whether physical or digital, easy access to your notes and resources depends on a mechanism for organizing them.
  
• Mark everything: Labels help you to know where things belong, so facilitating the return of objects.
  
• Keep essentials within reach: Organize your study space such that often used objects are within reach, so minimizing the need for continual movement around and disturbance of your concentration.

The Power of Structure

Though it seems like a little matter, maintaining everything in its proper order greatly affects your study performance. An orderly workplace saves time, helps you stay concentrated, lowers tension, and generates a learning atmosphere fit for you. 

Furthermore, encouraging healthy habits and discipline is important for obtaining excellent study performance. You position yourself for success and make every study session more efficient and fun by investing effort to design and keep a neat study area.