school's is just around the corner

The kids asked yesterday, "why are all the school supplies out in the middle of summer?" I was honest and said,,"Because school starts in about a month and folks need a few paycheck periods to pay for the supplies and uniforms." (BTW, it occurs to me that they PS system spends about $5k to $9K per child each year with taxes and that would be about $25K to $45K for my kids in PS, but I only spend $2K or less on all five and still pay the taxes so I think i am really saving the gov't a lot of money!)
Lucky for us, all we pay are the school taxes, of which we partake of $0. We spend on our curriculum and co-op classes and field trips, and each year around this time I start spending on new organizational items. It is my thing, I guess. Our formal dining room is an extension of the living room and that is our "school room" though we rarely work in there. Still, that is where the main computer and extra table and supplies are located. So this year I packed up the plastic folding white table which was SO nasty, and replaced it with a small 4 chair dining set I got off craigslist. The chairs aren't in great shape on the seats, but it will be great for the kids to use, and for youth devos and family get togethers. Besides, we still have the folding table out in the garage and some metal folding chairs, though several have bitten the dust lately. Now, I also have an old bookcase built long ago (has old square nails) by a great grandfather, and a small cabinet from Target that has doors falling off and a skinny shelf from Canton with heart cutouts. Today i am ridding the house of the heart shelf and the flimsy Target cabinet, and ordering a nice dark wood 36 by 72 bookcase with some nice storage baskets. Not only will this and the new dining set look nicer, they will actually free up some of our space. I also have a 9 cube cubby in the kitchen and an old refinished church pew in the kitchen that has kids school storage baskets under the seat. We keep planning stuff in the kitchen island, and do a lot of instructing at the kitchen table, but the kids work wherever they want, even the backyard. I also have steel shelving in the garage for those curriculum things that I am rotating the kids through, like math levels, LA levels, and project kits. They also hold all the school supplies I purchase, until they are needed. In the living room we have 2 bookshelves, one that is 72 inches and one that is 48 inches, both full of books. We are book junkies and read constantly! If anyone were to come into my home and accuse me of homeschooling, the evidence would be overwhelming, same with being a Christian. There are bibles, posted verses, study books, reference guides and kids stories everywhere!
But I digress....i am loving the organizational stuff. It will make momma a more calm teacher. Ok, i'm done!