We are halfway through another school year, halfway through the first month of another new calendar year, and I’m halfway through decluttering and organizing our school room. Again. It happens. You get everything in order, get off to a great start, then slowly but surely it all goes to disarray. Have you heard of the Law of Entropy? Everything tends toward disorder. Chaos. Yep, it’s a natural law. Stuff just doesn’t stay put. I’ve seen it played out over and over.
So, our mid-school-year clean up is underway! While we have a very nice room in which we can work and store our resources and materials, it is not a room you’ll see in any designer magazine. We focus on functionality rather than stylish decor. We utilize what we have and make use of what is available to us.
In our school room we have put into practice my long-time motto: Use it Up, Wear it Out, Make it Do, Do Without. Organizing school supplies and books and paraphernalia does not have to cost a lot of money. With a creative eye and a little forethought you will find many things around your home that will help you get organized. Here are some everyday items we have used for storage and organization.
- Cardboard Boxes – Turned on its side, a large box becomes a book case. Milk crates and wooden pallets could be used in similar fashion.
- Plastic Baskets – this one was intended for utensil storage in the kitchen but is perfect for use as a chalk tray.
- Mason Jars – All sizes. Use them for pencils-pens-paintbrushes, math manipulatives, chore sticks, science experiments, bits of string, crayons, etc. They look so nice lined up along a shelf and fit so perfectly behind a cabinet door.
- Dish Bins – The plastic containers are perfect for storing text books and spiral notebooks, or keeping each child’s school supplies corralled. Or maybe you need to keep track of hats, mittens and scarves. These bins easily slide in and out of a bookshelf.
- Cereal Boxes – Cut the top off a large, empty cereal box, then cut at an angle from the top corner to a spot 1/3 to 1/2 the way down on the opposite side. Store magazines, worksheets, coloring books, etc. in these. You can cover them with contact paper or fabric to make them a bit stronger and more attractive. They fit perfectly on a bookshelf, making for efficient storage.
- Cardboard Dividers – Cut strips of cardboard to the length/width of a desk drawer. Slide them in, creating divided sections for organizing school and office supplies. My son did this, using tape to keep the strips in place, because he grew tired of having a jumbled, shifting mess every time he opened and closed the drawers of his desk.
Take time to go ‘shopping’ around your own home. A piece of furniture originally meant to house china in the dining room might work perfectly as a cupboard for your school supplies. A set of inexpensive plastic drawers you were using in the playroom might be just the thing to keep all those crayons and rulers and art supplies organized. Maybe the hanging file folder frame in the desk drawer could be utilized for organizing worksheets and school assignments. That gift box full of herbal teas you received would be perfect for housing all those flashcards.
- Thrift Store Baskets – We all have them. Baskets and bins that were so cute, or such a great deal. Maybe your child used it as a prop in a play or for her baby doll some time ago. Dust it off and use it to store cd’s or supplies for this week’s art project or reward stickers.
- Wire Racks – Make extra storage space by using wire racks. I found this one in a rarely used kitchen cabinet and decided it was perfect for making the children’s art paper accessible.
- Jars, Jars, Jars – Baby food jars, Pickle jars, Pasta Sauce jars. Lovely jars with lovely lids that keep your lovely school supplies from spilling over.
- Food Containers – They come in all shapes and sizes. Beautiful containers that can be used and reused, saving you money and making good sense. Tin cans, coffee cans, cheese boxes, whipped topping containers, margarine tubs. Fill them up and label them and you can have all your supplies neatly stored ready to use.
- Baby Wipe Containers and Formula Containers – These fabulous little boxes come with hinged lids and stack wonderfully. The perfect thing for housing items for science experiments or magnetic letters or game pieces.
use cast-off kitchen containers and stationery boxes
To get all our supplies in order and organized, my children and I put everything we used daily and weekly in our schooling into the center of the room. We combined like things with like things and then went on a search for containers that were the appropriate size to house each pile. It was like a treasure hunt! And there was a whole lot of learning going on.
Look around! You might be surprised at what you find!
We rounded up containers we didn’t know we had and found solutions to problems we thought had no answers. By including everyone in the work, by thinking ‘outside the box’, and by doing a little discussing and planning, our school room and the supplies that live there are much easier to maintain. And it didn’t break the budget!
For more inspiration check out the ideas I’ve been collecting on pinterest. You haven’t seen my pinterest boards yet? You really should! I’ve mentioned before I’m an idea girl!
Sharing this post at Nony’s Declutter Party and some of these wonderful places.
Frugally well done!
Blessings to you!
Laura
thank you, Laura 🙂
I love it! I love to organize. I think its great you used what you already have on hand. I love to do that too… its actually a fun challenge I find!
I am stoping by from Hope in Every seasons Homemaking Blog Party. I look forward to your visit to my site! The Homemakers Journey Blog
I like to organize, too. I’m just not so good in the maintenance department! The challenge of using what’s on hand is a lot of fun, and satisfying, too! Thank you for stopping by for a visit today. Have a blessed weekend!
I love how you involved everyone on the search for containers.
Stopping by from the De-Cluttering party at Nony’s
Glad you stopped by, Tommie! Involving the kids has really helped with the maintenance. They actually take time to put things away since they ‘discovered’ many of the containers 🙂 Enjoy your day, blessings!
Thanks for some new ideas!
Oh, the home-school room–sigh. I have to organize it more times a year than any other space. And I have the hardest time getting rid of stuff in there just thinking about future children possibly using it or learning from it better than the others did. Great job in finding out of the box solutions for organization. -Tabitha
I understand your sigh, Tabitha. I can relate. Now that our youngest is moving into 2nd grade work I am finally finding it easier to let things go. The longer we have homeschooled, the more we found our rhythm and could see what worked and didn’t and that made it easier to let things go, too. Using containers has been the very best tool for keeping things under control. If it doesn’t fit, something has to go!
I love it, Linda!!! Such a fan of this strategy!!!
Thank you Nony 🙂 you’ve influenced and encouraged me along the way!
I’m all about being thrifty in organizing for our homeschool – thanks for all of these ideas, and for linking with #collagefriday!
I’m with you, Mary. I give a thumbs up to being thrifty!
Great ideas! I’m pinning this on my Homeschool Organization Pinterest board! I’m an idea girl too! 🙂
nice to meet another idea girl, Amy! thank you for pinning, and happy organizing! have a blessed weekend 🙂
What great ideas and uses for other things that would otherwise get recycled! I thrive on organization and being organized in our home school is a must. I love the post!
Having our supplies organized really does make our does flow more smoothly. It is worth the effort to take time to put things in order. I’m so glad you stopped by, Melissa. Blessings to you and your family!
We usually do a mid-year clean up, too. This year, however, we moved just before New Years. Ta da! Fresh start. Lol
How exciting! A fresh start is a wonderful way to begin the new year 🙂 For a several years we moved often and it was a great way to weed through things we didn’t use. We have now been in one house for over a dozen years and have collected quite a lot of stuff. Many blessings in your new home!
Thanks for the wonderful ideas. I love the cereal box idea.
Blessings, Dawn
You are very welcome, Dawn. My children thought I was crazy saving cereal boxes, but now they see how handy they are. A bit of the unexpected makes life fun. Thanks for stopping by this weekend!
Thanks for sharing your great and unique organization ideas! I love seeing how others organize their homes. I’m pinteresting this post!
Thank you Sylvia! It’s a lot of fun to think ‘outside the box’, so to speak. A little of the unexpected makes for an interesting day, even when it comes to organizing our school supplies. So glad you were able to stop in and leave your sweet comment!
Oh I love this post Linda. This is what I like to do too. No need to go out and buy plastic things to store items in. I’m featuring this at tomorrow’s Thriving on Thursday linky Party. Thanks so much for linking up.
Anne xx
So nice to know I have a Storage-Soul-Sister, Anne! So glad you stopped in and thank you very much for the feature. I’ll stop by for a visit on Thursday 🙂
WOW!!! You have a lot of neat ideas I never thought of. Thanks for sharing 🙂
I’m happy to bring more ideas your way, Tajuana 🙂 Glad you stopped in for a visit. Enjoy the rest of your weekend – and happy organizing 😉