Weekend Warriors: Organizingl October

Hi y’all!
I hope you had a chance to enter the AMAZING give away we had over at Primary Powers.  Please be sure to visit daily…there are lots of freebies to grab!!

Today, I’m here to talk all about ORGANIZATION!

That word tends to frighten people.  It gets me excited!
I am regularly complimented about my organization…but at times I feel like I’m the LEAST
organized person ever!

I think the key to organization is to stay true to what works best for you.
If it isn’t something you’d do…or a place you’d put things then DON’T do it!
It just makes things worse.
Also, it’s important to know how you remember things.
Do you have to make list?
Do you have a visual memory?
Do you need labels and post-its everywhere?
Add those items into how you organize and it will make things much easier.
I’m a super visual and tactile learner.
I have to touch it and see it or I forget about it.
Which is why my classroom looks like this….

Not my proudest moment.
It really does bother me that all these bins are directly above where my kids put their personal items but…
I don’t have the space to place them anywhere else..
AND
If they were locked away in some closet…I’d forget about what I had.
With the bins out in the open like this I’m forced to see them everyday.
I got the idea to organize my thematic units like this from Dee Wills.
She’s amazing.
Seriously.
Check her out.
This organization system is just one of her MANY fantastic ideas.

The bins are only about $5 at Target and they fit tons of stuff.
I put EVERYTHING in these bins.
They are organized by thematic units or items I use regularly and need lots of storage space.
These bins hold center activities, books, books on cd, manipulatives, crafts and much more.
Beside each bin are poems or previously created anchor charts that go along with that theme.

Each time we work on a new unit or theme, I pull down a bin…unload all the necessary goodies and get to work!

Just so you know..
I didn’t start my teaching career with these bins…or anything like it!
I can distinctly remember throwing away TONS of stuff I made/created my first two or three years of teaching.
When it finally dawned on me that I probably should be saving the work I made I started placing it in pocket folders.
I had (and still have) tons of folders filled with thematic work.
Then, when the folders got a little too overloaded I moved everything into a three inch binder.
I still have binders full of work that is too big for a folder…but too small for a bin.

My big tip would be start small.
Save EVERYTHING.
But make sure you weed through it every now and then.
Make sure you label your folders/binders/bins!

Check back tomorrow to see how I try to keep up with the day to day crazy!!

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2 Comments

  1. Jeannine
    October 25, 2014 / 2:31 pm

    These are great tips Vera! I am a tub keeper too! I organize mine by month and that includes lots of themes. As I collect more STUFF, I might need bigger tubs. My desk is the place where I need to leave things out to see them and remember to do them. It is a disaster by the end of the day!

    Jeannine
    Creative Lesson Cafe

  2. Aimee
    October 25, 2014 / 5:25 pm

    You are so right about organization, you have to do what works for you. I have always felt that organization is such a personal thing. And, Iif I don't see certain things, I will forget that I have them and then not use them, too. Great post!!

    Aimee
    Primarily Speaking