If you are planning on homeschooling your child, there are many challenges that you are faced with. That being said, one of the challenges that many people don’t even think about is how to organize home school supplies.
After all, your home is only so large, and if you are going to turn one of your rooms into a classroom, organization will be important. Keeping all of that schoolwork and all of those school supplies well organized is going to be harder than you think.
Therefore, we’re going to provide you with some great tips and methods on how to organize homeschool supplies.
- How to Organize Homeschool Supplies
- 1. Use a Chair Desk Storage Bin
- 2. Use a Rolling Storage Cart
- 3. Use Hanging Storage Cupboards
- 4. Using Cubbies Can Help
- 5. Use Three Ring Binders
- 6. Plastic Bins with Lids
- 7. Peg Boards Can Be Useful
- 8. Get a Real Teacher’s Desk
- 9. Dedicate a Room to Homeschooling
- 10. Use Shoe Organizers
- 12. Use Mason Jars
- 13. Get Some Lockers and Filing Cabinets
- Conclusion
How to Organize Homeschool Supplies
Let’s now take a look at some really useful methods and tips on how to organize your home school supplies. As you’re about to see, it’s actually fairly easy to do, plus there are so many different options at your disposal.
1. Use a Chair Desk Storage Bin
One of the easiest and best ways to organize home school supplies, especially the things that your children will use on a daily basis, is to use a chair desk with a storage bin integrated into the desktop. Yes, here we are talking about those same types of desks that you sat in during elementary school.
They might have an opening at the front of the desk that you can put things into, or the desktop might have a hinged lid that you can actually lift up to put things underneath. Whatever the case may be, this is a really effective way to save a lot of space and to keep everything well organized.
There’s also the fact that you can fit multiple desks into a single room, just in case you have more than one child that you are homeschooling. It’s also a good way to bring back a little bit of nostalgia too.
2. Use a Rolling Storage Cart
Another good option is to use a rolling storage cart. Here, we’re talking about a very simple cart that has a variety of shelves or bins integrated into it. This is a good idea for storing a variety of school supplies such as markers, pencils, papers, textbooks, glue sticks, and everything in between.
You can easily organize all of the materials on the various shelves or within the various bins. It’s also really convenient because you can roll these storage carts around from one room to another, roll them into and out of a closet, and so on and so forth.
The fact that they are portable and don’t have to be stationary in one place is a big benefit that many people are going to like. This is likely one of the most popular storage solutions for home school supplies.
3. Use Hanging Storage Cupboards
The next good method to organize home school supplies is by using hanging storage cupboards. These can come in many different forms. If you are really serious about homeschooling your child for many years on end, using hanging storage cupboards that you actually mount to your walls is one good idea.
This is a rather permanent fixture, but it does make for a good solution. If you affix these storage cupboards to your walls, they’ll be able to take a lot of weight, and they look pretty decent too. You can actually make somewhat of a classroom if you get these.
If you don’t want something quite so permanent, there are also hanging storage cupboards that you can hang from a doorway. This is pretty convenient if you have limited space or don’t want to wreck your walls by mounting something. Simply hang the cupboards on the other end of the door, and you are good to go.
4. Using Cubbies Can Help
If you don’t want to mount anything at all, you could always use some cubbies or cupboards that are placed on the floor. Yes, here we are talking about something like a shelf that is divided into small squares or cubes. These are ideal for home school organization.
Each square or cube can be used for a different topic or a different type of school material. Some could be used for clothing, some for snacks, some for physical school materials, some for textbooks, and so on and so forth.
Moreover, if you get one that isn’t too large, you can also easily move it around. On that note, this also makes for a good art project because you can have your child design their own cubbies.
5. Use Three Ring Binders
Yes, here we are diverging a little bit from the main theme, but the fact of the matter is that binders always help. If you expect your child to be able to organize their school work properly, three ring binders are the best solution.
This is also true for you the parent, who is now also the teacher. You need a good way to keep all of the different subjects organized and separated from each other. A three ring binder, or a few of them, combined with some dividers, will definitely help on this front.
6. Plastic Bins with Lids
If you want to go for something super simple see-through plastic bins with lids are always a good idea. Plastic bins come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, which is one benefit.
You can get even get really small plastic bins which are perfect for basic school supplies, and art supplies, like glue sticks, scissors, and other such things. You can then get much larger bins for bigger school supplies, such as for textbooks, sheets of paper, and more. Plastic bins with lids are always a good way to go.
Even better is if you get bins with weights that also have handles on them, so you can easily lift them up and move them around. If you want to take things one step further, you can even use a rolling storage cart along with these bins for extra organizational capabilities.
7. Peg Boards Can Be Useful
A really good way to keep things organized, especially if we are talking about papers and artwork, is by using a pegboard. The right kind of pegboard will also allow you to organize other types of school supplies, such as scissors and anything else with the handle that can be hung up.
Pegboards are really convenient because you can configure those pegs in any way you want. You can put the pegboard on the ground just leaning against the wall, or you can actually mount it on a wall as well.
Not only are pegboards convenient for organization, but they also really fit with the school aesthetic. They make a room look like a school room.
8. Get a Real Teacher’s Desk
If you want to keep things as organized as possible, getting an actual teacher’s desk is a good idea. Here we are really just talking about a large desk that has a number of drawers and cupboards. This is just like a desk that you saw your teachers have when you went to school.
This is another one of these things that will really help add to the whole school room aesthetic. It’s going to make the classroom look legitimate. Moreover, it will allow you to keep more or less all of your school supplies organized in one simple place. After all, if you are only homeschooling a single child, you won’t need all that many materials.
9. Dedicate a Room to Homeschooling
OK, so this one might seem obvious to some, but many people still don’t think of it. You want to have an actual room dedicated to homeschooling. If you are going to take several years to teach your child from the comfort of your own home, you may as well make it as comfortable as possible.
Having a dedicated room for school work will help produce a bit of a routine.
Your child will get used to going into that one room every morning to learn. You can really customize that one room to be like a classroom experience. You don’t want to teach your child in the living room in front of the TV, or anything else of the sort. Keeping everything organized in one single room is a really good idea.
10. Use Shoe Organizers
Some people might choose to use hanging shoe organizers to organize a variety of school materials. This could include scissors, glue sticks, papers, pencils, and more. Hanging shoe organizers are very convenient and they are cheap too.
11. Use Paper Trays
Yes, your basic paper tray is also a good addition to any school room. This is a special area for you, a parent or teacher. It will allow you to keep track of incoming and outgoing assignments.
12. Use Mason Jars
If you have some old mason jars hanging around, these make for great storage areas for pencils, markers, and other such utensils. You can also have your child decorate the mason jars, which makes for a good art project.
13. Get Some Lockers and Filing Cabinets
If you really want to recreate the school feeling, getting some filing cabinets or lockers is always a good idea. This is especially the case if you plan on homeschooling your child for many years.
You are going to need some filing cabinets to keep all of those assignments and papers well organized over the course of several years. No office or schoolroom is complete without a good filing cabinet or locker.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are plenty of great ways to organize home school materials and supplies. It really comes down to how much space you have and how much money you want to invest in creating a real classroom vibe.