How much do you organize your hs supplies?

[Trivium Academy]

We're moving in June to another parsonage- which means I have no idea what type of house/space we'll be in. I'm purging (and selling) right now and will continue until I have our books and supplies under manageable control. BUT...

 

What are your favorite storage (inexpensive please) containers?

- something with see-thru drawers or colored totes?

 

Do you keep all your science manipulatives together?

All math together?

Reading?

Art?

etc. etc.?

 

How much should I organize as I pack? We're using TOG now so do I put books that pertain to TOG1 in one box, TOG2 in another, etc. so that when we get to the new place I won't have to worry about where the books are?

 

The way our schedule is right now, we'll have two weeks off from our lessons which hits when we'll move. The schedule was made before we knew we would be moving- coincidence huh? June 9-20 we'll be off from lessons, June 14 or 16 we'll be moving. I know to put all that we'll immediately need in one box- but how organized should I be when packing the rest?

 

Yes, I'm freaking out just a little but we're in a good size house and I've done a lot of newbie collecting of resources, lol! I have 4 boxes beside me that are "For Sale" and if that doesn't work they will be donated to the library and Book Samaritan.

 

Appreciate your input!

[Tess in the Burbs]

we moved this past summer in June. I did try to organize some. art was together. current subjects. books I knew would be part of fall(in case it took months to unpack it all). the rest I tried to do by subject, but no box or tub was perfect so some things were just thrown in with other subjects.

 

I did like being able to open up our upcoming studies and it all be together b/c moving threw all schedules out the window and I was glad to start school up quickly when we moved to bring order to the box chaos.

[Karen in CO]

When will you be using the TOG1 books? If it is in the distant future, put them in a clear box together with any resources you won't use until then and label them.

 

While you are packing, put any resources that you will use after the move (but not until then like books for the later units) in a box together. Keep the minimum current books together unpacked but as you use, put them away into a future box for next time you come back to this period.

 

Science and math supplies - I would again sort them into four categories what you will use before the move, what you might use after the move, what you probably will save for the next time you do this, and what you probably will never use.

 

I like the see-through plastic bins with well-fitting lids. The contents can be moved and stored in them, and they stack neatly in the basement until you are ready to use them again. That is where I have two SL cores waiting until dd is ready for them or at least ready for those books. That is also where my K stuff is wait for the little one.

[Trivium Academy]

That's what I'm thinking- might as well organize it now so that I can store like items together and be able to pick/choose what to pull out to set up our new hs room. The break will hit at the end of Year 2 Unit 3 thankfully so I can just keep Unit 4 in a box with whatever else we'll need.

 

How about those drawers for manipulatives? I saw in Walmart where you can get stackable drawers, this would be nice for manipulatives- 1 for math, 1 science, 1 reading (magnetic letters and such) but how is the quality? (general ? not just for Karen).

 

:)

[Karen in CO]

I haven't found stackable drawers yet that I like for more than a few months. Hopefully somebody knows some wonderful ones and I can get some too :-) My manipulatives like that are in zipper bags either in boxes or in a drawer in the kitchen, but zipper bags so we don't lose the pieces.

[angela in ohio]

My math manipulatives and science supplies live together (but in separate drawers) in four 4-drawer plastic organizers. We have them stacked 2 drawers wide by 8 tall. It stands about 5-feet tall, and it holds everything nicely.

 

Art supplies are in 8 banker's boxes by type (Paint, Clay, Stamps & Stencils, Collage Materials, etc.) stacked on top of our book shelves. I get *one* box down at a time to do art projects, LOL. A 3-drawer organizer holds (1.) Sticky (glue, tape), (2.) Sharp (scissors, hole punches), and (3.) Scribbly (pens, pencils, erasers.) Paper is in trays by type (plain, colored, construction, etc.) Drawing supplies are in a plastic box with a handle for taking along with art or nature journals. And so on...

 

Of course, every bit of it is packed up right now in storage while we are working on moving... :( I only kept out the books we need for right now, and we are reading library books for literature (it's weird checking out books you own, LOL.)

[mcconnellboys]

Before I made a dedicated schoolroom with real shelves to at least sorta hold most of my books, when I was pulling stuff together to begin schooling my younger son, I used those big plastic bins. I used a sharpy to write on the outside of them what category of books was inside and just stacked them up out of the way. So I had a box for science, one for language arts, one for math stuff, history, etc., etc. It did work very well for me and allowed me to move stuff around from room to room easily, too.

 

Regena

[Tess in the Burbs]

I have stackable drawers in our bathroom that stack nice, drawers pull out smoothly and I love them so much I wish I had another stack for school, lol.

 

I got them at walmart. cheap but these were durable. and on sale when I bought them.

[Trivium Academy]

 

Of course, every bit of it is packed up right now in storage while we are working on moving... :( I only kept out the books we need for right now, and we are reading library books for literature (it's wierd checking out books you own, LOL.)

 

That's a mixture of sad and funny Angela! Do you enjoy moving- at least the "new place" part? I love unpacking and setting up, not so much the packing and loading part.

[ArwenA]

We moved once in our early years of homeschooling and each of our subjects had a designated box. Then when we were still moving in I could just pull out the books and other materials we needed from each box and was ready to go.

 

Right now I have set up a school room which is better than just moving boxes.:)

Each kid has their own basket which I got from Ikea. They keep their curriculum and books for the day in it. I also have my own basket with my teaching supplies for the day.

We have four "labs" a math one which is overflowing with all the math stuff I've bought.:) A science one where I keep our science supplies but we do NOT do experiments here unless they are very tidy. A art/music lab with art supplies, CDs, sheet music and art and music appreciation books. And last, but no least a history/geography lab with maps, flags, atlases, time lines (but not our main one which goes around the room) and books.

I also have bookshelves in our school room for other curricula and general books, videos etc...

Then there are lots more bookshelves around the house with even more books but I'll stop babbling on.:)

[angela in ohio]

Uh-oh, even if you edit a typo, if someone quoted it, you are stuck with it (wierd! LOL!)

 

I have only moved once, and my oldest was 1 week old, so moving a family is new to me. So far, it stinks, but that's just because I am apart from my library. I do look forward to having a place without accumulated stuff (we have purged, purged, purged...)

[cin]

All my manipulatives are in ziploc baggies, the expensive ones with the zippers so the kids can use them, in a plastic bin in between the desks. Zoie likes to play with them and Piper uses them occasionally, too. Everything else is on one of my shelves. I have one set of shelves similar to this: http://www.simplastics.com/details.asp?subcat=46&itm=636 and then I have 3 big wire shelving units. We got all of them at sam's. It makes organization quick and easy. I have a bin for crayons, markers, paint, stamps, stickers, scrap paper, and some other stuff. The top shelves are all stuff that I don't want them playing with. The rest of the shelves are books. And books. And books. I'm toying with one of these: http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/moreviews?&catentryId=15697&langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10051 to put next to my desk. My desk is big, but it doens't have alot of storage space. This would be great for my office supplies. I don't know if this helps.

[Myrtle]

Jessica,

 

I have Amazon boxes with the tops cut off of them that I'm using to store science. (High tech, high cost!) I have enough shelf space in a kitchen pantry to keep two shelves worth of school supplies, paper, etc. out in the open, no boxes.

 

I have moved several times since I had kids and I always make it a point to completely deep clean the house, organize everything for the movers, and hover around them when they pack important things so that I can tell them how to mark the box. Actually, if you are using movers you could just mark the box yourself.

 

Even though it temporarily looks awkward I move all the school items into one room, clear out all the bathrooms and collect those items into one bathroom, collect all the toys out of the kids' rooms and put them in one room before the movers come. This really helped me so much to know what was in a box once at the new house and the rooms never quite correspond the way you want them to anyway. I was always able to get completely unpacked and stowed away within a week max.

[stephanie]

We're moving in June to another parsonage- which means I have no idea what type of house/space we'll be in. I'm purging (and selling) right now and will continue until I have our books and supplies under manageable control. BUT...

 

What are your favorite storage (inexpensive please) containers?

- something with see-thru drawers or colored totes?

 

Do you keep all your science manipulatives together?

All math together?

Reading?

Art?

etc. etc.?

 

How much should I organize as I pack? We're using TOG now so do I put books that pertain to TOG1 in one box, TOG2 in another, etc. so that when we get to the new place I won't have to worry about where the books are?

 

The way our schedule is right now, we'll have two weeks off from our lessons which hits when we'll move. The schedule was made before we knew we would be moving- coincidence huh? June 9-20 we'll be off from lessons, June 14 or 16 we'll be moving. I know to put all that we'll immediately need in one box- but how organized should I be when packing the rest?

 

Yes, I'm freaking out just a little but we're in a good size house and I've done a lot of newbie collecting of resources, lol! I have 4 boxes beside me that are "For Sale" and if that doesn't work they will be donated to the library and Book Samaritan.

 

Appreciate your input!

 

Hi Jessica,

I tend to buy a lot of homeschool stuff b/c I'm a junkie when it comes to anything related to h'sing. I try to keep all my stuff organized just so that it's easier to get to. For math I have a rubbermaid box that has all my math manips. (coins, hundred chart, clocks, geoboards, fact cards, rulers,protractors)- anything related to math so I'm not looking for it. The kids know that everything they need will be in that box. For science I do the same, but I have a science experiment kit. It too is a rubbermaid container. It has all kind of materials that I've collected over the years. Another thing I have found useful are the stackable rubbermaid drawers that are clear. I have both sizes- the smaller drawers and the bigger ones. The smaller ones hold supplies like tape, paper clips, post-its, hamster/fish/bird food and the larger ones hold puzzles in one drawer, art supplies in another, and extras in the bottom. I also use small containers for storing counters, beans, tangram pieces (anything that dd6 can play with while I'm working with the others). We keep all our books on a bookshelf that is divided in subjects so they know where to find everything. I hope this helps you a bit. Are you moving far from where you're at now? It's usually not until you move that you realize how much stuff you have! My dh always says, "How did we accumulate so much junk!" Blessings on your move!

[Chris in VA]

You can see my schoolroom on my blog (which I know you've been to!) to see how we've organized. Most of our materials are out. A few years ago, I decided to get rid of (most of the) plastic in our environment. I switched from plastic drawers and bins to natural wood, wire, and baskets. I got a lot of things from Ikea and Target, and even garage sales. It's been a lot of fun and a bit of a challenge to "go natural," but the payoff has been that I feel a greater sense of beauty is part of our school and part of our lives. Ok, lol, that's a little extreme--I'm so not a decorator, and I know our schoolroom is nice but not gorgeous. But there is something homey and comforting in using baskets instead of plastic bins, soft colors instead of primaries all the time, and little wooden drawers and boxes instead of cold plastic.

Is that something you might consider?

 

As far as logistics, I say put away most of what you are not using, but keep some books out that would be fun to get to anytime--if you read them out of rotation, so what? Trying to tie everything into a master plan is fine, except when it limits the rabbit trails that bring interest and "spice" to learning.

KWIM?

[Trivium Academy]

It's been a lot of fun and a bit of a challenge to "go natural," but the payoff has been that I feel a greater sense of beauty is part of our school and part of our lives. Ok, lol, that's a little extreme--I'm so not a decorator, and I know our schoolroom is nice but not gorgeous. But there is something homey and comforting in using baskets instead of plastic bins, soft colors instead of primaries all the time, and little wooden drawers and boxes instead of cold plastic.

Is that something you might consider?

 

Sure, if we had our own house and didn't move every 4-6 years. I'd love to have gorgeous baskets throughout but our reality is we're going to be moving...so I need secure, adaptable, long-lasting storage.

 

Rabbit-trails...will you clue my structured dd7 in? I've been waiting and waiting but she doesn't have a desire for them other than to know how something is made. "Mom, how are cars made?" "Mom, why do some houses have upstairs and others don't? How do they do that?" Even "How Things Work" book can't keep up with her! Thankfully she LOVES the show, "How It's Made" on TLC(?). That's the extent of her rabbit trails- all of which she gets impatient while I 'look it up'. LOL.

[Trivium Academy]

Cindy,

I've eyed those large metal bookshelves but I can't figure out how to put books on them b/c they are too deep and then there's the space factor. I'll never know how much space I'll have moving from parsonage to parsonage. We're using cheap Walmart bookshelves now but I want to have 16x16 cubes made so I can configure them however they will fit in any home we live in. Maybe at our next church we'll have a kind, woodworking soul that will help me with this.

 

I love the tower! I actually have two 3 drawer thingys stacked right now, sort of precariously. I love the smaller drawers with the larger ones underneath. I think 2 of those would solve storage problems. Thank you so much for linking those, I'm going to look into it more.

 

Thank you for your help!

[Trivium Academy]

Lol! You're efficient like I am! I had us unpacked within 3-4 days when we moved here. Ds3 was only 1 month old. Of course the pressure of having a constant stream of church members coming by to "welcome" you sort of helped.

 

Please tell me that you've wrapped the Amazon boxes with wrapping paper or something else pleasant? Lol. J/K.

[Stirsmommy]

When we moved last year, we were moving in to a temp home for an indefinite stay. I gathered everything I needed for the rest of the year and boxed it according to child. Labeling well is a pain on the packing side but boy is it helpful on the new house end. I have ikea shelves that have a cube look to them so I bought baskets that would hold the supplies and manipulatives and ziploced those and hauled them in my van so they would stay upright. The first thing in the house was the shelves and I just through the baskets in their cubbies and I looked instantly organized for school. Since you know this is a permanent place I would put the stuff you need for the next unit in your car beside you and just label the rest so you can get to it if you haven't unpacked it all in time for the next unit.

Melissa

[Trivium Academy]

One more response...look how gorgeous this is! Oh, I would love this. Sigh.

http://tinyurl.com/2djqmy

[stephanie]

One more response...look how gorgeous this is! Oh, I would love this. Sigh.

http://tinyurl.com/2djqmy

 

Jessica, I don't know if this would help, but I think I've seen something similar to this at Target. You're right, it is beautiful. But the price, YIKES! That would have to be on my birthday/Christmas wish list. Also, if you have a Hobby Lobby by you, they always have drawers like that one. Usually they run a 1/2 off sale on certain items and you could hold out for that. These were just a few ideas for you. Maybe you can look into it once you move!

[Trivium Academy]

I'd never pay that much - it is completely a dream. My dreams are very expensive...lol.

[LNC]

1. I have these for daily work. One for each child. More to compartmentalize thinking skills wkbooks, art and drawing books etc. They are labeled with avery silver circle tags hanging off of them.

 

http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&upc=1842140606&pid=_Froogle

 

2. I use these for science supplies, math manipulatives, HWT stuff, phonics/SSRW stuff, arts & crafts stuff. Each bin is labeled with the same avery circle tags.

 

http://www.target.com/Blue-Fabric-Cube-Set-6/dp/B0009GC7FQ/sr=1-1/qid=1201359927/ref=sr_1_1/602-1968878-5475009?ie=UTF8&index=target&rh=k%3Afabric%20cube&page=1

 

I have a wall in our dining room of free-standing oak bookshelves with doors on the bottom that all of this storage is hidden inside. We homeschool at the long table. I have a nice wood desk in there also for me. It looks neat and clean when it is all closed!