Organizing Nitty-Gritty

[RahRah]

Now that I have almost everything I need for the next year (and beyond for some subjects), my dining room table is totally overwhelmed with piles of books, books, books - by grade and subject - and I have figure out how to manage this!

 

I know I'll put the higher grade books away and take them out when they're needed, but I'm wondering how to you all manage the sheer volume of texts/spines, supplements, activity books, etc. plus the notebooks and such created by your kids?

 

Is it easier on shelves, in a rolling drawer cart, or something else?

 

How do you organize subjects? Do you break language arts into smaller piles/drawers - say one for spelling, one for writing, one for phonics, etc., or all in one?

[Nicole M]

Honestly, I never found a system that worked really well for me, and I tried several. I will have only one at home next year, and I think I will manage.

 

One thing that made things easier for me was simply getting rid of all the things that we were not currently using, things I'd purchased for future use, historical fiction not from the time period we were studying, and books my oldest had used but that I was saving for my youngest. I put all that extraneous stuff in bins in the garage, labeled. It sounds like that may not be an issue for you (yet), but it's something to keep in mind.

 

Over the holidays I bought a shelving unit from IKEA that has cubbies, and I separate books by subject. So science related books are in one bit, poetry in another, Kingfisher and dictionary type stuff in another, the manuals I use daily in another.

 

I have a small entertainment center type cabinet where I keep the printer, science supplies, art supplies and paper. I like to keep that stuff separate from the books we use daily.

 

I found this blog to be pretty inspirational, and you might find it helpful as well:

 

http://wildflowersandmarbles.blogspot.com/2010/05/planning-beginning.html

 

I am curious to hear what others have to offer.