Organization

I have a closet full of school supplies; books, crafts, projects, etc. It also houses all of our previous years school work. I like to keep it all just in case I ever need to prove that we are doing school work here not just goofing off. I have had boxes and boxes full of stuff. I had 3 boxes of books, lesson plans, and classroom decorations. I also had 2 boxes of arts and crafts supplies. I have a box full of science kits. The problem with all of these things being in boxes is that I never have the time or energy to dig through the boxes to get what I need. I also don't have a very good inventory of what I have already on hand so I end up buying stuff twice or going to the library to get a book I already have on the shelf. Today I went through my school closet and got myself organized. 

First I went through all the books. I have a HUGE box of fantastic living books about history and science. About half of them are written from a girls perspective though. That is great if you have a girl reading the book but my boys don't want to read about "Sally's adventure across the wild west." That is just the way boys are. They want to read about, "John and his brave dog ride west." Those are not actual book titles, I made them up but you see what I am saying. I decided to box up all the books that I know my kids will never read. I am getting rid of them. If you know anyone interested, let me know. 

I put the remaining books on a book shelf in the closet. I have a shelf for science books, history books, and Literature. This makes it so much easier to grab what I need when I need it. 

 I also have all of my curriculum on the top shelf.

I also went through all my craft supplies. Remember earlier this week when we made thread from cotton? I had searched all over to find my cotton balls but ended up using my cotton pads instead. Well, today I found the cotton balls. sigh. I also found 3 full bags of craft sticks. OKAY, remind me that I don't have to buy craft sticks again, EVER. I downsized to just one art box. I separated all the art projects into paper bags and labeled then so that I can open the lid, find the bag I want and go. One bag has all of my Christmas stuff. One bag has all of my Valentine's stuff. You get the idea. I did purge an entire box full of stuff that I have not used in the last 3 years and will probably never use. WHY DO I KEEP THIS STUFF???

Now I am down to one box with all of the kids school work from years past, one box full of art supplies, one box full of Science kits. I also have a box of preschool games, printables, books, and projects. I feel pretty accomplished. 

Now I just have to figure out what to do with all of the stuff I am getting rid of.  

Oh and in case you are wondering what the tape on the middle box is all about. Those tell me what is inside the box. The idea is that when I get a craft out and use it, I pull the tape off. Then I can see at a glance what I have available without having to dig through it.