The Colorful Apple

Classroom Storage for Less

I admit it, I’m a hoarder.  BUT only when it comes to brightly colored organizational classroom materials.  Not like those people on the TV shows that can’t see the floor of their house.  {I can’t even watch the commercials for those shows}
I love plastic bins!  Too much.  I have a lot ton of them.  Yet, I keep buying more.  It’s a compulsion.  Some women like shoes.  I, apparently, like brightly colored storage.  Here’s how I put most of them to good use in my classroom.
Many are in my classroom library.  In fifth grade, I have mostly novels so they fit in these small bins.  I try to create a color-coded system to make it easier for my students to navigate my library.  For example, books that are grouped by author are in green bins.

I think I hoard books too, so storage is a necessity!

I also use bins to store my students’ notebooks in the classroom.  This allows me to check them, even if the students are not in the room.  It also keeps them all in one place, where they can’t get lost (or taken home by accident)!  I teach several classes of reading and social studies.  Each bin is labeled with the subject and class name.

The shallow bins are used for notes and homework.  The students drop their papers off when they come to class and it’s easy for me to collect.  Again, I have them labeled by class name.  The label templates came from the fabulous Ladybug’s Teacher Files.

Now, where do I get all my bins from??  The cheapest places I can find!  Since I can’t seem to stop buying them, I don’t get expensive ones.

The Dollar Store has the neon colored ones, although they do change their colors seasonally (you can purchase them in bulk online).  Target Dollar Spot is prime real estate for cute plastic bins.  I have also found really durable ones in their clearance section.  Big Lots has some fun colors for cheap too!  Most of the bins were $1.00 or less.  Perfect!

Are you a teacher hoarder?  What can’t you get enough of??  I want to know!

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Comments

  2. Kathleen Rueb says

    Once children are able to read words, it is the responsibility of the parents to incorporate right teaching methods while teaching the kids. Different methods need to be used in order to teach different things, for instance, phonics method of sounding out words may not work for all the words in the world.
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  3. Leslie says

    I love your bins choices, the colors and Ooh La La your organization The other part that makes this are you’re label choices. How did you make these?

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