Organizing tips for all those TpT purchases

If you're like me, you are always perusing Teachers Pay Teachers for new materials.  If you follow me on Instagram, Facebook or here then you know I make a lot of materials, too!  Click HERE for a link to my TpT store if you want to check any out.

There came a point this summer where I had piles of newly laminated materials spilling all over my house!  Don't get me wrong, I was really excited to use them all but my OCD self needed to get seriously organized.  So I did! Check out these tips to keep your materials organized.

1. Use theme-therapy.  
I love themes.  Both the kiddos and myself get excited to use holiday and seasonal materials.  I actually plan my entire year of therapy around themes! I try to find great books to go along with each theme.  (more on books later!) I pick a theme for each month and assign materials to accompany it.  I store each individual material in a large manilla envelope (from DollarTree).  I put worksheets and handouts in a large clear envelope labeled for each month.  I store all materials in BIG clear tupperware bins, separated by month.  I label everything.  Each month, I pull out the clear envelope and all the manilla envelopes of materials I have for that month.  Easy!

Here is an example of the themes I use.
September- Back to school/ Fire Safety
October- Fall/ Halloween
November- Explorers/ Thanksgiving
December- Christmas
January- Martin Luther king, Jr Day/ Groundhog Day
February- Snow/ Valentine's Day
March- Penguins/ Pirates/ St. Patrick's day
April- Spring/ Fish/ Earth Day
May- Lifecycles/ Bugs
June- Summer

2. You need binders! 

I try to always buy Avery Economy Binders at Walmart. They are under $2, have plastic binder sleeves and front pockets.  I organized all of my non-seasonal/ non-themed materials by intervention target or administrative topic.  My binders include Phonology, Articulation, Fluency, Phonemic awareness,  Social skills, apraxia, parent handouts, ASHA CEUs, CCSS, Reading Comprehension and Phonics. I put everything in sheet protectors so I can make easy copies!

3. Bins!
Homegoods, Target dollar spot and Dollar Tree are great places to score inexpensive bins.  I use large bins for special things like Sensory materials (felt food, play doh, etc).  I also use small bins for special office supplies (like the amazing chalkboard clips I found at Michaels)!  Buy some printable labels at the dollar store for an extra snazzy look!

4.  Books, books, books!
I can never have enough children's books!  I love using books in therapy.  I create many book companions to address literacy precursors.  It makes hitting those CCSS of vocabulary, sequencing, cause/effect, problem/ solutions, etc very easy!  As I mentioned, I use themes in therapy.  So, I organized all of my books by the month I will use them.  I separated the months by using paint sticks from Home Depot! Free, easy and organized!

Thanks for reading and I hope you picked up some organizational tips! Leave a comment if you'd like to get a better look at anything specific.

Happy Back to School!