Organization and Storage Ideas for the Elementary Classroom

Let’s talk about organization and storage today.

There are so many areas in a classroom. They all have different functions, and they all need to have a plan for storage and organization.

Seasonal Storage

Choose a location in your classroom to store items for your centers. I found it most accessible in my classroom to have ten large clear plastic boxes with lids. Each box was for one month of the school year. Inside the box, I placed items I only used during that month, such as seasonal items, decorations, classroom décor, seasonal books, etc. You can even include a file folder and a master copy of any worksheets and activities you might use during the month. Download these free seasonal labels to use in your own classroom.

Literacy Centers, Math Centers, & Morning Tubs

For literacy centers, math centers, morning tubs, and anything else you might use again during other times of the year, use smaller clear plastic boxes from the Dollar Tree and Ziploc baggies. Keep these more easily accessible than the monthly boxes. Label each with the month and type of center. Keep a master list of what is included each month so that the activities can be used at any time during the year. (I’m a huge believer in using things more than once.)

Related Post: Getting the Most Out of Task Cards

Teacher Desk

It’s also important to be organized at your teacher's desk, small-group/guided teacher table, and other teacher spaces. Here are some ideas.

Teacher Desk – Keeping your desk from becoming cluttered during the busy day is hard! Think about what things you need on your desk. Answering these questions will help you decide what you need in each location.

• What do I do at my desk?
• Do I need notepads, pens/pencils, a coaster, a list of passwords, etc.?
• What activities will I be working on when I am in this area?

Knowing what you will be using an area for will help you decide what kinds of supplies you need.

Ask yourself the same questions for any other areas of the room where you spend the most time. Make a list of supplies you need to accomplish those needs.

Some other places in your room for organization:

1. Ticket out the Door – If you plan to use something like this, have an area out of the way of traffic for your students to place their answers as they are ending the subject or leaving your classroom. See ideas for using this strategy along with a freebie in this blog post.

2. Important Reminders – I needed an area next to my door to hang important reminders for handing out as the students were leaving the room. These easy-peasy bulletin board dots I made were just perfect (and cheap!) for this area. Click here to read how to make your own bulletin board dots.

3. Small-Group/Teacher-Guided Area – A small bookshelf that can store baskets filled with commonly used items works great for this area. Keep things like dry-erase boards, markers, erasers, etc. that are used often and baskets for other activities you might choose for a smaller amount of time.

Read how to use small groups as an effective teaching strategy.

See more information at these links:

Morning Tubs

No Prep Literacy Centers

No Prep Math Centers

Having a place for everything in your classroom will help when you are lesson planning, preparing for the next day or week, and so much more.

Having everything organized and ready to go will help you get out the door on time each afternoon and isn't that one of your main goals?

What organization ideas do you have for your own classroom? Comment below to share. I would love to hear them!

Helping you with ideas for organizing your classroom is...

My Kind of Teaching