Do you have a filing cabinet or drawers full of math copies? I have had many of those in the past! When I moved rooms, the filing cabinet would move rooms with me and when I needed copies I… Wait, I did not go to these cabinets most of the time when I needed copies. I had the best intentions with keeping my filing cabinet organized! I even put in labeled folders and, most of the time, would even clip the copies together. The problem was that it took longer to find what I was looking for than it took to re-print and copy what I needed. So, that’s what I did most of the time. After a couple years, my filing cabinet was built up with a ton of copies and originals that I never touched. So, one year, I decided to ditch my filing cabinet and switch to binders. This was the best organizational decision that I ever made!
Binder Organization Setup
I am going to start by sharing with you what items I recommend you get to help make sure your binders actually stay organized! You may have many of these items at home or at school already. If you do not, I tried to find the least expensive version of each item. Here is what I suggest you buy (click on the item to be taken to this item on Amazon):
- Binders– the size is your choice, but I recommend 2-3 inch binders (You will most likely need more than one)
- Binder Pockets– Trust me, you will want these and they’re worth the money!
- Page protectors– You just need basic ones.
- Binder Dividers– I prefer the ones with pockets.
- Binder Clips– I like the assorted sizes packs and colors to be able to color code.
After buying these items, you are now ready to setup your binders. Here is a BIG tip: If possible, do the setup BEFORE your school year starts. You will be so glad you did this ahead of time and it does not take long to put it altogether! Trust me, when you are at the first week of school and quickly need to put an original or a couple extra copies somewhere, you will be glad that your binders are ready to go.
First, label your dividers and stick them in your binder. You can label in one of two ways. You can label by standard or by quarters. I like to label by quarters and then just put the standards in the order that I teach them for each quarter. You need to find what works best for you. Then, add to the back of the binder the page protectors and pockets. By putting these in the back of your binder, they will be ready to go and you will not need to look for them! You can even put some binder clips in the pockets for easy access. That’s it! This will not take you long to do, but will save you so much time in the long run and help you start the year organized.
Binder Organization Throughout the Year
Now, that your binder is all set up, it is easy to add your originals and extra copies to your binders! I put the binder in a spot by my desk for easy access. This way when I need to put an original somewhere or have extra copies, it is easy to grab. TIP: Keep a basket somewhere by your desk that you can put originals and extra copies throughout the week, BUT make sure you are weekly adding these to your binders or you will have a big project. It is a lot easier to just put in a couple things every week
I have found that the more organized the binder is, the easier it is for me to find what I need year after year. So, I am going to share with you how I keep the binder very organized and how it pays off in the end. I use the page protectors for originals. The reason that I put the original in a page protector is because it is easy to identify the original and you do not get any whole punch marks on the originals. Then, if I have any extra copies, I whole punch them, put a binder clip on them to keep them together (you can even color code if you want) and put them behind the page protector of the original. I use the clear binder pockets for task cards, anything cut out or anything smaller that you will want the next year. Also, I have used binder rings to attach task cards to the rings in the binder. This has saved me from having to re-create every year and makes it really easy to find what I need the next year.
If you like being organized, like me, ditch your filing cabinet and try binder organization! When I switched to binder organization, I realized that I was saving both paper and my time searching for what I needed. Are you more of a visual person? Click here to see me explain my binder organization in some videos!
