
I know it can be challenging to not get caught up in fawning over all the Pinterest perfect classroom themes and decorations, but you’ll soon realize that your young elementary students won’t care if your bulletin boards all match or there are random containers on the shelves. What they care most about is who you are as a teacher, how you make them feel, and if they enjoy coming to school.
I’m going to share with you the nitty gritty organization hacks for your teaching supplies! Not how to make all of your pillows correlate with your classroom rug or fancy lights draped across your whiteboard, but how to effectively organize and store your teaching supplies with minimal storage materials or space!

Teacher Guides, Blackline Masters, and Student Textbooks
I think these are resources that take up some of the most space in our classrooms! To start with your teacher guides, do some research yourself or check with your teaching team or administrator to see if there is an online copy for each subject you teach! If it’s on your computer, you don’t have to sweat making a space for it. You also may have several professional development books that have accumulated over the years, along with manuals and method books such as Daily 5, StoryWorkshop, or Scholastic workbooks, as well. These resources are perfectly fine placed on a bookcase, or if you feel like your bookcases get disorganized quickly, try placing them in magazine folders on your shelves!
Student textbooks are also another resource that teachers tend to have different opinions on. If you like holding on to them yourself, bookshelves are a great option, or putting them in clear tubs with labels is helpful as you can instruct your students where they are and to grab their own textbook when needed. Or if you need the extra shelf space for your own materials, just have each student store it in their own desk! Out of sight, out of mind. 😉

Personal Purchases
When you spend your own money on teaching supplies, I can totally appreciate wanting to protect and secure them as much as possible. One thing I have purchased a ton of myself is book studies. I store these in clear ziplock bags with all of the teaching materials included. If the books are small and there’s room, I’ll store the student books also in the bags, but if there’s no room, I prefer to place the books directly beside each story’s teaching materials, or place everything together in their own individual tub.
Binders are another great option for your Teachers Pay Teachers resources! I typically purchase white binders from Costco or The Dollar Store, as there are always a variety of sizes available. I find binders to store perfectly in milk crates. I just tip them on their sides to make them more easily accessible, drape some fabric over them for a little decoration (and to hide the binder spines because they don’t match), and group them together by subject so they are easy to find.
If you’re looking to save some money, a cheaper option would be to store your Teachers Pay Teachers resources in file folders or ask your colleagues if they have any old binders or file folders laying around that they don’t use anymore. Every once in a while someone will graciously leave a binder in the copy room that I’m able to put to good use!

Math Manipulatives, Games, & Centers
I have 8 bins of common manipulatives that are not kept in a cupboard, but out on display at all times. Things like mini erasers, place value rods and cubes, play money, premade card games, and dice are all manipulatives that I have my students work with on a daily basis. Sometimes I get lucky and the packaging of the manipulatives is sturdy and I can just keep them directly in what they came in. I highly recommend storing the things you use on a daily basis in the most convenient way possible for you!
Along with math manipulatives, I store all math games in the same cupboard or area. Many times we need the manipulatives in order to play the games, so it’s easiest to keep these things close together. I also have centers set up and stored in ziplock bags that I then keep in individual tubs and grouped by topic such as measurement, addition, subtraction, and so on.
I also have 8 bins for word work centers displayed at all times, as well. These are organized by theme and stored in ziplock bags. I have many other bins for word work centers, but rotate 2-4 of the bins each week. This really helps me stay organized with what content and lessons we’re on and what we’ve already done!

Classroom Library
I like to put out around 50 books at a time for my students to select from. I have many more in total, but I swap out the books that are on display about every 2 weeks to keep things fresh and engaging for my students. I keep all of my classroom library books in bins and group them loosely by season or theme. By keeping them in bins, it makes it easier for me to swap out the books regularly and give the kids lots of choice. My books don’t get roughed up as much either when they aren’t out on display all year long. 🙂

Creating Your Own Storage
Of course tubs, crates, and baskets are all handy and sturdy to store supplies in, but I also know purchasing them can become rather expensive, too. Creating your own storage is just as effective! I once purchased a reading program that I stored copies of in pre-packaged cereal bars, square boxes. I covered up the boxes, made labels and laminated them, and I’ve had them for years now! Amazon boxes work great, too. Just cover them with contact paper, colored paper from your school, or even duct tape, and then just label the outside. Nobody will know the difference. 🙂
You could also use peanut butter jars for small manipulatives, tissue boxes, some types of nut cans, shoe boxes, or even Pringles cans for certain supplies! Just get creative – if it holds and stores what you need it to, there’s nothing wrong with it being recycled. 🙂
I wish I could see your classrooms and all the great ideas you come up with as you organize your teaching supplies. I hope these hacks are helpful to you and you’re able to make them your own!
