A Superstar Study Box

I have tried about a bazillion and one ways to organize kid's school paperwork throughout the years, and this time I think I finally have a system that I will love for the rest of their years.  It only took me five years of trying different things to get to this point, but I am excited to report that it is an easy and WORKING system!

First, let's take a quick second to reflect on my attempted methods:

• Counter Top Piles: Pile current/important papers on the counter
• Magnets to the Fridge:  Attach current/important papers to the fridge
• Personal In-Boxes:  File current/important papers in a personal in-box
• Household Management Binder:  Keep current/important papers in plastic sleeves in the binder

The last two were working better than the first two.  But still, with three kids, they just weren't working well.  I was using their in-boxes to store papers that I wanted to file away to keep, current newsletters and current homework.  Anytime I wanted to find something, I was looking through a stack of papers.   The kids were in a great habit of coming home and putting their items in their bins, but sometimes when they did that, I would miss things.  So, I moved to the Household Binder system about a year ago and it was working well.  I had a section for each child and would keep all current items in plastic sleeves and then use their in boxes for everything else.  It's a tad bit of a pain to keep inserting papers in and out of sleeves each day/week.  And the kids would carry around my Household Binder everywhere, which wasn't effective either.

I had been racking my brain for a better solution.  And receiving many questions from you all as well.  It seems that the stacks of papers that come home from school {or that are created from homeschooling}, are a plenty.

So I got three boxes, one for each boy and added labels {I found the document boxes at Walmart, they are the same ones that we fell in love in for our LEGO storage}.

My thought was that each boy could grab their box at study hour {we do study hour every afternoon/evening}.  I wanted the box to be just for them, where their current assignments and information was housed.

I found the big trouble with all of the papers was that there were not only a lot, but some that were more just for reference {school calendars, newsletters, schedules, etc...} and others that required action and would need to be returned {homework, book logs, spelling lists, practice charts, etc...}.  So I created two folders for each box, one "Information" and one "Action":

The rest was simple.  I just popped in a notebook for spelling practice and taking notes, sharpened pencils, an eraser, markers and crayons.

Each little man now has his very own.  Everything is labeled clearly so the hubs and I always know right where to look and even the kids can easily identify and understand the system.  The kids are not bickering over sharing supplies {not that they would, ha!}, and think it's so neat to have their own special box to use at the desk or table. 

No more giant piles or stacks of papers.  No more filtering through the informational papers to find the assignments.  No more kids mixing things up or hiding my household binder.  Life is good!

And if you are wondering where we are storing the boxes, they are sitting on a desk that the kids can use for homework in our living/dining/kitchen area:

The best part is, it's easily modifiable to fit your personal needs.  It's all about finding a concept and adapting it into your lifestyle.

Who has a similar solution and how is it working for you?  What other ideas can you share that have helped you tame the school paperwork monster?

Pssst... Wondering how we handle all of the projects, tests, stories and report cards that we just can't part with.  Check out that post here.