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It is so close to another school year beginning and the hustle and bustle to get all of the kids school supplies purchased. What binders to get, should I have fancy pencils or plain should I color co-ordinate my notebooks and folders?
There are some really big decisions to be made, but we also need to plan how to organize what we purchase, notes from classes that we take and how to carry the least amount of books at one time.
We take a large amount of brainpower to make the decision on our purchases for school, but you have to take into consideration how heavy these things are going to be to carry home. You will want to make sure that you have everything that you need in order to study for that big test tomorrow, that includes old tests, notes, daily and weekly assignments, chapter reviews etc. Now that is really a large amount of paper to have to choose what to do with.
Some of these hints may help you to organize your work a little better and to get rid of the non-essential things that you normally carry home everyday.
- When you are making your purchases for the school year, always purchase extra pens, pencils, erasers, markers, tape, glue, compass, protractor etc. to leave at home. This not only comes in handy for homework, but for those special reports and projects that pop up through the school year.
- Now is also a good time, plan ahead, for the rest of the school year. You will never get school supplies any cheaper than at the beginning of the school year, so purchase notebooks, binder paper, folders for the second semester and pack them away.
- Purchase a file box, plastic, medal or a banker's box to keep all of those notes for classes and tests in for each subject. That way you have them organized and handy to find when it comes time for quarterly and semester tests. You will also want to review some of these notes for SAT tests.
Now, let me give you some Pro's and Con's to storing papers and notebooks and you can make your decision on what works best for your lifestyle.
One Binder for all:
Pros
1. Easy access to 'all' notebooks for homework and test
information.
Cons
1. This can become too heavy to carry around all day
2. You end up taking home things that you don't need
3. There isn't any place to store the extra papers that you will need for each subject for studying
Single Binders or Folders (Prong insert) for Notebooks
Cons
1. With separate binders and folders you will be caring home extra weight.
Pros
1. One binder can hold the notebook and you can use a three hole binder punch to keep track of extra papers and tests.
2. You will be able to take home only the books and papers that you need on the specific day.
3. All of your papers and notebooks for a specific class will be organized as to the way they were used in class. (Easier for quarterly and semester tests)
Other option.
Keep everything in separate notebooks (color coordinated) for each class and set up a filing system at home with each manilla folder labeled per class, that holds all of the test and extra papers that you accumulate for that class. Then when you need them, just pull out the folder. This however, would not be handy for you if you have extra study time in class or at the school library.
My suggestion;
Go with the separate binders per class so that all of your papers are accessible to you no matter where you are. True it would be a little cumbersome transporting, but you wouldn't be caring books for every class you have, only the ones that you need to work on for that day. At the end of
the semester you can pull the papers out, start a new notebook and file the old notebook and papers in your file box. These can still come in handy at the end of the year (don't get rid of them yet) and for SAT tests in your senior year.
Jan Hayner is a Professional Organizer and always looking for ways to make life easier by organizing you life the easy way. Go to her website for more tips and hints on organizing and house cleaning shortcuts. Get her free pamphlets, sign up for a monthly newsletter and print her checklists to help to guide you.
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