I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I have a slight case of OCD when it comes to neatness, organization, and office supplies. I’m so in love with Ziploc bags that when I saw this system on Pinterest, I knew that I had to organzie my homemade (and printed from online sources) materials with it! Isn’t it genius?! The site describes that using tape on the seam of a Ziploc bag allows it to be 3-hole punched. The holes are reinforced by the tape so it won’t rip, stretch, fall out of the binder, etc. Plus, the Ziploc bags are roomy and flexible! I prefer the bags with the “slider” zipper and mine are actually Hefty, not Ziploc. I find the “slider” bags are easier to open and close quickly and they ensure a good seal if the students are closing them. Of course I used my zebra-print duct tape to decorate my bags! I found that folding the duct tape in half along the left seam of the bag was enough. The picture in the pin makes it look like you need the duct tape wider – a full piece per side. I don’t believe so. Then, I 3-hole punched and Voila! Here’s a look at my binders:
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| I <3 binders! |
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| Here’s my Artic binder with a view of my Multisyllabic Watermelons & Roller Coaster /s/ Blends games! Find them in my TPT store! |
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| I need more bags… Shocker. |
I also found free, printable binder covers on Pinterest that I used to categorize my games/materials. ***I can’t find the exact pin that I used, but I’ve seen tons of them all over the place. So far I have binders for: Language (aka Semantics), Artic, Grammar, & Answering Questions. I ADORE my binders.
I also found a really fun way to organize my supplemental Candy Land cards (from Speech Room News). I have purchased 2 of these so far. My version of Candy Land comes in a plastic box that’s supposed to look like a book. It’s too small to fit all of my decks in individual bags, so I came up with this:
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| I cut out just the title of each set and stuck it behind the cards so it’s visible from the outside when the book is closed. |
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| A view of the book open |
This is a “book” made of thin plastic/vinyl with 12 little pockets (each about the size of an index card) with a flap that keeps the pocket closed. It turned out to be the perfect place to keep all of my Candy Land sets! (I currently have 2, with one more on my wishlist!) I got this organizer at Michael’s a couple of years ago in the scrapbook storage section. It didn’t cost much more, if any, than $10. With a coupon, you can’t beat that! It’s very narrow and lightweight. I had been keeping some small sets of random, homemade, rarely-used minimal pair cards in it. I like this idea much better!
And now for a giveaway! I promised that when SLPirates’s Facebook page reached over 25 ‘likes”, I’d do a pirate-themed giveaway. Welp, my “likes” skyrocketed to over 175 in about 3 hours (THANK YOU!), so it’s time for those pirates! I’m giving away a copy of my Vocalic /ar/ Board Games. It is a set of 3 game boards targeting /ar/ in initial, medial, and final word position. Take a look here.
Enter the giveaway via Rafflcopter below.
Thanks for reading! If you have pictures of your organization systems for your printed materials, please email them to SpeechLanguagePirates@gmail.com I’d love to see them!
~Denise
Great organization idea!
I love this idea! Thanks for sharing!
Lindsay
lcslp.blogspot.com
I am just starting out and like your organization ideas! Thanks! Emily S
My students have the most difficulty with /ir/.
Most of my students struggle with -ar.
Just found your blog and it is great! Love the binders with zip lock bags! I never would have thought of that! My kids struggle the most with -ire words.
This is exactly how I organize, except I do it by theme! Great minds 🙂
Jenn
Crazy Speech World
I've been deliberating how to organize all these materials I've printed!
i keep my materials in ziplock bags inside my filing cabinet but it has always felt so unorganized and i have been trying to figure out a better system for awhile so THANK YOU THANK YOU for the great ideas!!!
Mine struggle with -ar. I usually keep my materials in zip lock bags in a big bin. I love your ideas.
Miss Thrifty SLP
I'd love to win this!
My kids struggle most with “or” words.
Do you find that the card decks take up lots of space due to how thick they are in the bags? I have trouble fitting all my materials in a binder due to the card decks. Just curious if I'm doing something wrong, though I think the zip top bags might work better than just my off brand 🙂
Just found your blog and added it to my Pinterest board. My students have a hard time with /er/. Great idea for organizing materials. Another use for duck tape 🙂
Love your blog!
They do take up a lot of space but I keep them in big enough binders and have a lot of binders by category so it doesn't really matter. It also helps to lay the binders flat, rather than upright, so everything doesn't fall to the bottoms of the bags. When I close up the binder, I give it a little shake so the cards spread out and “fall” into the empty space. I rubber band some cards in the same pack together depending on what they target and place them strategically in the bag so it's spread out. I have a shelf that it specifically for these binders so it doesn't matter if they're bulky.
Hefty is cheap as far as the “name brands” go. This 30 pack of the gallon size was less than $3 at Wal-Mart. I'd rather spend a little more to maintain my sanity 🙂
I LOVE my duck tape!
Hi! Love your blog! Where did you get the plastic pockets holding the Candyland cards?
Thanks for sharing your great ideas!
I got it at Michael's in the scrapbooking section (I believe). It was a while ago, but I'm sure they still have something similar!
Great ideas! I was just looking at all my homemade games and getting frustrated with organizing them. Thanks for sharing.