Taming My File Cabinet Clutter and a Freebie

Hey teacher friends! It's Jessica from Covered in Glitter and Glue. I'm stopping by today to tell you about one of my my only summer project that I worked on for my classroom. I just couldn't find the motivation this year to do much more than that! 

I decided this summer to tame the beast that is my file cabinet. Or at least one of the drawers in my file cabinet. Let's not get too crazy. 

I wanted to move my monthly files to binders to help keep them organized and in control. In the past I would tend to find a copy of something I liked and stash it in the corresponding month's file, only to every year pull out the files a month at a time and recycle a bunch of things I didn't want or wouldn't use. In my mind, hole punching a paper and putting it in a binder is a lot more commitment to that paper, and it better be good to go through all that! 

Here are the supplies I used: 

-1/2 inch clear-view binders (one for each month of the school year)

-sheet protectors

-sticky labels (I don't know their fancy name)

-binder covers

-labels for the spines

I brought home the first half of the school year's files to begin with and whipped up some covers. Inside the binders I sorted the papers by theme (First Day of School, Back to School Night, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving, etc.) and craftivities. The themed papers I put in the front with the labels dividing them. 

The craftivities I put in the back of the binder in individual sheet protectors. 

I used some Martha Stewart labels from Staples and typed the months on them to attach to the spines of the binder and called it a day. Because really...I have no patience for binder spines. Especially for 1/2 inch binders.

I'm pretty excited with how this project turned out. When I dropped off the binders at school I realized they take up half of the space in the file cabinet drawer than the files alone did! Wahoo! 

If you're interested in my monthly binder covers, you can snag them for FREE at my Teachers Pay Teachers Store or by clicking the picture below. 

Happy Thursday everyone!