An Organized Study Box

With the kids starting school in a few weeks, we've been organizing all.the.things. The whole 'back to school organization' started with our closet re-do that I've been keeping top secret for now. (Hoping to reveal tomorrow!)

Up until now our school supplies lived in an overstuffed drawer in the kitchen. When it came time to do homework the "where's the ruler/colored pencils/notebook" questions would start and we'd spent way too much time looking for these items. There was definitely a need for a better system. But, hey isn't that how organizing works? You see a need and then find a solution that works for you!

The kids typically do homework right after school at the kitchen table.  So my organized solution had to be easy to access, contain a variety of supplies, and needed to be quick and simple to clean up.  I decided a simple photo storage box would be the perfect set-up and would be easily accessible in our new fancy closet.

So here is the system we came up with for the upcoming school year! Hopefully it's a system that will last.

The first step was to gather all the supplies. I went through the school supplies we already had on hand and then simply jotted down a list of items to purchase. Lucky me the school supply aisles are a plenty right around now!

Here's a list of the items I added: 

1. Ruler

2. A Photo storage box (any box or bin would be fine)

3. Pencils

4. Electric Pencil Sharpener

5. Highlighters

6. Eraser

7. Pencil/Pen Case

8. Glue

9. Notebook

10. Scissors

11. Tape

12. Markers

13. Stapler

14. Pens

15. Crayons

Now, my kids are 9 and 13 (4th and 8th grade) so this seemed like the perfect round up of supplies.  Should the needs change, no biggie. I can always add/remove items.  

But, of course I can't leave well enough alone.  I need everything to be fancy. 

There isn't a whole lot in that pile that can be glammed up, but I spy two things that can...those pencil/pen cases and of course the box!

So here's a few options I tried!

I took my ever faithful label maker and some washi tape to create these simple labels.  And of course I have gold tape for the label maker! Would we expect anything less? This took me all of 2 minutes to complete and it's instant organization happiness.  

Option 2 is to use a silhouette to create vinyl letters.

This process takes a bit longer for me because I'm just learning how to use it, but equally simple and reversible if you decide to change things!

I also used this technique to label the box in an equally fancy way.  

All the silhouette rules I've read say to use big, thick fonts but I couldn't resist using this super girly one. 

So, after I gussied everything up I placed it all in the box!

It all fit with room to spare! Now come homework time, the kids can grab the box from the shelf and have everything they need.  Here's to hoping this solves the "where's the __" at homework time! 

Alright here's a sneak peak of it on the closet shelf!

I'd love to hear what homework supply solutions work for you! Anyone else use a study box? Or drawer? 

I can't believe it's already back to school time! 

Have a great day!