Recycled, Inexpensive Storage and Supplies for Home-Schooling

When I homeschooled our four children, we lived on one income in a mobile home. Space and money was limited. Here is my diy, budget homeschooling materials list. I’ve included organization and storage tips, using shoeboxes, plastic laundry bins and plastic bins with drawers.

Storage:

Shoe boxes are free, but they don’t stack very well and tip over easily. Cardboard copy paper boxes with lids work well for lightweight things.

Laundry soap bins are good for storage. Upright, they stack well, but are difficult to store items that you want to lay flat. Tipped sideways and left open, they can be used like bulk storage bins. They tilt down in the back and prevent spilling.

Plastic wheeled carts with drawers work well. They come in several sizes and are reasonably priced. They can be stacked also.

Homeschool supplies:

Arts and crafts, projects: Watch secondhand stores, craft stores, garage sales and sidewalk sales for decorating, sewing and craft supplies. Many people are only too happy to give you stuff they’ve saved over the years. Older people don’t like waste and they save a lot. Sort craft supplies into stacking three-drawer organizers with shallow 3″ drawers. Label each drawer.

beads: sorted by style-wood, glass, plastic and letters
wire
embroidery floss
faux gems
feathers
string
stickers
artificial flowers
ribbon and lace scraps
modeling clay
buttons
sew -on patches
fabric scraps
miniatures
rubber stamps
paint

For paper:
–at the computer desk, we have stacking paper trays with: notebook paper, copy paper, scrap paper, graphing paper, and construction paper
— For larger pieces (poster or 12″x18″) I stack them upright between wall and organizer. This keeps them neat, handy and out of the way.
–for smaller pieces, store them upright in drawers sorted by style and kind: tissue, wrapping, foil, tag board, etc. Keep envelopesof all sizes too.

Yarn and fabric: I use a cheap hanging shoe or sweater caddy. Hang it from a closet or make a closet anywhere with a heavy tension rod. I have several of these for yarns rolls, fabric pieces, fabric projects.

For more homeschool tips, visit my blogs listed.