Organising different categories of paperwork

Hi Marcia, My biggest organising challenge is trying to find a way to keep (and later find to use again without tearing the house apart) all my different teaching worksheets and the accompanying examples from arts and crafts and science things that I do. I teach several different classes that range from three-year-olds all the way up to teaching English to executives. Therefore I have a wide assortment of materials that I use, much of which I have made myself. Any ideas? I do not have an extra room or even a closet at home for all this. Besides private classes, I work in two schools, where in one I have no space to leave anything and in the other I have a small cupboard. So most of the stuff goes home to our three bedroom apartment - with nine people living in it! Susan

Here's my answer.


Wow, Susan, that IS a challenge. Teaching all those classes with no storage space. And then having to bring it home to your apartment.

I have a couple of suggestions for you.


1. Go through everything you have and declutter as much as possible
It's even more important to have only what you need when you have limited space.

You might find that you've been teaching a particular subject for years and you know it so well that you don't need half the stuff you think you do. (I've found this to be true for my goal-setting and time management workshops)


2. Categorise and label
Now that you have less stuff, it's going to be really easy to sort it all out into files and label it.

The better you label, the easier it will be to find.

I'd tend to sort first by subject, then by level. E.g. English - 3-year-olds, executives, etc.


3. Dedicate a place for all your teaching worksheets
You now have less stuff and it's all organised. Now you know exactly how much you have to store.

Definitely use the small cupboard in the one school; if possible, I'd try to fit everything you need at that school into that cupboard.

Then dedicate a small space in your apartment (even if only a banker's box) for the rest of the stuff.


By the way, there's more on paper organising in 7 easy steps to organise your office.


Any other suggestions for Susan?