How To Organize School Work Easily And Effectively

Keeping school work and papers organized can be challenging – especially if you have multiple kids! I finally developed a system that has worked well in our house for several years. Learn how to organize school work effectively so nothing gets lost and the house remains tidy.

Do you have a paper problem in your house? Most families do, and it’s no wonder why. 

If it’s not junk mail, it’s school papers! How is it that a child manages to fill a backpack with notebooks, planners, binders, and even more paper almost every day of the week? 

With four kids, we get so many assignments, handouts, and other papers coming home from school each day that we could easily get buried! 

But we don’t. And I’ll show you how!

This topic is near and dear to the hearts of many families because it’s such an ongoing problem. So there have to be better ways of tackling the paper problem, right?

Good news… there are!

Why Learning How To Organize School Work Is Necessary

Recently, I shared how I eliminated 95% of our paperwork and how I keep the remaining paperwork neatly organized. 

But kids’ school papers are separate and different from regular household paperwork, so many classic organization systems just aren’t effective. One reason is that the kids bring it home almost every day. If you have multiple kids like me, that’s multiple piles you have to think about. 

Next, there are so many different types of papers that find their way home throughout the school year, including: 

• homework assignments (hello, essay that’s due tomorrow) 
• permission slips that need to be returned
• items with important due dates and deadlines
• weekly reading charts
• notes from teachers
• announcements
• monthly calendars
• schedule changes
• book orders
• PTA fundraising paperwork
• long term projects
• general classroom papers
• and more!

It can get messy quickly.

Before school started a few years ago, I knew I needed to make some changes and get a fresh start. I simplified things in a big way by implementing a new routine for organizing school papers. Now, YEARS later, it still works great with four kids’ worth of school papers!

We love how easy this method is for organizing school papers. The key is in its simplicity, and here’s how we do it.

How To Organize School Work The Easy Way

As with any concept in organizing, the first step is to assign where things belong. I designated four separate areas for my kids’ school papers.

1) Finished Papers Go In My Closet

I purchased a six-shelf organizer from Amazon back in August. It’s not the prettiest option. And yes, it’s made out of cardboard, but it serves its purpose quite nicely.

I chose this organizer because it has six slots. Each of my kids has a shelf of their own, which I labeled with my label maker. {Labeling simplifies everything!}

The top two shelves are for me. I use one for miscellaneous papers since it’s always good to have a spot for those random papers that would otherwise be left lying around. Another slot is where I put things like special pictures the kids draw for me, birthday cards, etc.

When a slot becomes full, I prune down the pile. We don’t need 30 reading comprehension pages, so I throw out most of them and keep one or two. The remaining papers go to a more permanent home in each child’s school papers box in the attic. (More on that below.)

2) The Kids Have Their Own Homework Slots

There is room in our family command center for homework, reading charts, etc. Basically, anything that needs to be finished or returned to school goes into their homework slot.

3) Attention-Needing School Paperwork Goes In My Wall Organizer

Permission slips, notes, or announcements that I need to handle go in my wall organizer next to my desk. This is my reminder to take care of it, and there’s no clutter on my desk either.

4. Old School Papers Go In The Attic

I use simple $2 plastic bins to organize old school papers. Check out how I did that, plus get the free printable dividers I created in this post about how to store school papers.

Basically, each child has their own bin, with simple file folders to divide each grade.

It’s not fancy, but it was free (I already had the plastic bins and folders at home). I considered trying one of the much nicer file folder box ideas for organizing school papers that I’ve seen on Pinterest. However, with four kids, it would have been too expensive.

My main point around this is that my simple bin method is just as effective.

I used to have one bin for each grade for each child, but once again, with four kids, that adds up quickly. My oldest alone would have seven bins!

This past summer, I used the Marie Kondo method for organizing my whole house and realized I can still save wonderful memories without saving every single paper my children ever do.

That’s it! Learning how to organize school work isn’t a complicated process. Just make it effective. If this method for organizing school papers can work with my four kids, have confidence that you can make it work for your family too!

How To Organize School Work FAQs

Here are the answers to a couple of questions that I see readers frequently ask about my system for how to organize school work.

How do I declutter school papers?

This system is a great way to declutter school papers and keep everything you need accessible and organized. My other favorite tip is to recycle every single piece of paper you can, such as old, graded assignments, out-of-date calendars, old reminder papers, etc.

Could I use a different organizer just as effectively?

Sure! I linked to the organizer I used because I wanted to be able to show you that you don’t need the most expensive or fancy products available. You just need something that’s effective. 

If you have fewer kids, you probably don’t need an organizer that’s as large – or you could use the same one and repurpose some of the other slots. It’s a simple system that you can easily adjust to fit your specific needs.

I hope this overview on how to organize school work is helpful for getting rid of those endless paper piles in your home! Since it helped me transform our home, I know it can help you too.

More Posts to Get Your Home Organized

• 4 Smarter Ways to Organize Your Medicine Cabinet (with Stuff Around the House)
• How to Organize Paperwork Once and For All in 3 Simple Steps
• The Easy Way to Organize Kids’ Clothes
• How to Organize Spices the Simple Way