Looking for a way to organize your teaching units?  Today I'm sharing my new storage solution - Sterilite Boxes!

Many teachers use binders and that's how I initially stored units.  My issue with binders was dealing with holes punched through my master copies.   The alternative was using lots and lots of page protectors which became quite cumbersome.  Another problem was having my printables (e.g. posters, task cards, sorts) slide out of the binder.

So I ditched binders and went to file folders and hanging files for my filing cabinet.   It solved my hole-punch aversion issues!   It also neatly held my printables for each unit.  The only drawback was when the unit became too big and weighed down the folder - I would have to split it into smaller files.

Then I found these at Walmart: Sterilite Large Clip Boxes. You can also grab them at Amazon.

Why do I love them? They are large enough to keep files of worksheets and printables and small enough to store stacks of them.  In this box I have 5 science units in storage pockets plus support materials for the units.  I started with 4 boxes and then kept going back for more! 

I now keep my materials for Language Arts in my filing cabinet.  There is so much more space and I can be pretty specific.  It's so much easier finding what I need!

If you'd like to try a similar storage method, you can grab an editable version of my labels {here}.

How do you organize your files?  What are the pros and cons?