Teacher Toolbox

I am addicted to Pinterest! I can't even watch TV without getting bored and going onto Pinterest. So many good ideas! One idea that I have seen a thousand times is the Teacher Toolbox. I never had a use of one last year because I kept all of these things in my desk.

Well... this year I am not moving my desk from my classroom upstairs to my new one downstairs. I've moved it from being caddy-cornered to straight and that was an extremely hard feat!  More than that, I have decided that my desk takes up so much space unnecessarily! I use the top of it for work space, but the inside just keeps things that I don't use on a day to day basis. I'd be better off storing the birthday, holiday items, etc. on baskets on shelves or in a closet and putting my files on a file stand and calling it a day! So that's what I have decided to do when moving into my new room. I'll grab some trapezoid tables that are in storage and use those as a reading group table slash my desk! I'm really excited about it.

I also had a curriculum bookshelf next to my desk and it holds so many reading books. I'm looking forward to moving them and other unnecessary teaching books away into storage and only pulling out what I need, when I need. Less clutter!

Hence my opportunity to make this wonderful Teacher Toolbox! First, Home Depot by me, did not have this box. They didn't have anything similar either. I was so sad! All they had were small boxes that looked like bead boxes or things that didn't have a complete front to the drawer, it was more like a tray. So off to Lowes I went after I looked it up online and found that these were in aisle 16. I hate going into a hardware store and looking like I don't know what I am doing. Even though I made a beeline to aisle 16, I still got asked if I needed help. (-: Anyway, this toolbox was very affordable and smaller than I had expected- which was a good thing! I don't need a huge toolbox on my shelf to house office supplies.

I was going to make my own labels but so many kind people on TpT had them for free so I found this great set from Amanda Hoffman (Amanda Hoffman Teachers Pay Teachers). I simply changed the font and added my clipart and it matched my new classroom theme. Thanks Amanda!

There is also a lot of talk on Pinterest and teacher blogs about whether to use Mod Podge to attach labels to Sterlite or drawers of any kind or to just tape it. I feel that taping is sufficient. I'm the only one who will be going in and out of these drawers, unless I send a responsible student over for a rubber band once in a while, so I can't imagine wasting my time with Mod Podge. Besides, I might change my classroom theme and want to switch out these labels a couple years down the road.

If you'd like to get my labels for FREE, please visit my TpT page: My Teachers Pay Teachers

Don't mind my fuzzy blanket! I wanted to assemble it while sitting on the futon out on my screened in porch!

Pens fit- but on a diagonal.