Back to School *Winter Semester* Organization Tips

Winter semester is upon us and it's a refreshing start to a new year. A time to get back on track and create new daily schedules and habits. Personally, I enjoy keeping all of my school supplies and classes organized and separate to keep my mind at ease and studying a bit less stressful. In this post I am going to share some of my must have supplies to stay organized and a few tips as well. Read all the way to end and a cute little DIY may be included as well. 

Separate folders and binders. Duh, right? Well if this is such an easy concept why am I forever seeing students cramming everything into one binder?! I reuse binders each semester to keep the cost down and use the simple folders you can purchase for around $1. I also use a separate one subject notebook for each class as well and keep it locked into the binder and or section for that class. 

Next, I use dividers. You know, the ones that have pockets and small tabs to write what is in that specific section? I purchased the nice plastic ones my senior year of high school and have used them since then. All I have to do is cut small pieces of paper to fill in the tab slot. How easy is that?! It helps me my course packs separate from my notes, and my projects separate from papers. If you have a class with many notes you could even use another pack of dividers in the notes section to keep chapters separate. All the wonderful organization possibilities! 

Now that I have covered the larger supplies for paper products it is time to cover the small supplies. I have quite a few things that I have found necessary to keep notes in line for large tests. The best part, you can use these supplies throughout the days and weeks so it is not overwhelming the week of the test. Here is what I find helpful: sticky notes, sticky tabs, assorted color pens, assorted color highlights, and a flash drive. 

Sticky notes: because sometimes you write notes and then need to add something else to a thought and you've already filled up the next few lines. Professors and teachers speak quickly! It's super annoying when things aren't where you need them in your notes. Use a sticky note to had a "flap" and add what's necessary. 

Sticky tabs: It is seriously annoying to be the last person flipping their book to find the chapter. Take a few moments the night before class and mark the chapter you'll be studying with a sticky tab. 

  Assorted color pens: Use one color for headings, one color for sub-lines, and another for the little blurbs you add under those. :) Simple and effective for studying! 

Assorted color highlighters: Use one color for vocabulary, one color for theories or ideas, one color for things you'd like to ask questions about. Another simple idea that I find super helpful. 

Flash drive: Because if you're anything like me, printing two copies at home still doesn't ease my mind the night before a huge assignment is due. Also, it's just really helpful to have all your assignments in one place, ANY PLACE you are. 

The last most important thing that I will not leave the house without and if I do I will call everyone I know or go home to get it, my planner. I write down each assignment, each work shift, each commitment to any other thing I am involved in, and each thing I WANT to do. Why? because time management is key. And if I happen to forget I have something due, or something going on and use that time up in my mind for something else it will throw off my time for something else and so on. What a vicious cycle! I purchased a Vera Bradley planner at the beginning of this school year and it has built in tabs... LOVE IT! It also has cute stickers that say things like "study" or "test" that make things seem a bit more fun. I could not live without my planner! It is so nice to be able to pull it out in class and write down changes to the test schedule or additional assignments. Sometimes I even write small notes to myself about an upcoming assignment next to its due date. 

Organization is key in my book for doing well in school. Just small steps and changes to your supplies or how you use them could make a huge difference! I hope you found this post helpful and I wish you the best in this upcoming semester! Happy studying and until next time! 

WAIT I'M NOT DONE YET! 

BONUS DIY IDEA! 

I spiced up my binder by lining the front with some scrap book paper and attaching a cute label onto some cardstock paper. Super simple, but super cute! Here is how one of mine turned out! 

Still not gone guys, this post is one of three that I will be putting up over the weekend. I am calling it a mini series and plan to do many more! This mini series is all about back to school for the winter semester. I look forward to posting for you guys tomorrow! See you then!