How to organize homeschool files ⋆ R.E.A.L.-World Learners

Spring seems to bring out the little Cleaning-Organizing-Planning nymphs that live latently somewhere in the back of our saturated brain cells. (Or it’s just me??)

If you’ve noticed yourself (or the online world around you) buzzing with dreams and fresh hopes for the homeschool year ahead, you may have also happened to wonder … “how do I keep track of all these resources and freebies and ideas and digital curriculum?”

How to organize homeschool files - these simple steps, pictures, and explanations will help you conquer the chaos of digital files and papers - with a clear system in place to quickly access resources, homeschooling becomes much more peaceful and simple! #simplehomeschool #homeschoolhacks #homeschoolingtips #organize #realworldlearners

This page contains affiliate links. See my full disclosure and privacy policy here.

Have you ever found yourself searching for “how to organize homeschool files?”

I’ll share 2 secrets with you.

This post outlines my ideal plan for organizing all those digital and paper files so they can be quickly accessed whenever needed. … and …
I’m a hot mess when it comes to real-world organization! One part of my brain is really good at creating organized systems – but the other part is not good about keeping up with them. So there’s that. Okay, but to the point.

Don’t Touch It (twice)!

I try to live by a rule I learned from a friend – never touch something twice. Basically, make a decision the first time you see it and find a home for it – rather than leaving open tabs on your computer or papers lying on counters (etc) that you think you’ll go back to later.

I don’t exactly live up to that standard, but the idea does influence a lot of what I do. So – I’m constantly checking my email (i get 20-30 a day! but I did sign up for all of those lists at one point or another 😉 ) and make decisions in the moment about whether a resource will be helpful. If it is, but I’m not by my computer, I star the message. When I get to my computer, I print out the pages that are most relevant, then save the file for later.

Organizing Digital Files

Here’s a simple “how to organize homeschool files” plan for all those freebies you’ll find around the interwebs :).

Step 1: Set up a new folder labeled “Homeschool Resources.”

Preferably use a location where you have lots of space – your external drive, Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, etc.

Step 2: Create sub-folders for each subject area.

This is a much more useful categorization than organizing by child’s name or company name. If you do find resources that are specific to one child, put those within a sub-folder labeled with that child’s name and their current age. Most likely, you’ll re-use these digital products for multiple children though, so only save it this way if it truly is only applicable to one child.

Step 3: As you save files to these subject-specific folders, re-name them something that is meaningful to you.

You may want to create sub-folders for specific companies or bloggers, if you get more than a few things from one in particular.

Tip: Only do this if the name of the company or blogger is meaningful to you and you’ll know at a glance what kind of material is inside.

Step 4: As you save each file, decide if you’ll use it within the next few weeks.

(… or longer, if you’re really ambitious and organized!). If so, print off the pages that are immediately applicable, and make sure the company/blogger name is on the page so you can find the digital file again later in your digital files when you’re ready to print more.

Tip: Print 2 or 4 pages to a page to save paper!

I also try to only print or save/download resources that are either immediately helpful or will be useful within the year. (My bookshelves, on the other hand … could take us from now until college graduation with twelve baskets left over!)

Free Master Plan

You can get a free copy of this Master Plan for Organizing Digital and Paper Homeschool Resources to print out and keep by your computer as you organize your own files – see details at the end of this post.

Organizing all those printables!

Here’s a picture of one ubiquitous-paper-mastering-technique that has a lot of good potential (this is a carry-over from my teaching days – and teaching supplies):

How to organize homeschool files - these wall-mounted hanging files help organize papers by subject - and it's easy to see what you have!

This hanging wall-mounted file pocket system is great for organizing papers by subject. Use this for re-usable activities (laminate or print on cardstock for durability) and clearly label both the fabric pockets (by subject area) and the file folders (by activity name).

I don’t have a laminator but I use plastic page protectors (or these nicer plastic sleeves that you can put papers into) so that we can use dry erase markers on printable activities / worksheets and then keep the original paper nice (and use for the next kid in line 😉 ).

Use file folders (cute ones pictured here just because pretty office supplies make me happy) to insert in each pocket to help the whole thing hold it’s shape, and to keep several activities in one pocket without making it messy.

Make sure that each printable you put in these files has the name of the company/blogger who created it. That way, if you need to print more pages from a large file or make more copies of it later, you’ll be able to find it again on your computer – because your digital files will also be organized by subject with sub-folders for companies/bloggers :).

Active Use Papers

Since I’m signed up for so many homeschool blogger email lists, I regularly run across a freebie (or paid product) that I want to use in the near future. I’ve assembled “active use binders” for each of my kids for these.

These binders are a little more loosely organized.

I have a zippered pencil pouch for their pencils, crayons, glue, and scissors – so they don’t have to run around the house looking for things when it’s time to work. (Just kidding. They still run around the house. All Day.)

Then I put their daily work pages in the front (more about these, as well as free copies for you to use – coming soon!), followed by a few pocket folders (the kind that can fit in a 3-ring binder. Each folder is for a subject area, but we don’t have one for every subject in there, since I want this binder to be only active use items (or things I want them to use in the near future, without losing momentum by having to go to the computer to print something out.)

In the back, I have several plastic sheet protectors – I use these to display completed “masterpieces” before I move them over to the photo clip line or into our portfolio for our “best-of” work for the year.

Organizing our homeschooling room

COMING SOON! You can see more pictures and descriptions about ways we’ve come up with to create viably organized systems for all our homeschool resources at home here.