Stickers Organized!

One of the things I love most about summer vacation is that it finally gives me a chance to tinker around with some of my smaller, less-demanding projects that my busy schedule won't accommodate  during the school year.

I have a HUGE sticker collection that I inherited from another teacher. The collection was already organized when I received it, but all of the stickers were stored in a gigantic binder that was bursting at the seams. It was a mess. After a few years, I ditched the binder and kept all of the sticker-filled page protectors in a box. That worked, but continued to be a mess. I wish I had captured a "before" picture, but I'm also kind of relieved that I don't have to share the sticker-filled clutter with you.

But anyway. . . back to the organization! To get started, I went through the entire collection and cleaned house a bit. I sorted through all of my stickers and I donated the really uncool, outdated stickers to someone that had a use for them. I also trimmed some of the larger sticker sheets to create a more uniform feel to the collection. I have a TON of stickers that I have earned from Highlights Magazine. You guys know what I'm talking about. I used the highlights sticker sheets as my reference-the pages all measure to be 5x8". All sticker sheets larger than the highlights pages were trimmed to a smaller size.

Next, I found a box that was the right size for holding all of my newly-tidied stickers. The best thing I could find was a men's shoebox. It was gray and boring, but that was ok-I had a plan! I wanted my sticker box to match my classroom decor so I decoupaged the box with the scraps from when I Fancied Up my Sterlite Drawers.

As you can see, I cut the scrapbook paper into strips, then glued them to the shoebox with Mod Podge. The next day, I sprayed the newly-decorated box with clear acrylic spray to ensure a good seal.

Once the box was ready to go, I filled it with my organized stickers. I created my own dividers with poster board cut into 8.5x5" sections. The top 1/2 inch of the poster board pieces was designated for creating tabs. My wonderful friend Nicki labeled all of the tabs for me. I placed seasons of the year in front (ordered chronologically from Fall to Summer), followed by an alphabetical arrangement of non-seasonal themes (animals, reading, smiley faces, etc.)

This shoebox had a few inches to spare after I filled it with my sticker collection, so I added a some fun flair to the back of the box. I'm so thrilled with the final product!

Do you have a system for organizing your stickers?

PS- Debbie at Rainbows within Reach is having a Classroom Organization linky with TONS of ideas. You may want to check it out!