The Amazing Binder Clip

I'm a little OCD when it comes to school supplies (what teacher isn't!!) and one of the tools I like to hoard is binder clips.  I looked through my carefully organized drawer of binder clips (in 5 different sizes and 4 colors) and tried to figure out some ways I could use them up!  Here's a few ideas that I came up with that really helped me get some spaces more organized!

 We have a station for charging all our devices, but the cords keep falling down, so if you clip a binder clip on a desk or shelf, you can feed those little cords right through them (and for the small ones, clip them on with a smaller binder clip to the large clip) and they won't fall down anymore! This also keeps them super untangled!

 I love to read chapter books (this one is from the Magic Tree House series), but I often lose my place.  Not anymore!  Just pop a small binder clip on and never lose your place again!

 How many of these tiered folder holders do you have?  I've got three! One sits just to the right of my desk, close enough for me to see from my computer screen and phone.  I clip the staff directory/roster here and I always have every classroom extension number handy--and I can't lose it this way! 

 I also have a set of wire shelves next to my desk holding all my teacher books, but the little trinkets and bracelets that my sweet students give me often fall through the shelves, so enter the binder clip! I can clip one on the side of the shelf, hold their sweet gifts and hold up other important papers as well!

 How many of you have LOTS of little scrap papers floating around on your desk? They need a home, but not in a drawer? Yeah, me too! Use a large binder clip to act as a giant paper clip, and as a bonus, it will stand up on its own! 

 I use binder clips to display student work in the hallway too! Makes it super simple to change out their work (so easy they can do it!) and holds it on firmly attached! Much better than clothes pins!

We have a computer program that requires us to have a separate user name and log in for each student.  You can see how beat up these papers are and we are only 1/2 through the year! So by using a binder clip and hanging it from a Command Hook, we can keep them together for longer and they won't get lost!

 

 Short on space in your classroom? I have curtains up over all my open bookcases to help cut down on the clutter you see, but to also keep my kids with sensory needs happy. :)  You can use binder clips to clip on large charts and other student work to the front of them to make better use of your space!

 I just discovered this idea and I LOVE it! I have paper lanterns and lots of other student work hanging from my ceiling, but the old paper clips and strings keep falling out of the ceiling tiles.  So, by tying a string to the handle part of the binder clip, you can clip them to the drop ceiling tiles and they aren't going anywhere! :)

 

A few years ago, I switched from making labels for student mailboxes each year to using binder clips.  BEST DECISION EVER! Once my students put their mail in their mailboxes, we couldn't see their names any more, so by using binder clips, we can ALWAYS see their names and know where to put their items. :)

I hope you found a new idea or two that you can use your stash of binder clips for--or maybe you're rushing out the door to buy a big box? 

Come visit me over at Kristen's Kindergarten!