Made It Monday..... Getting organized

It's another Made It Monday.  This week the theme of my projects is all about organization.  I have been working hard this summer to have a classroom that is neat and organized ( as much as I possibly can).  Often my classroom "looks" organized, but if you were to open a desk drawer, look in my teacher bag, or even on top of my desk you would see a disaster of papers, paper clips, and other small items.  So... I've been working a bit on that.   All of the projects below are Pinterest inspired.  What did we ever do before Pinterest?!  Seriously!!!

I'm linking up with Tara at 4th Grade Frolics for another edition of her linky party " Made It Monday". 

The first project I worked on really doesn't qualify as a "Made It Monday" because I technically didn't make anything.  Since organization was my theme this week, I wanted to organize my teacher bag.  I found this great idea on Pinterest in which someone  put a plastic file organizer in their bag.  So.... I pulled out my Thirty One bag, purchased a plastic file organizer at Wal-mart, bought some colorful labels from the Target dollar bin, and began to ORGANIZE.  Here's my finished product:

I can easily pull this out of my bag and keep beside my desk.  I labeled it with the following:
Reading Papers to Grade
English/Spelling Papers to Grade
Math Papers to Grade
Soc. Science Papers to Grade
Papers to reteach with students
Papers to file
Items to laminate
Items to copy
Common Core
Units I'm working on

The next item I created required nothing extra to purchase.  I had kept a couple of these Tide pod containers thinking I could use them for something.    I decided to use one of them to create a "Lost and Found" box to put on the counter in my classroom.  Every year I end up with many "lost" items.  Normally I have students put them in the pencil holder that is on my desk, but I want something a bit more organized and more practical.  Here is my Tide container transformation:

 The lid is a bright orange.  I could have taken the lid off, but I thought it might be nice to have a lid on the lost and found container, so I  spray painted it black.  Then I created a "Lost and Found" document that I copied on card stock and cut out.  Finally I used Mod Podge to place it on the container. ( I still have one container left.  I would love to hear your suggestions on how I could use this container in my classroom.. I thought maybe I could use it for Box Tops or a mailbox at my writing center??)

Click Here to download this document from Google Docs

My last project was a  dry erase "To Do" list to keep on my desk.  This was so easy.  I had an extra 8 1/2 x11 frame.  I  created a "To Do" document and then copied it on card stock.  Finally I added some bows that match the theme of my classroom.

Click Here to download a copy of the "To Do" document from Google Docs

Don't forget to link up with Tara.  I can't wait to look at all of the projects!