Organized Chaos

I know all over the country kids are already back in school, but in NY, students don't go back until the Wednesday after Labor Day.  Every year we receive the school supply list and it's usually a full page of items including a pencil box.  If you buy a pencil box in the back to school section of the store it'll most likely look something like this and cost about $2-3 for an empty plastic box with a weak hinge.

Within 1 week of school your kids supplies will be a jumbled mess, and end up dumped inside their desk to find stuff.  No?  Just my kids?  Instead of buying the cheap pencil box guaranteed to be a mess and have the top broken off, I venture over to the fishing department and grab a small tackle box.  They have customizable compartments that make it easy to find that elusive eraser or pencil sharpener.

As an added bonus, the tops are smooth, and can be personalized with stickers.  You can buy these tackle boxes for $3-5, and they're so sturdy that you can reuse them year after year, just changing out the stickers and moving the little plastic compartment separators.  This box even has a carrying handle.

For more ways to use tackle boxes check out this post where I put together a go anywhere Med Kit.

Thanks for popping in and organizing with me.  I'm linking this up to Domestically Speaking's Countdown to Autumn Party and Home Stories of A to Z's Tips and Tutorials Tuesdays.