Amy Santiago, pls dial extension: me

August 6, 2018 8:53 AM

Looking for any and all "hacks"/diy projects/pinterest ideas, must-have items (file folder? perfect planner?) for making this upcoming school semester organized and color coded!

Pretty simple, finally going back to school and I want to spend the next couple weeks doing cutesy DIY projects to make my study space super organized and very cute. I've already got chalkboard film, moshi tape, and rainbow chalk markers on the way in the mail to fashion a giant rainbow wall calendar. All of my classes are online, so my study space will also serve as my "classroom."

Share pinterest boards, individual projects, your personal favorite office supplies, anything, really! I'm super arts and crafts-y, so something with laid out instructions is not a must, I can figure it out on my own. Thanks !

posted by FirstMateKate to Home & Garden (5 answers total)

My daughter color codes her individual subjects. So, like, Biology is red, Chemistry is blue, etc. Each notebook and/or folder for the subject is the corresponding color, and she writes that subject's info in her planner in that subject's color, too. She's done this since 7th grade, so she has a pretty solid association with the colors by now.
posted by cooker girl at 8:58 AM on August 6, 2018 [1 favorite]

Go through on tumblr or Pinterest and do a search on the tag "#studyspo" to get a lot of great ideas and inspiration for your study space or note-taking. If you really want to go down the rabbit hole, starting a bullet journal might be a good way to get really crafty with your study notes and planner. There are some great Facebook groups for student bullet journal fans that would also have some great ideas and inspiration. Good luck!
posted by helloimjennsco at 9:09 AM on August 6, 2018

I also color-coded my classes when I was in school. I drew up my own weekly schedule with each class shaded in as a block of the appropriate color (yay colored pencils!), and had the same color notebook and folder for that class. This made it really easy to glance at my schedule, grab the right notebooks and folders for the day, and head off to school.
posted by heatherlogan at 10:27 AM on August 6, 2018

I hugely wish that I had known about the wonders of bullet journaling when I was in school! it is so much easier to keep track of your life and what you need to do. The real innovation to me which you could use with any kind of journal is creating your own index as you go, so you know where everything is and can just glance back to it . I am more organized than I've ever been and I love it. Also it's really fun and creative. The supplies I love the most are Gelly Roll pens, Tombow markers especially the really light colored ones for creating structure on pages and highlighting, a journal with grid lines like the Fabriano or Leuchtturm 1917, stickers I get in the Pipsticks monthly subscription, and my trusty Pilot G2 pens in black .7mm.
posted by fairlynearlyready at 10:56 AM on August 6, 2018 [2 favorites]

Favorite office supplies: I'm left-handed, and I only recently realized that jetpens.com has a guide for lefties. I ordered a variety of suggested pens, including Jetstream pens (non-smeary, non-skippy, refillable) in fun colors.

They have a bunch of cute pencil holders, too.

+1 get stickers. Make a sticker chart / put them on your calendar for tasks accomplished.
posted by momus_window at 2:00 PM on August 6, 2018 [1 favorite]