Cereal Box Crafts: Make a School Paper Organizer

Like in many homes, cereal is a staple in our house. We're splurging for healthier cereal choices without high fructose corn syrup and we're paying a pretty penny for it. To get the most out of our money, we're repurposing those cereal boxes whenever we can. We've made cereal box crafts including creative book reports and homemade bookmarks. Our latest cereal box craft is a school paper organizer that's eco-friendly, free, attractive and practical.

There are plenty of school papers that can be recycled right away but especially as kids hit middle school, there are lots of school papers that need to be saved until after those mid-term or final exams so students can revisit them to study. With all of this technology with computerized online grade reporting, I still have a hankering of mistrust that makes me as a mom want to save test grades until report cards come out to make sure there are no glitches that can't be resolved with hard copies. So what are we to do with all those school papers while they are ladies in waiting? I just refuse to buy more plastic paper holders when a cereal box I've already paid for can work overtime for me. Since the kids need to be involved in building their own organizational skills, having them create cereal box school paper organizers is a fun way to do it.

Materials for creating a cereal box school paper organizer are likely already in your home.

Materials:

Empty cereal box

Scissors

Scrap paper

Tape or glue

Markers or letter stickers

The steps for creating a cereal box school paper organizer are super easy.

Once the cereal box is empty, simply cut the top closure tabs away. Now cut half way down one of the sides to create an opening that makes it easy to insert papers. Cut scrap paper to cover the front side that you just adapted.

Let the kids label their school paper holder by subject with markers or letter stickers and if you have more than one student, of course include their name or initials.

Whether or not you cover the sides is optional, considering you may have a row standing side by side.

What goes inside of a cereal box school paper organizer?

Syllabuses or course outlines, test study guides, spelling word or sight words lists, completed tests or notes for upcoming projects should be saved. You may want to save homework or classwork for each grading period and go through each school paper holder after report cards come out at the end of each grading period. Keep in mind if there are going to be mid-term or end of school exams. Organizing school papers can mean not having to reinvent the wheel when it's time to study.

Our cereal box school paper organizers are lined up on our desks. The good news is that since they are cereal box size, if we ever reorganize our cabinets and make more room, they could easily stand on duty there as well. Perhaps that should be our New Year's resolution but at least we're one step closer to being organized and we did it with a free and green craft project.

More green crafts:

Recycled Gift Card Ideas

Green Crafts to Organize Your Desk

Repurposing Clementine Crates