I'm linking up with Fourth Grade Flipper for Tried it Tuesday to share something I'd been wanting to try for a while.
After endless trips to dollar stores to buy clear plastic envelopes and folders to store my games and activities I wanted to find a storage system that was a) cheaper and b) fulfilled my need for everything to match! I decided to try laminated envelopes as a way to get rid of this mess:
First step is to grab some heavy duty envelopes. I bought both A4 and A5 sizes. If you're in Australia, this is the brand I bought from Office Works.
Either print the cover pages for products you've made or bought or make one for others so you know what's in each envelope. Glue them to the front.
Now this is the only tricky bit. When you put the envelope in the laminating pouch, put the bottom edge at the sealed end of the pouch. Make sure you leave at least a 1cm border of film around the envelope so that it seals really well - you don't want it peeling when you pop your games in and the envelope gets fatter. :) I had to use A3 pouches for my A4 sized envelopes. Make sure the flap of the envelope is open, and take the paper off the glue strip. Carefully smooth the top of the film down and it will stick to the glue. You can see what I mean in this photo:
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When it's been through the laminator, all you have to do is trim around the edges (remember to leave a border of laminate!) and run a sharp knife along the opening of the envelope. Magically, you will have a little pocket! I have a paper slicer that scores as well, so I ran that along the fold so I could easily close each envelope.
There you have it! Sturdy, matching storage! :) The most time consuming part of this is sorting out a cover for each envelope and if you were so inclined you could probably just write on the front to save time. I know this was not the most thrilling of posts, but I had to google to find out the tips and tricks to make this work, so hopefully this tutorial will help someone else.
I'd love to know if you're going to give this a try!
Beach time for me! Have a wonderful day. :)
Lauren
Thank you for sharing! I started doing this with my games a few years back. I love having my envelopes match...now it's just a matter of organizing them into different categories for storage.
ReplyDeleteAlison
Rockin' and Lovin' Learnin'
Hi Alison,
DeleteThanks for stopping by! I'm at the organizing stage now - spending a holiday day today in my classroom trying to get that done! :)
Lauren
This is genius! I would have never thought of this!! Thanks so much for sharing. :)
ReplyDelete~Holly
Fourth Grade Flipper
Hi Holly,
DeleteI wish I could take credit for being the genius, but it's an idea that I saw a version of somewhere. :) It's certainly a handy trick though.
Lauren
Great Idea,
ReplyDeleteI think though, after 6 years I am due for a new laminator - mines just not getting hot enough anymore!
Ohhh I desperately need to use your awesome idea! I am ashamed to admit this....but my maths drawers sort of just have everything crammed into the drawers and it's very hard to find all the bits and pieces for each game...your post was a timely reminder that I need to get that organised asap lol. Thanks Lauren!
ReplyDeleteCasey
Lifelong Learners in Prep
Hi Casey,
DeleteI put off organising my games and activities for so long because I was just overwhelmed thinking about how long it would take! But once I got started with the laminated envelopes it really only took me a couple of hours to get it sorted. Now I just need to remember to make an envelope as soon as I get a new resource and not leave it to pile up again!
Hope your holidays are going well. :)
Lauren
Hi Lauren thank you for this fantastic idea I just made an envelope now onto making the rest. I used velcro on the sticky part (after it was laminated and this seals it quite well
ReplyDeleteHi Sonia,
DeleteUsing velcro is an excellent idea! :)