This Is The Best Way To Organise Your Binder For High School Or College

The best way to organise your binder for high school or university/college is to have one small binder, a 1-inch or 1.5-inch sized one, with dividers inside it that you take with you each day. Colourful dividers are the best as different colours can represent different subjects which will make your organisation much easier. At home you should have larger dividers for each subject which you can put ‘inactive’ notes and worksheets into that you might need to look back on later. I suggest filing away your stuff in your small portable binder into your large subject specific binders at the end of each week. 

1. Get a small binder to take to school/university/college each day

One small binder is really the way to go if you want a super effective and lightweight organisation system. Personally I have a clear 1 inch binder that can fit about 175 pages. You could also get something slightly bigger like a 1.5 inch binder which can roughly fit 250 pages. 

These are my suggestions for small binders:

• Wilson Jones Translucent Poly Binder, 1 Inch
• Emraw Trendsetters 3-Ring Binder 1.5-Inch
• JAM PAPER Plastic 1 inch Binder – Clear 3 Ring Binder
• AmazonBasics 3-Ring Binder, 1 Inch – White, 4-Pack

The best thing about having one binder is that it will easily fit into my bag and since all my subjects are in it, I don’t have to think about what I need to pack for class the next day as all of my current work is in it. 

2. Put a set of dividers into your small binder 

Once you have your small binder you can put a set of dividers in it to separate all your work and organise it into subjects or topics. I suggest getting colourful dividers, where each colour represents a different subject. Also you should have a few spare tabs where you can put loose leaf paper and other miscellaneous sheets. 

Here are my suggestions for binder dividers: 

• 3 Ring Binder Dividers with 8 Insertable Color Tabs
• Paper Junkie Binder Dividers with Tabs, Pink
• AmazonBasics Two Pocket Plastic Dividers, 8 Tab Set

If you don’t want to get plastic colourful dividers, you can always get paper ones which you can write the name of each subject on instead. However these are not as durable and when subjects change each semester or year you will need to get a new set. 

3. Get a set of larger binders that are subject specific to keep at home 

Back at home, you will have a set of larger binders which are subject specific, meaning you have one binder per subject. This is the best way to organise your schoolwork as it enables you to only carry the most relevant things in your smaller binder and file away older work to leave at home. 

For my larger binders I have the 3 inch size, however 3.5 inch or 4 inch binders would also work really well. On the spine of each of my binders I wrote the subject name in brush calligraphy using a tombow brush script pen.

If you are looking to buy some larger binders, I suggest these ones:

• AmazonBasics D-Ring Binder – 3 Inch, 2-Pack
• RUSSELL+HAZEL Binder Signature BKCLOTH Dew
• SEEKIND 4 Pack Binders

4. Purchase some useful binder add-ons

Binder Hole Punch

• Officemate Ring Binder Hole Punch

• WorkLion 3 Ring Hole Punch With Ruler

Binder Pencil Case

• ZIPIT Grillz 3-Ring Pencil Case

• Miukada 3-Ring Pencil Pouches

If you are looking for a new pencil case I highly suggest that you read my article on the 8 cutest pencil cases!

Plastic Sleeves

• Ibzo 50 Clear Binder Sheet Protectors

Reinforced Loose Leaf Paper 

• Five Star Filler Paper Reinforced Loose Leaf Paper, 100 Sheets/Pack, Pack Of 3

5. Get some helpful printables for your binder 

• Language Learning Printable Planner: This printable planner will help you improve your language skills with sheets such as a goal planner, multiple times of vocabulary sheets, study planners, habit tracker and much more!
• Student Time Management Planner: This planner is designed to drastically improve your time management skills with pages such as a daily schedule, 10 minute time blocking, priority matrixes, weekly planners, assessment action planner and much more!
• Cornell Note Taking Printable Sheets: These sheets let you use the Cornell note taking method for your notes. It comes in grid, lined and blank paper types. You can find out more about Cornell notes by reading my article on the 5 best note taking techniques!
• Essay Planner Printable Sheets: This planner has lots of different page options to help you plan out the best essay ever! There are also really helpful brainstorming pages, source summary pages and reference/bibliography planner pages!
• Pomodoro Study Tracker Printable Sheet: This printable sheet allows you to track your pomodoro study sessions as well as your study breaks. If you haven’t heard about the pomodoro study technique before I suggest that you read my ultimate guide to the pomodoro study technique!

Really Cool Binder Personalisation For High School Or College

1. Make A Sticky Note Section

A sticky note section could be on the internal covers or on a plastic divider tab. It’s really handy if you need to make any additional notes without marking a worksheet/textbook or mark out a section to refer back to at a later date.

2. Test Out Your Calligraphy Skills For Titles

This person did their titles on the front covers with a metallic permanent marker. If you aren’t good at calligraphies you can always consider buying subject title stickers that you can find on Etsy.

3. Or Maybe Take A Short Cut And Print Labels

The other option is to just find a nice font and print out the titles of your binders. I really like how these ones have been printed on the same colour paper as the binder!

4. Get Creative With Photos, Quotes & Other Cute Accessories

This person has used a photo album plastic sleeve to put glitter, a quote and a calendar into their binder. You could do something similar as well!

Before You Go!

Do you want to become a straight-A student?

Try out a digital student planner with hyperlinked tabs for iPad/tablet to help you stay on traThe ck to achieving your academic goals!