Organizing Dish Bins

I love organization.  Both at home and in my classroom.  I am not the teacher with a messy desk.  I can't get anything done if there are things to be put away.  I'm just not made that way.  Something that helps me stay organized at school are those cheap, white dish bins you can buy at most dollar stores and at Walmart or Target.

I have these great cabinets in my room that line the back wall.  On one set of shelves I put six bins - one for each of my six class periods.  In these I collect papers to grade or pass back.  Sometimes the students throw them in themselves.  Other times I collect them and put them all in together.  Either way it is an excellent way to keep each class set separated and all in one place.

On another set of shelves I keep my eight unit bins.  I teach science and for each unit I have supplies, videos and activities I use year after year.  Instead of having to hunt for these each year, I store them in bins according to the unit.  It also helps me to remember the activities that were a success and prevents me from having to redo the grunt work (laminating, cutting, labeling, etc.) because everything is in a nice, neat and organized container.

At home we use these bins for all kinds of things.  We have one in the refrigerator to hold the items that don't sit on the shelf so well.  Right now it is wrangling the yogurt and oranges.

We also have some in a closet keeping the cleaning rags nice and tidy.  Several can be found in the girl's room holding building toys, doll clothes and craft supplies.  We even have one that keeps the cat stuff together.  I love that they are inexpensive and a good size for many uses.

The classroom bin labels are available free in my TpT store.  

These containers are my favorite, hands down.  What kind of must-have containers do you recommend?  Any that can serve many purposes and hold a variety of things?  Do tell!