This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group®, Kellogg’s and The J.M. Smucker Company but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #SamsClubBTS  http://my-disclosur.es/OBstV

EVERY night we faced the same frustration.  My girls wanted to read a specific book that was no where to be found.  Buried among countless titles on the bookshelf – or worse, hidden somewhere it didn’t even belong – bedtime would be stalled as we scoured the house searching for the latest Pinkalicous or Ladybug Girl selection they HAD to read. With our collection set to grow even more thanks to Sam’s Club® and Scholastic’s Start School Like a Champion offer, it was time to organize books so the kids could keep them that way on their own!

Organize Your Children’s Bookshelf

Before kids (and iPhones), my books and music collection were stored alphabetically, by artist and author, on their respective shelves. (I may be a *tad* Type A.) When my oldest daughter was born, I started organizing books on the shelf in her room the same way.  They stayed that way – until she was old enough to take them down herself. Two kids later, our playroom shelves were a jumbled, tumbled mess with the only organization rule being get the books off the floor during clean-up time and back on the shelf.

Every couple of weeks, I would rip them all down, and restore order to the children’s books, again and again. There had to be a better way. And one that the kids could easily manage themselves.

Labeled Bins for Books

Even before kids can read or recognize letters, they can recognize symbols and sort by color or pictures. The key to helping them help you organize books is using labels they can read – even if they can’t read the words yet.

I started our labeled children’s book bins first for their favorite book series and authors, and next, for our different unit studies, when we amassed a large collection of children’s books on a single topic. I use ice cube bins for both durability and depth – they fit perfectly on a standard depth bookshelf.

I labeled ours with chalkboard tape and chalk markers. The great part about using chalk markers is the labels can be erased with water and the bins re-labeled.  As your children’s preferences change, you can swap out your Fancy Nancy bin for books about stars, and reuse the bin. I label them both with written words and an image my kids can readily associate with the books – like a ladybug for our Ladybug Girl books. This allows my 3 year old to help keep the books organized, just as easily as my emerging reader.

I love using them for unit studies too. For the duration of a given unit of study, I just leave that bin of books out on the table or in the girls’ reading corner to make those books quickly and easily accessible.

A Free Book for You, A Free Book for School

You can never have too many books!  This Fall, as you are re-stocking your pantry for back to school at Sam’s Club®, you can also stock your children’s and school’s book shelves! Shop for specially marked boxes of Kellogg’s® and J.M. Smucker Company products at Sam’s Club®, like the Kellogg’s® Frosted Mini Wheats pictured below. Upload your receipt at FreeBookOffer.com/Sams within 30 days of purchase, and redeem for your free Scholastic book. Sam’s Club® will automatically donate a second book to a local classroom. Choose from more than 80 titles, and earn up to 30 free books from now through 9/30/2016, while supplies last! You’ll definitely need more labeled bins to organize books now.

Want to learn how to be organized in all aspects of your family life? Check out the rest of my posts for family organization, from household finances to daily rhythms and routines. You can also find more great life organization tips from our friends at Sunny Day Family. Want more household organization ideas? Follow our Pinterest board, Organize Me!

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