You are probably reading this blog post because you LOVE using sensory bins so much that now you are running out of room to store them.
When I first started using sensory bins, I would shove the materials into a gallon-sized bag and toss them into a big container. The only problem was that when I wanted to use a particular sensory bin the following year, it took me twenty minutes to find it!
Does this sound familiar? Hopefully, after reading this blog post, you will have a system for organizing your sensory bins for the school year. Amazon affiliate links are included in this blog post.
Biggest Space-Saver Tip for Storing Sensory Bins
Most of us have small therapy rooms; it’s an unfortunate reality. So, our therapy rooms can get pretty cluttered with stuff if we aren’t managing our organization of speech therapy materials.
To save space and money, invest in no more than three sensory bin containers. You can get a smaller pencil box, a shallow Sterilite bin, and then a quart-sized bin to hold your sensory bin materials.
Then, you can keep the sensory bins you aren’t using in larger containers and store them in your room or your garage. When working two days a week at two different schools, I kept my additional sensory bins in my garage and brought the one container between sites.
Materials Needed to Create Your Sensory Bin Organization System
Using zipper pouches is an excellent investment to keep the filler and material items together in one spot. You can get different sizes for storage. Depending on the number of things in your sensory bin, you may want more oversized bags sized 16 by 12 inches or 15 by 11 inches. You can then purchase smaller-sized zipper pouches to store mini items and printables for the bin.
Having labels to put on the pouches will also help you identify the materials you want to use.
Then, you can sort your sensory bin bags into categories for when you typically use them throughout the school year. When you label your larger containers by times of the year, you will know which bin to go to look for items.
Check out how to organize the zipper pouches
My organizational style likes everything in one spot if I can help it. So, when organizing my apple tree sensory bin, I stored the toilet paper rolls and fake apples in the larger pouch (16 by 12 inches) and then kept the filler Pom Pom balls in the slightly smaller folder (15 by 11 inches.) I put those in the smaller zipper pouch for the apple-themed verb and vocabulary printables. Then, I tossed them all into the bigger zipper pouch.
Suppose you are interested in getting themed sensory bin materials. In that case, you can check out companions in my TPT store or have themed sensory bin guides with the Themed Therapy SLP Membership (doors open in summer 2022, so get on the waitlist now.)
Sensory Bin Sticker Labels
Having a label on the zipper pouch is super helpful when you want to identify sensory bin sets in your larger bins. You can create labels for your different containers and print them out on a full-page Avery shipping label. Cut them out and stick them on the zipper pouch.
After adding all your materials to your zipper pouch with the label intact, you plop it into the more oversized organization container! Your sensory bin is now appropriately stored for the season, lol.
When you need the materials for a sensory bin, you grab them out of the tote and dump them in your main sensory bin container.
Sensory Bins Your Students Will LOVE
When it comes to making sensory bins, you definitely can use items from around your speech room. But if you are looking for themed sensory bins that have cheat sheets, visual supports, and printables ready to go, check out these sensory bin resources in my TPT store.
What sensory bin organization tips do you have to share?
If you have any tremendous sensory bin organization tips, please share them! One of my favorite ways to use sensory bins is with a themed book. You can read the story and then pair a sensory bin that reinforces the concepts from the books in a hands-on way for your students.
For more sensory bin ideas on how you can make your bins, check out this blog post HERE.
