Explore my top three organization tips tailored specifically for SLPs, ensuring efficiency and effectiveness in your daily practice. Despite transitioning to digital storage for most of my therapy materials, I still possess physical lesson plans accumulated over the years. Rather than print entire units purchased on Teachers Pay Teachers, I digitally store those, saving about a million trees, and only keep hard copies of smaller lesson plans. This post summarizes how I organize my materials in my private practice/ home office.
TIP #1 BINDER STORAGE FOR SLPs:
The BEST thing I ever did was invest some money in giant binders and page protectors to organize my paper and flashcard materials into seasonal units. While working in a private school, I organized a binder, which I revisit yearly to refine my sessions. I have even taken those binders that are overflowing and broken them into more binders. My winter binder was divided into sections: Christmas, Black History, Valentine’s Day, New Year, Snowmen, and Hot Chocolate.
In order to keep all the manipulatives that went with the seasonal units together, I purchased 10 small, 3-ring zipper cases at Walmart for a $1 each so I could store them in the respective binders.
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Phonological- includes a book purchased for $1 at Walmart on rhymes
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Articulation- I alphabetized pages to quickly grab and go.
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Apraxia- parent education, worksheets, and lesson plans
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Multiple Meanings- units galore
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Feeding and Oral Motor- handouts, intake sheets, power point presentations
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Autism- parent education, social story samples, social language group plans
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Misc. Language lessons- includes mini units about categories, wh questions, and sequencing
TIP #2 LITERACY STORAGE FOR SLPs:
After sorting materials into binders, I quickly saw that I couldn’t store all of my literacy units in this manner, as the card decks are thicker and most contain object manipulatives. Luckily, I found a storage solution for my home office in the form of a corner cabinet with a hanging rod, hangers, and over-sized Ziploc bags for bulky units.
Some of my literacy units do not have objects/ props, so I decided to take another plan of action for books and paper companion activities. First, I laid all the books with companion plans on a table. Doing this helped me see how many sets I had for each season. As you can see, my fall and winter books filled the table! I only had a few books for spring and summer. I also made sure that the units fit into a hanging file.
Next, I purchased two large bins and one smaller.
Last, I dropped books and lesson plans (which were already in page protectors) into hanging folders, and then made tab labels. I had just enough red hanging files for my Valentine books.
TIP #3 WEEKLY LESSON PLANNING:
This tip is my personal favorite for anyone working with a small, private practice caseload. Every Sunday afternoon, I spend a couple hours planning the objective portion of my SOAP notes for the coming week’s session. This way, I have my game plans ready to go and I don’t need to stress in between sessions. It also gives me time to take mini breaks between appointments for snacks or a quick walk with my dogs.
BONUS TIP:
As a bonus, I’m attaching a “cheat sheet” that keeps me organized when calling insurance companies to verify coverage for clients. Make sure that you have both your NPI and tax ID number handy when calling to obtain information. You can grab your copy here.
Nanette Cote is an ASHA certified speech pathologist, published author, and private practice business owner with 30 years experience.
