How to Organize Your Backpack: 13 Simple Steps

An organized backpack can make a big difference in your school year. Not only will it cut down on the clutter you carry around with you, but it can make a difference in your grades too. After all, mental energy not spent digging through a pile of papers is energy you can use for studying. Here’s how to organize your backpack for middle school, high school or college.

Step 1: Start With an Empty Backpack

The first step to an organized backpack is to make it an empty one. Remove the entire contents of your pack and shake it over a trash can to remove any dirt or crumbs that have accumulated on the bottom of the bag.

Step 2: Clean Your Backpack

Giving your backpack a good scrub isn’t a required part of organizing it, but we sure do recommend it! Check out our tutorial on how to wash a backpack for more information.

Step 3: Ditch the Excess

Chances are, you’re carrying around stuff you don’t actually need. Think: a used-up notebook, a paintbrush from last semester’s art class or a sweet note from your friend that you’d rather keep at home. Now is the time to toss, relocate or donate any items you don’t need to be toting to class.

Step 4: Sort and Organize

Here’s where we do the heavy hitting! Sort all of your schoolwork and supplies into categories. How you do this is up to you. You can group items by what you use the most, by class period or by any other system that works for you. Keep them in sorted piles for now; We’ll put them in your backpack in step 7.

Step 5: Store Your Tech

If you bring a laptop or tablet to school, we recommend putting it in a protective sleeve, then storing it in the back of your bag, closest to your back.

Step 6: Take Advantage of Pocket

Chances are, your backpack comes with pockets. You should use them! Tuck your calculator, pens, pencils and whatever else is typically loose in your bag into these secure pouches.

Step 7: Put Everything Else Away

Remember your neatly sorted piles from step 4? Now is the time to put all that stuff back in your backpack. If you haven’t already, we recommend grabbing a homework holder to corral any loose papers. Put everything away in it’s appropriate grouping, keeping your laptop or tablet at the back of your bag.

Step 8: Prioritize Placement

Sometimes you’re rushing into class right as the bell rings. When this happens, you’ll be glad you sorted your backpack by priority. Put the items you use the most in the front of your pack, where they’re the easiest to access, and take advantage of front pockets for items like your favorite pen.

Step 9: Store Lunch Wisely

If you bring lunch to school, it can take up a lot of room in your backpack. If your pack is already full, consider getting an coordinating lunch box and carrying it separately. Some backpacks come with an option to attach a lunch box to them, which is even better.

Step 10: Bag the Extras

If you have extra items floating around in your backpack, like tissues or chapstick, store them all in a pencil pouch. This way, they won’t get lost, gooey or dirty at the bottom of your bag.

Step 11: Add the Essentials

Are there items, like hand sanitizer, an extra phone charger or breath mints, you can carry to make your school day smoother? If so, stock up on them now and add them to your newly organized backpack.

Step 12: Print Necessary Information

While this step is optional, we think it’s great to be prepared. If you’re struggling to remember your schedule at the start of the school school year, why not print out a copy and put it in your front backpack pocket? In case you lose or break your phone (or in case it dies), it’s also a good idea to store a printed copy of any phone numbers you may need.

Step 13: Set a Reminder

If you’re reading this article, we probably don’t have to tell you that backpacks get messy fast. Set a weekly reminder on your phone or make a note in your planner to clean and organize your backpack weekly. You’ll be glad that you did!

And there you have it! An organized (and good looking) backpack in 13 steps or less. We hope it helps you stay calm, cool and collected. If you’re in the market for a new backpack this school year, check out our favorites, many of which are made from recycled water bottles, here.