Organization - The Key to Saving

As I have continued to think about the coming years and our plans, I keep finding resources ALL OVER my house that I bought and stowed away! Videos, thematic units, workbooks, flocabulary study guides, reading books, magazines, free kits, kits she received as gifts....the list just goes on and on. As I stumbled upon the Hip-Hop U.S. History: The New and Innovative Approach to Learning American History (Flocabulary Study Guides) this afternoon I felt the urge to post a message... 

I CANNOT STRESS STRONGLY ENOUGH HOW MUCH ORGANIZATION IS THE KEY TO NOT WASTING MONEY ON RESOURCES!!!!!!

Some handy tips to live by - 

• Pick a location to keep all of your resources and force your self to store them all in one location - ESPECIALLY if it is something you are fairly certain you won't use for awhile.
• Before you purchase something new check that location to see if you already have it or something very similar to it - I can't tell you how many math workbooks I have gotten and then realized "OH that's why it looked SOOOO familiar!" 
• Check with your library before you buy to see if they have it, borrow it and then IF you like and you will use it for longer than you can manage to get it checked out for using yours, your spouses, and all your children's library cards then buy it. 
• Check with a friend to see if they have or have had this resources and what they thought - if they have it are willing to let you borrow it - GO FOR IT!!!
• Think long and hard about how much time your child is likely to actually spend on a particular topic. Although it is really great to have options TOO many options can be overload and cause the child to run and hide just from the mere thought of having to USE ALL of the resources you have obtained!
• Check PAPERBACKSWAP!!!! - I have saved thousands of dollars getting guides, living books and textbooks through this site - it is not just for paperbacks!

What tips do you use when organizing resources?