Decluttering your classroom.
Wendy, Thank you for inviting me to be a guest blogger on your site this week.
Recently you shared with us the great news that you had been offered a position as a Technology Coach in your district. The bad news was you had 14 years of “Stuff” in your classroom you needed to clean out before school was out for summer.
I find it amazing how over the years we teachers manage to collect “stuff” that we might need one day, supplies left over from projects, copies leftover from homework or resources passed on by others. We put aside, we stack, we tuck away in cabinets and the reality is we NEVER use them. Having useless clutter sitting around is no good for anyone.
For many years I was guilty of collecting myself till I realized how much “stuff” I really had that I never used. At the end of one school year a few years back, I decided I was going to do some major cleaning. Since that cleaning frenzy, I promised myself I wouldn’t collect any more. Often times I have teachers come to my classroom and tell me how nice and organized my class looks. The same question is always asked. How do you keep it so clean? My answer is simple. I get rid of stuff I don’t use. Realistically speaking with the digital age we are in now, we don’t need files and files of paperwork. Everything is at the tip of our fingers and one click away. So my challenge for all educators if you didn’t do so already at the end of this past school year is to declutter your classroom and get rid of “Stuff” you don’t need. Remember to recycle and if possible donate resources, books, supplies to organizations, non profits, etc. that can use them. Here are some categories to think about when that day comes.
1. Things to keep
2. Things someone else might want—maybe new teachers, students, or Goodwill
3. Things to throw away/ recycle
Good Luck with your new position Wendy and Happy Decluttering!
Do you have some Decluttering tips for us? Love to hear from you.
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