How I Declutter My Classroom!

Spring Cleaning for Teachers Series – Part 3

Click here for Parts 1 and 2 of this Series.

Every year as my teaching duties start winding down, I begin the therapeutic process of decluttering all of the printed paper I have collected throughout the year. As a teacher, I feel like this is SO HARD. I always think to myself, “What if I need these 7 copies next year?” I don’t believe “Just in Case” is a good enough argument for cluttering up your classroom with a ton of paper.

Here’s why:

1. Cluttered classrooms are almost NEVER tidy, even if you think they are. This sends a message to EVERYONE who steps into your room.
2. How many times have we ever kept an assignment “as- is?” MY answer would be zero. I ALWAYS tweak my assignments from year to year, rendering old copies useless.
3. How many times do you reference professional development handouts, meeting notes, student permission slips, old student work, etc. in future school years? Like once? Yep, I know, me too.
4. If you move classrooms, get a new job, stop teaching that text, etc. You are creating a MESS for you or someone else to inherit. I remember my very first classroom in 2014 where I threw out grammar worksheets from – I kid you not – 1970. They were yellow and made on a typewriter and had a transparency copy with them. There were, also, THREE filing cabinets full of them. Don’t be that person. 
5. It will feel SO good to have a minimal, tidy classroom where you have ONLY everything you need for the year ahead. I promise.

1. Start with one drawer at a time.

Create three piles. One pile is your Recycle pile. The easy stuff to toss goes there. Your second is your Scan Me pile. The other pile is your I 100% Cannot Teach Without This pile. You may also need a Shred pile, for old IEPs and things like that.

2. Hold a document in your hands, look at it, and ask three questions.

• Do I ACTIVELY use this?
• Will I DEFINITELY use it next year?
• Do I have a DIGITAL copy?

These questions work  whether you are looking at old PD handouts, lesson plans and activities, or those random one- off memos and things like that. If you really need a printed copy of this, keep ONE and recycle the rest. If you need a digital copy so that you can recycle this one, place it in the Scan pile. Otherwise, add it to your recycle pile. If you don’t actively use the item but know you want to, add it to the Scan pile.

3. If you’re on the fence about the item, look at it more closely.

• Is it outdated? Can you find a better one or more current information online?

Most times, if you’re on the fence, you can just toss it. If you’re really unsure, you can make a maybe pile to revisit later.

4.If it’s student work, follow these steps:

• Do I need this for record keeping? Keep it.
• Is it a good exemplar I can show to next year’s students? Keep it.
• Can I use this for a directory of evidence for my yearly evaluation? Keep it.
• Answer no to any of these? Toss it.

5. Now, deal with other types of clutter.

• Presents from students, books, notepads, student supplies, containers, classroom decor, snacks, writing utensils – all of this is clutter too! Here’s where my girl Marie Kondo’s method comes in handy.
  • Is it clean, well- kept, and purposeful?
  • Does it bring me joy to have and look at?
  • Can I still use it next year?
  • Do I have so many of these that I legitimately cannot use them all?

If you answer yes to these questions, keep it! Otherwise, I like to make one box to take to my local thrift store, and another to either keep for a brand new teacher next year ( there’s always someone!) or to place in the copy room for other teachers to take as needed ( just don’t be that one guy who dumps their stuff for the janitors to clean up – take back whatever doesn’t get taken by others and add it to your donation box) The old adage about one man’s trash being another man’s treasure it so true! Things that you don’t need anymore might be just what someone else has been looking for.

There you have it! It might not seem like a lot, but de-cluttering the physical paper and items in your classroom will freshen up your room and make it feel brand new when you return in August! You’ll feel so much better, I promise. How did your classroom decluttering journey go? Let me know in the comments!