Set the stage:
I grabbed copy boxes for "need to sort/think about," "freebies," and "recycling."
Plan:
* Work, work, work! Start small, using music to make the process more enjoyable and time the work.
* As I am working and purging, create a list of tasks students can help with when arriving early.
* When my ability to get rid of stuff starts to dwindle--stop for the day. (Ever notice the longer you work to get rid of stuff, the more you start to hold on to? Maybe I should be on an episode of hoarders...:))
Rules for what I must get rid of:
-If it's not mine, it has to go (I have a tendency to hoard professional materials from the library in fear that when I need them, someone else will have checked them out...no more!)
-If I don't have a plan for using it (this will be tough! Don't we love to hold on to things, just in case...)
-If it doesn't fit into my grade-level (this will be tough since I am looping, but I'm sure there are things that just don't fit in either 4th or 5th grade curriculum.)
-If I have NEVER used the resource in my teaching career and don't foresee it being useful next year.
-If I know I can access it in my personal computer files or online (since we update things all the time anyway, I rarely just make copies of a worksheet or resource I have made for students, so why hang on to the copies?).
Goals:
-Take control of the mess on my desk: create a functional space for upcoming lessons (worksheets, materials, etc.) closer to my desk but separate so that it does not take over my desk
-Reduce file cabinets and get rid of one
-Purge professional materials that I know I'm not using
-De-clutter wall space (I am considering the lovely idea of visually pleasing black backgrounds for my bulletin boards)
-Reduce unnecessary picturebooks from my collection (My first strategy for this is to sort my books into two piles---I've EVER read it to a class and I've NEVER read it to a class. If I can see myself reading a NEVER book to my class next year, I can keep it. If not, I will be sending a gift of great books down to a lower-grades classroom.)
Lastly, I love the clutter-free classroom's rules to remember:
- You can't organize clutter. (This reminds not to buy a ton of things to ORGANIZE what I have, but to get rid of things that I do not need and focus on organization later.)
- The less you have, the less you need to manage.
- Your trash is {quite possibly} another person's treasure. (If other teachers came into my room and said "Hey, I could use that," I would have no problem giving it away. So, this week, instead of moving materials into our mailbox room, I sent an email with the resources I was trying to get rid of--very simple--some word study folders and a book report newspaper set. Both were taken up within the hour and I was pleased to be giving up something someone else might use.
- There is no value in an object that isn't being used. (This is harsh, isn't it? I think it means we have to get rid of gifts kids have given us and other cutesy things that are just sitting around with no purpose.)
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