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Decluttering Starts Now!

by Margaret Berry Wilson on June 15, 2011
Students packing up supplies

How much of the stuff that’s cluttering your classroom could be gone before school starts up again? Teachers keep all kinds of stuff we never use. Why do we keep these things? Lots of reasons: Scarcity of resources can turn us into hoarders. Or we engage in “someday” thinking, as in “Someday I’ll use those tissue squares for an art project.” Or people give us things (like a stack of egg cartons, or a pile of old magazines), and we feel bad about getting rid of them because they were gifts.

Or we inherit things from teachers who came before us. When I started teaching, I was given a classroom full of previous teachers’ stuff. Before school started, as I sorted through things, unsure about what I’d be using, I discovered an anatomically correct pregnancy doll.  It had everything one might need to teach children about how babies were delivered.

I freaked out. Had I missed something? Was I going to have to teach my first graders about pregnancy and birth? When I calmed down, I talked to my administrator and discovered that fortunately, the doll didn’t have anything to do with the first grade curriculum: years ago, a pregnant teacher had used it with her students and left it behind, and no one who’d had that room since had the heart to give it away.

The secret I learned that day was liberating—classrooms are full of stuff that is seldom or never used. Even if, theoretically, some of it may come in handy “someday,” cluttered classrooms are hard for teachers to keep organized, and they keep children from finding what they need.

This is the perfect time to start decluttering. Every year on the last day of school, my students helped me cull through markers, crayons, and colored pencils so that we could donate the ones that were still in good condition to a local child care center. Later, I joyously threw away board games that were missing pieces and directions. I more reluctantly said goodbye to books that few children in my room were able to read by putting them on our school’s community “throw-out table.” Another teacher was thrilled to find them there.

So, this summer, I challenge you to throw stuff out, share (useful) items with colleagues, or donate things you’re not using to local day care centers, after-school programs, homeless shelters, or Goodwill. What are you going to get rid of? Share your plans here! Your act of cleansing might inspire someone else!

Submitted by Dana Januszka on June 15, 2011.

I am loving this post Margaret! When I started teaching I inherited a classroom from a retiring teacher who had been in education for over 30 years. She had taught everything from High School to Kindergarten. While I was thrilled with having so much, it was also a bit overwhelming to try to get through it all. I remember thinking, similar to your post, do I really teach all these things? :) Luckily our school has a table in the Faculty Room all summer where you can put things you no longer need for others to take from. Sometimes you find the best treasures there, and it always feels like a huge relief when you leave something there and later come back to see someone took it! :)

Submitted by Ramona McCullough on June 15, 2011.

 After watching several episodes of HGTV's "Clean Sweep," I decided one school year to process my classroom materials in much the same manner.  I removed everything from the classroom into the hall. I then created three piles: KEEP, GIVE, DISCARD.  The custodian brought a big dumpster and table in the hallway to assist my efforts.  Those items that I was going to keep had to have importance to put back into an empty clean room.  Items of value yet not returning were put on the table for first year teachers.  After 2 days, the custodian was asked to move everything from the table to the dumpster.  Time, effort, and emotional attachments were replaced by a renewed energy and a feeling of a fresh year with a fresh and clean start.  It was also exciting to see many new teachers benefit from my years of collecting.

Submitted by Mike Anderson on June 15, 2011.

I had the luxury of teaching in four different classrooms over a period of six years (while teaching three different grade levels). I had to learn the fine art of getting rid of stuff. I once found over ten reams of unopened printer paper stashed in the back of a classroom I inherited! It's no pregnancy doll, but still . . .

I developed a simple rule that I stuck to (most of the time): If I came across something in the back of a closet and I hadn't remembered that it was there, that meant I should get rid of it. This was my way of combatting the "someday I might use this" syndrome that you talk about.

Submitted by Suzanne Wright on June 15, 2011.

One year I thought I was moving to a new grade and classroom, so I gleefully went through all my materials and pared down to 'just the essentials.'  When I returned in the fall to find that I was not changing rooms OR grades, it was amazing how I didn't miss a thing I had gotten rid of!  Now, I go through nearly every drawer and cabinet as I use what is in it, and at the end of the year.  Good thing I do, because next fall I AM changing grades and classrooms...packing and moving was a breeze!

Submitted by Martha Hanley on June 15, 2011.

Thanks for the motivation! After reading  this, I can't wait to get back to my classroom get started.  When in doubt, throw it out!

Submitted by Candace Roberts on June 16, 2011.

I thought of you today as I sorted out my math games.  I found some treasures I want to use and some that no longer needed to be treasured.  I freed up a lot of space in my math game bin! I try to go through my poster drawers each year, and I toss more and more pre-made stuff out as I use more and more kid-made work in my classroom.

I have a question for all, though.  I have a large 4-drawer file-cabinet.  I really only use 2 of the drawers for my monthly "themed" projects; such things as Father's Day cards, Holiday gifts and some worksheets. The folders have samples, so they really are items that I can't store digitally b/c I use the models when I teach the project.  I'd really like to get rid of the cabinet, but am stumped about what to use to house these files.  Any ideas?

Submitted by Margaret Berry Wilson on June 16, 2011.

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! Candace, it's especially nice to think of you thinking of me as you clean out your room! I always loved those little file boxes which would hold hanging folders. They took up much less room than a file cabinet and could be moved around more easily. I'll be interested to see if anyone has other ideas too!

Submitted by Debbie Blanchette on June 22, 2011.

I teach in a small PK to grade 8 open classroom school. This summer there are walls going up between classrooms! I have been asked to clean my room. It's really hard, however I've thrown out a lot. I just kept the bare things for centers and had to ask myself "Do I really need these and have I used these items in the last 3 years?" No? Out you go...

Submitted by Mark E. Emmons, M.Ed. on June 23, 2011.

Recently, I had an experience about "valuable" teaching materials with one of the teachers who replaced me when I left my classroom of eighteen years. (Mind you, I did bring all my "valuable" teaching materials from my previous nine years of teaching in three other schools, too. So, that is twenty-six years of "valuable" teaching materials. At least they were to me!)

Anyway, two days ago, I was in "my" classroom. Really it's hers now, but how I could I ever give it up?

Her niece is now a teacher, and the teacher who replaced me was trying to explain what a ditto machine was. She also tried to describe what the copies looked like—the ones which came from those hand-turned barrels which made our students' alcohol-scented worksheets. Some of you have that memory, right?

Embarrassingly for me, she went to one of my old files—those were truly "mine;" she felt NO ownership for them—and pulled out one of the ditto copies of a poem I had handwritten and copied on a ditto machine for my students back in the eighties. The purple ink was still readable! As my face reddened, I remembered the day I saved that copy of the poem because I thought I would use it sometime in the future. Well, you probably have figured out, I never did use it again. But I still had it!

The moral of my story is, please take Margaret's suggestion and throw those "valuables" out. You will probably not use them again, and if you want them, with the technology we have now, you will not have trouble finding it. Another thought is, a long-time teacher may have it in their file cabinet!  

Submitted by Carol Manack on June 25, 2011.

At the end of the school year, I was informed that I would be moving from 4th to 5th grade in the fall.  This is my sixth move and another move into a classroom where the previous teacher had retired.  OMG!!!  The stuff!  Yes, I found dittos, out-dated "recent" news/worksheets, and so much more.  In the past, I would have kept nearly everything, just in case, but not anymore.  It took me 3 full days to clean out files and cupboards so I could make room for my valuable "stuff!"  And then, I thought about what valuable "stuff" I was leaving for the teacher that was going to take my place.  I spent another day going through ny files and left her what I deemed truly necessary for her to use for teaching of reading and then gave her the credit where credit is due and thought she would come with her own suitcase of tools to use in 4th grade and didn't need any of my "stuff!"  I am planning on going back this fall and really purging so many things after reading Margaret's article and the others.  After all, my mentor (Sally KItts) keep telling me: Less is best...and I can certainly understand how this applies to keeping a room organized and clutter free.  It is kind of exhilarating to be free of all the clutter.