Teachers are natural-born multitaskers who are expected to wear many hats. The demands of the job can oftentimes be overwhelming and leave teachers feeling stressed and crunched for time. It only makes matters worse when teachers have to work around cluttered closets, messy desks, and disorganized drawers. Unfortunately, teachers are so busy that they typically don’t even have a moment to spare during the school day to organize or clean their room. Although summer provides a nice break for students, it also allows teachers to spend a little bit of extra time decluttering and organizing their classrooms. As teachers, you have an enormous amount of responsibility, so it’s easy to accumulate clutter. Here are 6 tips for decluttering your classroom over the summer so you will be ready for next year!

Get Rid of Old or Unused Items

Just as you would if you were decluttering your home, you want to start by throwing out any old or unused items. Throw away trash, sort through books, discard anything that is broken, and donate old or unused books and supplies.  Now that you are left with only those items you wish to keep, you can begin finding a place for everything.

Get the Right Gear

When it comes to organizing and decluttering a classroom, it is imperative that everything has a place and this might require purchasing some important classroom gear. This means you need a pen holder for pens and pencils, hooks for backpacks, files for student paperwork, bins or cubbies for art supplies, shelving for books, and so on and so forth. If you don’t have the proper gear and supplies, you will never be able to ensure everything is in its place.

Start Small

Classrooms are filled with supplies and materials and the thought of organizing all of it can quickly become overwhelming. The key is to start small and tackle one project at a time such as one drawer, one shelf, one desk, etc.  Keeping it simple and focusing on one small task at a time can help you stay on track and keep you motivated along the way as you begin to see improvement.

Put Like Items Together

Teachers are busy and you don’t have time to be searching through your room looking for specific items. One way to avoid this is by putting like items together.  For example, all art supplies are stored together, science resources and textbooks are in one cabinet, math resources are in another, writing materials are in another, and so on. When you keep like items together it makes things much easier to find.

Bins, Bins, and More Bins

One of the greatest organizational tools for teachers is a plastic bin. Bins and tubs are excellent for sorting items and storing them neatly. It also makes it easy to grab items when you need them. Things that can be stored in bins include books, pens and pencils, manipulatives, arts and crafts items, toys, and office supplies.

Label Everything

When you are organizing your classroom, take the time to label EVERYTHING! Label drawers, shelves, bins, tubs, cabinets, and closets. This makes it easy to find what you are looking for and it also ensures that items get put back where they belong. Labels also make your classroom more user friendly for students.