4 Classroom Organization Tips

If you are new here, I’m Jennifer Donaldson, founder and educator at Tailor Joy LLC. My short newsletter offers tips, tools, and practical advice to help you see joy in your everyday life or educational experiences. Grab a cup of coffee and let's spend 2 minutes together.

Together

Hello Reader,

Need to tackle some clutter in the classroom or office?

Keeping up with classroom organization is part of classroom management. Often we ignore a cluttered space because we do not feel we have time or energy to tackle a whole project. Part of my master strategy in Clean the Chaos: At Home involves sweeping out a space, sorting, and storing the items in a tidier or more useful way. This same strategy is useful in the office or classroom organization; bringing order to some chaos. Here are 4 classroom organization tips to help you tackle clutter in the classroom today.

Start small

Ten minutes gives just enough time to empty a drawer, wipe it out, sort/toss/recycle/relocate/store the items back into the drawer in a more useful and neater way. Once you do a drawer or two, your motivation will build and you will find more pockets of time to continue the project. And the more you clean the chaos, the more useful the space becomes.

Enlist help

Maybe organization is not your strength. Consider asking your students for suggestions on how to store materials or organize books. You may be pleasantly surprised at their suggestions. You might even divide and tackle some quick projects together without cutting into academic time. Sometimes a project like this brings out leadership, critical and creative thinking skills, and teamwork in a class.

Make the best use of the space

Think about the spaces in your classroom or office. Consider how they are being used. Think about better uses of the space or the materials stored there. Sweep and sort. Style the area according to your definition of calm and functional. Make a list of needed items and rehome things that belong elsewhere. Make a cup of coffee and enjoy the space before your students arrive.

Maintain the space

After a cleaning or reorganizing session, the 2 minute tidy is often all that’s needed to maintain order. I’m a big fan of classroom jobs in lower grades and then classroom etiquette for older students. If the space feels useful to them, they are more likely to want to help maintain it.

2 Minute Tidy: straighten the chairs, pick up extra trash, return items to their spaces

5 Minute Freshen: straighten a bookshelf, dust the furniture, clean the whiteboard, inventory a desk or closet

10 Minute Tackle: empty and organize a drawer/cupboard/corner, prep materials for the next day, declutter email or digital folders

Table Talk: What area of the classroom is the most cluttered? What maintenance tip above will you try today?

Ready to tackle cleaning the chaos at home? I’ve got a year long course for that and some helpful blog posts listed below. January is a great time to start this project!

Read more here. https://www.tailorjoy.com/together/

Reader, I want you to smile more and sigh less. Choose to see the joy in life this week! Visit my website for more tips and tools to help you be ready for whatever the day may bring. www.tailorjoy.com

Got questions or comments? Hit "reply" and email me. I would love to hear from you.

Jennifer

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Cost: $45 for over $500 worth of content and resources. That’s paying less than $1 a week for a year of decluttering tips and motivational emails!

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Tip: Get a friend to take the course with you and keep each other accountable!

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More Resources

Read:

https://tailorjoy.com/clean-the-chaos/

https://tailorjoy.com/10-tasks-to-clean-your-digital-spaces/

https://tailorjoy.com/free-home-maintenance-checklist/

https://tailorjoy.com/style-your-storage-spaces/

Teacher. Tutor. Traveler. Tailor of joy.

Meet Jennifer Donaldson.
"I’m a wife, mom, grandma, and certified teacher offering private tutoring, business coaching, educational resources, useful printables, online courses, practical advice, and joy!"

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