Whether it’s the beginning of the school year, the end, or anywhere in between, keeping your classroom organized is a priority for teachers. Children come and go like little tornados, which can make it difficult to know where supplies end up at the end of the day. If you are looking to keep your classroom and your office space organized, then a professional organizer for teachers is exactly what you need.
As a teacher, you wear many hats throughout the day to keep children safe, engaged, and flourishing in their academics. Being an organizer, in addition to all of the duties you already have to do, is an added stressor you don’t need. Use simple tips for an organized classroom to keep your classroom organized. However, using a professional organizer could help minimize the amount of organizing you have to do each day in your classroom.
If you are ready to tackle your classroom and create a functional space that offers both organization and fun for your students, use the following tips for an organized classroom. In addition, you can hire a professional like myself who can help you create an organizational flow for your space now and for years to come.
What is a Professional Organizer?
As a professional organizer, I ensure you have all the items you need in your workspace to promote a friendly, welcoming, and easy-to-use environment. Professional organizers are familiar with methods that create flow and ease in complicated spaces.
As a teacher, you know how quickly a classroom can become a disaster. Preparing for that ahead of time will help keep things organized. Whether you are a first-year teacher or a well-seasoned teacher, more organization can be beneficial for your classroom.
5 Tips for an Organized Classroom
Use the following tips to start the organization process for your classroom. Using tried and true tips for an organized classroom is one way to battle the overwhelm in your classroom.
Focus on One Area at a Time
Organizing an entire classroom can feel overwhelming and might make you want to quit before you even start. Instead of looking at your classroom and mentally consuming all that you want to do to get organized, focus on one area at a time. One small step at a time is progress toward the bigger goal.
Write your list of areas you want to tackle. Then, decide which area you want to focus on. Once you have completed that area, then it is time to move on to the next, and so on. Trying to do too much at one time leads to not getting anything done at all.
Maximize Storage Space
Some classrooms come with more storage space than others. You may need to invest in storage cubicles or closets to help increase the available space in your room. Think about how you can organize your classroom and use vertical space instead of relying on ground-level or desktop space. The clutter that comes from surface-level storage can become overflowing.
Get creative with the space that you do have. Think about how you can put smaller items in the same areas so that you can easily find them. Plus, this will help increase storage when you have like-items housed together.
Use a Checklist
Checklists are part of helpful tips for an organized classroom. If you have a visual of where things should go, it makes it easier to return those items to their right spaces. When items start getting mixed into other spaces, that is when classroom clutter begins.
Post checklists on cabinet doors and inside drawers, and keep a master copy close by that you can reference. Everything has a place and every place has a thing.
Repurpose Materials
Professional organizers for teachers love to look at items you already have and repurpose them for something new. Give products new life again by using them in a different way. All of the scrap paper can be stored in a bin for exploration free time or turned into a classroom mural project. Old chairs can be used in different parts of the classroom for arts and crafts or repurposed as some kind of storage holder. Get creative and consider how you can repurpose things.
Teach Your Students to Stay Organized
To really boost your classroom organization, keep your students involved as well. The classroom is a shared space that all the students depend on during the day. Therefore, it is the student’s responsibility as well to keep their learning environment clean and organized during the day.
Task students with cleaning up and putting items away correctly. Show them the checklists so that they can reference them when they need to find something or put something away. Create incentives for students who participate in organizing the classroom. There are many tips for an organized classroom that invite your students’ participation.
A Professional Organizer for Teachers Can Make a Difference
Keeping your classroom organized can be hard, but it doesn’t have to be impossible. If you implement some easy-to-follow tips for an organized classroom, then you can make it happen. However, hiring a professional organizer for teachers can make all the difference in getting your space organized and staying organized.
If you are ready to have a professional tackle the organization of your classroom for you, it’s time to set up your free consultation here. Let’s make a plan together for how you can keep your sanity and your organization systems in place this school year and for the school years to come.