Classroom Disorganization: Utilize Unused & Hidden Spaces for Storage

Just wanted to post my latest attempt at organizing my classroom. We kicked off our poetry unit this week (one of my favorites!). As I was digging through my very cluttered drawers looking for baggies for a new activity I shared with my students today, I realized I needed a better system for storing them than just shoving them in a drawer when we are finished. Some of the words slipped out and I am pretty sure there are many still stuck in the corners of the drawer.

As I was trying to find all the little word pieces, I came across some Command hooks our custodian scored from 3M this summer (they donate tons of supplies to all our local schools). I didn't want to hang them up on the wall because I figured it would actually make my room look even more cluttered. Then it hit me. Literally...I hit my head on the cupboard door I had left open. (I have a bad habit of leaving them open...just ask my husband.)

Voila—such a simple solution, but I can't believe how much drawer space it frees up. The best part: I won't have to dig through them anymore to pick up all the little word pieces that fell out of the baggies.

If you are curious about the activity I shared with my students today, I will be uploading it later this week—or tomorrow if we have a snow day—on my teacherspayteachers site. :) I wanted to try it out with my students first and I thought it went over really well. And since I was evaluated by my principal during the activity, I'll keep you posted on what he thought of it, too.

UPDATE - Evaluation was excellent and my activity, which has students evaluate an author's word choices by analyzing the syntax, is posted (click on image):

Please post ways that you use Command hooks (or any other methods you have for organization). I love to hear new ideas. (And I need the help!)

One last tip (though I'm not sure this helps with my organization, but I hate wasting paper!): I reuse the daily calendar pages as passes or notes for students. I have a little desk tote that Scholastic Book Clubs sent that I keep the ripped-off pages in. Then when I need to write a pass or a note, I use one of those instead.

Have a great week and thanks for stopping by my blog!

Read more about my journey here: http://www.traceeorman.com/2014/01/classroom-dis-organization-organizing.html

and here: http://www.traceeorman.com/2014/03/classroom-organization-update-make-up.html

Classroom Dis-Organization: Organizing My Classroom One Step at a Time

It's no secret: my teacher's area in my classroom is a cluttered mess. No matter how many times I try to keep it straightened up, the stacks of books and piles of papers find their way back. It doesn't help that I have a hard time throwing things away. If I make too many copies of a handout there's no way I can pitch the extras. But I'm not the greatest (i.e. I'm probably the worst) about filing them back in a neatly organized cabinet or binder. Who am I kidding? There is no such thing as a "neatly organized cabinet or binder" in my classroom.

My method of organizing is stacking things in piles and dealing with the piles later. The problem with that is that "later" rarely comes. I have piles stacked in a corner from two school years ago waiting for "later."

One stack still waiting to be filed in my classroom.

They always say the first step is admitting you have a problem. So here I am. I have a problem.

Another stack waiting to be filed.

Ok, now you know my dirty little secret. (Which, by the way, isn't really a secret. I mean, all my students know and most of the staff members—especially the custodians—who have been in my room know, unless they happened to stop by when I shoved all my piles into my cabinets and drawers so my room "looked" clean. Then they may think I'm somewhat organized. Until they open a cabinet door looking for a game or costume to borrow and everything comes tumbling down upon them...)

I should have a "Beware of Falling Objects" sign on my closet door.

I'll save the pictures of what the inside of my file cabinets and drawers look like for another post. And you won't want to miss what the inside of my podium looks like, either. But for now, let me show you one small step I took to become better organized. Or, just plain organized.

Labels! (I know it's a teeny, tiny baby step. But it's still a step in the right direction! Besides, I have made bigger steps but I'm saving those for another post. Seriously. I have. Kind of.)

Labels for my drawers, cabinets, and "Class of..." labels for organizing my photos.

Before I decided to make some cute zebra-print labels, I used plain labels and wrote on them. They were functional. Just kind of ugly. Let's face it: if something looks cute or at least more appealing and uniform, it makes it easier to keep it organized, right? You can download these EDITABLE Zebra labels for your own classroom (or wherever) use. (I also have Chevron and Owls.)

So, that's the first step in my road to classroom organization recovery. Feel free to comment below with any tips for organization you may have. I'll continue to post about the steps I'm taking and maybe I can even utilize your tips! Next time, see how I tackled the mess on the counter behind my desk...

It's scary...I know.