Decluttering Any Space

As you move through your room on a weekly basis, using the areas outlined in the Getting Started post, you will have some areas that need general cleaning and decluttering before you can do any purging and organizing. Spend as many weeks on this task as you need. Remember, I only do one area of my room on each day, so if you have a hot mess, it may take a couple weeks before you can move from decluttering to maintenance cleaning in this space. For example, if area 1 is piled high with papers, office supplies, trinkets for a treasure box etc., you still should only spend about 15 minutes and tackle what you can. Stop after 15 minutes and move on. This didn’t get this way in 15 minutes, it hasn’t been ruining your life completely, and it won’t get cleaned in 15 minutes. So, do what you can and leave the rest for next week. Any amount of progress is helpful and will eventually the space will be organized. So don’t stress out and make it all happen in one day. You will run out of energy to keep that pace and the space will resort right back to the mess in no time. Move on to the next area tomorrow and continue to make forward progress until each area is in the deep cleaning or purging stage.

First Step: Clear this area of any visible trash.

Do not remove huge piles looking for more. Just pick up things you stashed here that really should be thrown out or recycled. Stop working after 15 minutes. If you still have time in your 15 minute block, move to step two.

Second Step: Put things away where they belong.

Gather up all of the items in this area that belong in some sort of storage that you already have designated. If you have stray paperclips sitting on a shelf, take them to where they belong. It is ok if this means you have to get out a step ladder and put something in a box on a top shelf and that uses up a big chunk of your time. Just do it. The ultimate goal during this step is not to purge things you don’t want. However, if you come across something that is not in it’s final storage space, and you don’t want it anyway, consider giving it to another teacher or putting it in a donation pile to take out of the school. If you have items that do not have a designated storage home yet, make a plan to find a solution that works for you. Consider buying containers to put these items in, or consider consolidating some containers you already have where these things can be put away. Until then, leave them where they are: you’ll be coming back to this location next week anyway, so sometimes a week away from it will help you make a decision. When the 15 minutes is done, stop working on cleaning for the day. If you had a minimal amount of things to put away, and you still have time left, move to the third step.

Third Step: Wipe down visible surfaces

with the cleaning product of your choice.

This includes vertical and horizontal surfaces. There is no doubt that there is a build up somewhere of dust and smudges, and having this space sanitized will make you happy. Do not get into a deep-cleaning spree yet! You will do this in this area next time. Just address any obvious spills that will be quickly cleaned up. Stop after 15 minutes. If you have time left, either tackle an item on one of your to-do lists, or just stop for the day! You’ve earned the bonus time.

Want to see me complete this project? Find me on Patreon for access to my videos where I show you what it looks like to implement this system. Classroom Cleanup on Patreon