Getting Started on Regular Cleaning Of Your Classroom
Getting started on organizing a classroom can be as daunting a task as organizing a garage or basement. The best thing you can do is start slow and do small, manageable tasks that will give you bursts of energy to keep going.
I’ve broken this beginning step into 5 days of manageable, 15 minute tasks. Do not over think each one. Do not drag yourself into the school on a weekend to empty all the cabinets! It will drain your energy and make you never want to go back.
Day One: Take Note!
Day 1: Start noticing things in your classroom.
The very first thing to do is to stand in the doorway of your classroom with a notebook or clipboard and paper. Begin thinking of your classroom space as 5 areas: the 4 walls and the middle. Make a sectioned list on your paper and begin taking notes. I name each section of my room in a very easily-identifiable way. For an editable example, look here. That is not the most important thing, so don’t overthink it. Then, slowly look at each area in a reflective way: What do the students see? What do you see? Does anything seem out of place, or too cluttered? Does it give you a sense of calm or anxiety? This is not the time to change anything! You are just noticing. Note anything you want to keep or change as you’re reflecting on each space.
Day Two: Clean up the trash
Day 2: Pick up and throw away trash and recycling
as you walk through all 5 areas of your classroom.
Be intentional in your path. Take the garbage can with you so you can continue to make forward progress. Walk from one end of the wall to the other with the goal of looking for obvious trash only: scraps of paper, broken pencils, crumbs, and so on. This will serve two purposes on this very first week: First, you are cleaning the simplest things that make a big impact (trash) and second it gives you a chance to take note of any areas that are going to take you longer than 15 minutes to clean up or keep organized. DO NOT SPEND THIS SLOT OF 15 MINUTES DOING THE DECLUTTERING YET!!
Day Three: Inspect your spaces
Day 3: Walk the 5 areas of the classroom
with your note page in hand again.
(Use the same page from day 1). This time you are closely inspecting each area in greater detail than on the first day. Write down every single thing that needs to be addressed. Every. Single. Thing. You can change this list later, it’s not set in stone! But, if your pencil sharpener will need to be emptied, that should be on your list. If you have any amount of glass in your door that gets smudged up, that needs to be on your list. If you have broken storage containers, write it down. If you have storage containers that aren’t working for you, write it down! In my classroom, the cleaning staff does not clean anything except the floors and trash, so I have “clean sink and counter” on my list. When it’s on paper it does two things: gives you a visual reminder that it needs to be done and takes it out of your mental load. When you free up that mental space, it really does create less overall stress for you.
Day Four: Lists make the world go round. Or at least make your head stop spinning.
Day 4: Make three to-do lists and a wish list.
Use the same sections of your classroom that you have already designated and begin four different pieces of paper for a weekly list, a monthly list, a long-term list, and a wish list. This is a simple, editable list. This may take you longer than 15 minutes, but the investment on this day will pay off every day moving forward. Move each item off of the list from day 3 and assign it to one of the new lists: weekly, monthly, long-term, or wish.
On your weekly list, this will be everything that should get regular attention, such as the pencil sharpener, sink, counters, etc. Write it all down- seriously! Write it in the sections on your paper that are already named as the four walls and middle. (See day 1 for my simple descriptions). You can see my editable weekly list here. I do not clean or tidy every single area of my classroom every single day. When I use this system, it’s not necessary because nothing piles up for longer than a week. I will address how to organize your space so things are easy to put away right away in another blog post.
On your monthly list, list things that make sense here: change out seasonal boards or curtains, clean out the coffee maker, run plush cushions through the laundry, etc.
On your long-term list, write things that you want to complete but you know they will take some time, or you might need to wait until they fit in your budget better. If you have filing cabinets, purging old files might be on this long-term list.
On your wish list, write down anything that needs to be purchased- whether it’s big or small. If you want to change up all your storage containers, list them here. Need paper clips? Write it down! There have been many times that I remember I needed index cards when I look in my cabinet, but never wrote it down to actually check the office or buy them. This is the time to make those tedious lists.
Day Five: Make a schedule
Day 5: Make a schedule and clean off your teacher desk.
You have spent all week organizing your thoughts and needs on paper and today you’re going to schedule them out. I choose to make this as simple as possible because teaching is hard enough! Which area will you clean on Monday? Tuesday? Wednesday? Thursday? Friday? If you have a weekly staff meeting, don’t pick the hardest thing to clean on that day. If you like to complete weekly paperwork before you leave on Friday, choose an area of the room that is already fairly clean and will only need to be maintained. Write it down! I use a printable calendar (described in a later post) and have them hard-scheduled on it. I copy the pages at the beginning of the year and then I can’t forget!
On this day, the bulk of your time will be spent cleaning off your own desk. Remove all the paper clutter. You do not have to put it away if there is too much- but move it somewhere else. I have a space for daily papers I need for teaching, and I keep one spot designated just for things I need to put away, but don’t want on the top of my desk. Next, remove anything not necessary for you to function there. If you have very little work space, and it’s a stressor, then change it! Move trinkets to someplace else. Move the container of paper clips. Do you really use them all day long? I found that I hardly use them at all and the extra steps across the room to where I keep them in the cabinet makes me get up and get in some steps for the day. De-clutter this space to de-stress your time there. Finally, wipe it down with the cleaning product of your choice so it’s ready to go on Monday morning. Your future self will love that this space is so calm on Monday morning.
Remember that this first week is largely a planning week. Don’t obsess over organizing anything at this point. Do not get dragged into a full Saturday or Sunday to do this! Break this down into 15 minutes at a time and then stop. Do the million other things that teaching needs you to do. This is just the very first step to get your classroom ready for what comes next: a highly organized and clean space where you can find what you need when you need it.
Want to see me complete this project? Find me on Teachers Pay Teachers for access to my videos where I show you what it looks like to implement this system.
