Decluttering

From the desk of Carol C. . .

“As far as I know, no one has ever had ‘I wish I had bought more stuff’ inscribed on their tombstone. What you own can easily blind you to who you are and what you can be.” ― Peter Walsh

Peter Walsh is an author, speaker, and mini-celebrity who teaches people how to declutter their lives. He maintains we are happier and healthier when we rid ourselves of the excess baggage we own. I think he’s right, but it’s hard for me to throw away my “stuff”. I always fear I’m going to NEED it and won’t have it. I’m far from a hoarder. However, I was reminded this weekend how much I keep that I don’t need.

I decided I would clean out some old school materials I had brought home…three years ago. Thinking it was a thirty minute task I dug in. Two and a half hours later I closed the lid of the recycle bin. Why had I kept all of that “stuff”? I hadn’t used it, didn’t even remember I had it, and all it did was to take up space. I love looking in my clutter free garage now. Life is much brighter.

Cleaning out our classrooms can make life brighter, too, for us and for our students. Anybody could tell what kind of day or week I was having by the condition of my teacher desk. The more disorganized it was the more it was an indication of the bad week I was having. It meant I couldn’t find what I needed, or I didn’t see something I needed to do. It meant my materials were not in order, so I wasted valuable teaching time trying to find them.

Life would be better for everyone if we could just get rid of what we don’t need. Now how do we do this?

• The 5 second rule…within 5 seconds decide if you keep it or toss it. Be able to tell yourself within 5 seconds if they need to keep the paper or toss it.
• IF you keep it, put it away where it belongs immediately. Make sure you are clear about where your important things belong.
• Look around your room. How many posters and charts do you have hanging that are rarely if ever used? The more you have up that you don’t use the harder it is for children to find the ones they do need.
• Involve your students in keeping your classroom decluttered. After all they live there, too. Have them help you toss out broken materials, unusable markers, and worn out manipulatives. Give away books they never read.  Put systems in place that promote the “less is more” philosophy.
• Take a deep breath and throw or give away those teacher gifts you’re only holding onto for sentimental reasons. After all, how many mugs, candles, cards, and stuffed animals can we keep?

Owning less means you have less to clean, keep up with, and organize.

Anything you cannot relinquish when it has outlived its usefulness possesses you, and in this materialistic age a great many of us are possessed by our possessions.” —Peace Pilgrim