According to the Sisters, one-fourth of a classroom is taken up by teacher stuff, or what they call "The Teacher Shrine." I promise life is much better without it. Get rid of the teacher shrine and you'll have more room to work with. For me, removing the teacher desk was a given, but I am not advocating for you to do that. Just consider removing, hiding, or storing your materials. Also consider looking at how much space your teacher area takes up in the room. You are one person, working with twenty-something students. First on my list is making sure my stuff is hidden. This includes teacher manuals.
To hide teacher materials and personal belongings I am a fan of cloth, closets, and drawers. Cloth to hide open shelves. Closets to store, and drawers to throw things into. Seeing those teacher manuals and SDE booklets from three years ago is not attractive. They get placed in closets, at home, or in a closed cabinet. Place personal photos around the room, next to pictures of your class and then sit back and see the improvement. Here is a photo of my teacher desk (undoctored). Every time we line up, we clean off our desk. I am expected to do the same.
I also recommend having a routine for all those teacher papers you receive. I am a fan of portable filing totes and have a routine of organizing it as it comes in. These portable filing totes can go wherever you need them to, preventing papers from piling up on your desk,table, or home. I am also a fan of throwing things away. Sometimes that comes back to bite me, but it's worth it to me.
More from me about classroom organisation on the Classroom Displays blog later this week. Meanwhile how organised is your classroom?
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