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Can you guess which office is mine? Send in the clutter crew! When I’m deep in a project, I tend to use the “stack and shove” filing system rather than the “put away” filing system. My rationale? Why should I put something away when I’m going to need it again? I see it as a timesaver. (I really am in denial about the whole thing, aren’t I? 🙂 )
I struggled to keep a clean desk as a teacher too. My desk was a drop-off zone. I dropped off teacher guides, student work, mail, office memos, and so on. My rationale? I needed to be with the kids. I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who needs to come to grips with her paperwork issues. Maybe you have some tips to share? All ears! Diane |
I think I’m giving up on a desk next school year. I’ve had a desk in my room for 6 years, and it’s been nothing but a dumping ground for papers I look at once & never look at again. Besides — I’m a prek teacher. I never sit at the desk anyway. I’m always with the kids! 🙂
I totally agree about the desk…I teach Kindergarten and work so hard to clean my desk off at the end of the day only to find it a mess again by mid morning the next day. I am anxious to hear some ideas. Thanks for the pictures Diane, it made me feel better!
I am the worst clutter rat on the planet. However, the shredder has become my constant companion and best friend. I shred all paper that not essential and use the shredded stuff for my collage box.
I do not use a desk and that does cut down on the clutter. I also read this tip somewhere for controlling paper build-up – it went soemthing like – touch each paper only once. To me that means once you have read something -note, memo, etc. then you should file it -trash, file drawers, etc. Of course, that does entail having a filing system also! Good luck! 🙂
Since I am a pre k teacher I do not use a desk. But I have had problems with clutter in the drawers due to paperwork. I have really cut by using learning to put paper in my work bag. I go home and go through the paperwork, mail etc daily. Because if I don’t deal with it my bag is too heavy. Yes I do have to transport some back to the school but I do it first thing in the morning and file it.Works for me.
My desk is my desk, the students are not allowed to put ANYTHING on my desk. I know that sounds simple, but it has reduced my clutter SO SO SO much!
Also under my desk are my two essentials: A recycling box and a shredder!
I do not have a desk but the classroom often gets messy when we our really in to art that week. I go through it at the end of everyday and try to get it all organized. I also at the end of the lesson make sure I stay late and get it all cleaned up so we can start on our next lesson, otherwise it starts to pile up on me.
I am a PreK teacher, and there is no room in my classroom for a desk. Our school gives us a binder at the beginning of the year with the teacher manual and parent-student handbook, and tabs for other papers. We have to put every paper from the office, even copies of notes to the students, inside this binder when we receive them. Voila! Instant organizing. It helps when we can’t remember what was said at a meeting, or if a parent asks for info.
I do have a desk as well and it does become very cluttered. I take papers home with me as well, so that I can go through each one while I am watching TV. I have a file cabinet at home that I keep different folders for differnt holidays, activiities etc. I put some of the papers I bring home in the appropriate file and the ones I need at school I take back. It does seem like extra work. But it is so much easier going through some things at home. Of course any notes and/or memo’s I get I handle at school at the time I receive them. I am a preschool teacher with 22 in my class. I don’t have time to go through papers during school. Home is much easier and so much more quieter and relaxed 🙂
I keep a pendaflex folder on one side of my desk and a trash can on the other. Any paper that comes across my desk goes into one of the two of them and both are emptied every other day. It works pretty well for me.
I am a bit of an organization freak, so I have several methods to keep my desk clean. I have a long book shelf in my classroom. On top of the shelf are color-coded baskets with a different subject name on each. When students finish an assignment, they place it in the correct basket. By the end of the day, each subject is organized and papers aren’t piled on my desk. When I am ready to grade, I grab a basket and clip the work together. This keeps everything that is the same together. On my desk, I have two small baskets that fit on top of each other. Students place homework from the night before in the top basket. The bottom basket is for any signed forms or notes from parents. Once again, this helps prevent piles!
I try to touch papers once if possible. After reading something, I will complete any follow up or file the paper. I also put papers in our school’s recycling bin or shred them.
I am a prek teacher and a center director so I have a very cluttered desk. I use baskets for my papers labelled – ASAP, Soon and Can Wait. Then I can prioritize my clutter and know what needs my immediate attention.
I don’t have a desk at work eaither. I use a milk crate with hanging file folders and it works wonders for portfolios. I have file for “needs to be filed” things as well. Then I can bring those need to file home and file them where necessary.
I agree with the “touch it once” concept but unfortunately, I have difficulty following it. Seems I take the mail, etc. to my desk, put it down to deal with later only to find myself stacking it somewhere because I am needed elsewhere in the building…..I teach math, computers and am the technology coordinator for our small, Catholic school. Looking forward to hearing ideas from others in similar situations.
I have three inbox style baskets on my desk. One is for things I need to file or keep (office memos and the like), another for things going out (parent excuse letters that go to the office and the like) and the last for student work that needs to be looked at/graded.
The first two baskets get emptied right after the students leave for the day and my afternoon duties are done; during my 10 minute snack and quiet time.
I take at least one afternoon a week (sometimes I am lucky enough to get more than one) to look through the student work basket. I then decide whether it needs to go home or go into their portfolio.
It works for me so far 🙂
I have a table that is also my desk. My goal this year was not to leave at the end of the day until my table was cleared off. I didn’t always make it, but it did really help this year.
I don’t have a teacher desk. I find that it saves any paper work from piling up. I do have an issue with the counter space though. ;0) Little steps right? 😛 I also have my teacher computer on a table along with the document camera etc… Because I teach first grade the only time I sit at the desk is when using the document camera to model how to do seat work.
I am thinking about getting rid of my desk because it is the drop-off. I too am looking for other solutions in this area.
Another area that I have found a solution for is in my classroom. We homeschool and I have using a box for all finished work. We used copy paper boxes and they each decorated their own and then when they finish a worksheet they out it in the box. This also helps me keep their work for the year together.
I would love to just get rid of my desk. It takes up so much floor space, and I don’t sit at it, the only problem is I would need storage to replace what I store in the drawers and underneath(my crates of books). I think if the desk top wasn’t there I would be forced to put the papers where they need to go instead of setting them down on the desk to take care of later.
Diane, my desk looks more like yours than the first pic. My desk stays cluttered, but most of my classroom is “child-centered” and I need a spot for all the admin stuff. I didn’t have one for a couple of years and really missed it. The one I have now is a small counter built into a corner of the room. I do try to file regularly and make a point to clear a “landing area” each day for my laptop and the day’s papers. I am organizationally challenged, and I know it. One day at a time…LOL! I am getting better! =)
Your desk just proves you are a hard workers and get really involved in your work!
Paperwork is neatly organized in folders in a filing cabinet.
Every month I take a big box and push everything in it from my desk and take it home. I admire my desk for a couple of days and the piles return. I do go through my box and it’s like Christmas again!
I try every summer to get more organized. These past 2 weeks I’ve put every paper concerning a topic in a large binder marked by the month it’s taught. I’ve taken all my children’s books and put them into boxes with index dividers to take to school during that theme, or lesson. I’ve even attached some paper work to the book that has a particularly good lesson like: Owl Moon. Mailbox Dec/Jan 06/07 and Listen, Make and Learn at Storytime. It’s just getting it back in it’s place that is challenging with 28 Kinders and no aides in the classroom.
Several teachers at our school have gotten rid of the ‘big’ teacher desks. One lays out the daily things (papers, etc) on a table, and uses a student sized desk for herself. Has given her room for 2 more bookcases and makes her appear more accessible to the kids, rather than being behind that huge desk. Obviously, not as much surface to clutter up, either.
Diane, your workspace is the same as I remember…..and the sign of a true, creative genius a work! I hope you’ve been doing well! 🙂
One way to organize all that paperwork you get at meetings is to get a binder with lots of clear sleeves. Put notes from staff meetings, professional development, etc. in a sleeve. Then when you need to look back at something, you have the binder to come to the rescue. At the end of the year, clean out those things that you don’t need anymore.
This is one of my downfalls!! I am not a paper person! Ugh! I use a filing cabinet and large notebooks with clear covers, but still don’t feel very organized. Love all the ideas posted so far! Thanks!!
I have folders labelled for each committee as well as generic every year topics (grade level PLC, library…) These sit in a sturdy, plastic letter holder on my desk. When going to a meeting, I grab that particular folder, which also has blank paper for notetaking.
I hate paperwork! And I am a piler…ugh! I do find if I put all the stuff that needs put away or filed into a box, I try to get through that mess at the end of the week…that way I don’t lose anything that is important. My desk also stays somewhat cleared off…I try to clean the top of my desk each day so that when I come in in the morning, I don’t feel immediately overwhelmed!
I am giving up my desk. My classroom is short on floor space and this has been a goal for a while. Now that I have some ideas for “paper chasing”, I am going to do it next year.
One thing that works is the “read once and file/recycle” approach.
I have large file boxes that have a folder for each theme used during the year. All sample crafts, books and ideas are placed in it. I also include a copy of lesson plans for that week along with where I have gotten the idea(Feb/Mar 2009. Books I have used along with the author’s name so I can find it in the library and anything else necessary for that theme. When I am working on lesson plans, I am a stacker and things get moved from one place to another as we don’t have desks. I use one of the tables.
I use a stackable organizer for all of my papers…one for newsletters, permission slips, and other outgoing notices, another for notes that I receive. I also keep files for each month of the school year to file old newsletters and lesson plans to keep the ideas handy for the following school year.
In spite of all this I still have to re-organize and clean my desk ever single day 🙂
I am a desk piler too, my desk is a drop zone, I rarely sit there except for after school to enter data for grades and such.
I am excited to read all the different approaches to this problem.
I tried the folders, and magazine file boxes to hold things to file later and ended up at the end of the year with alot of paper to deal with.
I thought about getting rid of the desk but would need another shelf or table to set up the days work and lesson plans I think.
Here is hoping that next year some of these great ideas will help me not be a piler.
This is the one thing that I truely hate about myself, and hate is such an ugly word. I have recently went from a classroom with great storage that was all mine to one that has no storage and is shared with Sunday school. Where did years of collecting end up? In my apartment!Now I am trying to clear it all out and get it organized, but I feel over whelmed. I did buy plastic bins so that I can seperate out the materials to the month that I will use them. At school I have no desk but I have a file system that sits on a shelf, I don’t keep it clutter free either. Help!
One of the first things that I did was to get rid of my desk…it was notorious for collecting piles of stuff…I never sat at it, so now it is gone! I organize the names of my students in alphabetical order by first name–which is much easier to remember–that is how they are always listed in my grade book, on lists, etc. I also assigned each child a color (red, blue, yellow, or green) whichever color the child was assigned was the key to where he/she placed his/her papers. There are 4 colored baskets in different spots around the room. Children place their work in the basket so papers are semi sorted all ready when it is time to grade. I can grade a color pile a day and record the grades or I can do them all…so efficient for me. Each child’s folder matches that color so it is easy to sort the papers when they go home in their graded paper folders. This system was so helpful for me this year…I am sure I will tweek it for next year!
I am the queen of piles. I usually spend sometime after school to put it where it belongs once a week or so. I have a metal file slots for daily work that is scheduled and a basket with file folders for current theme work. It sort of works. I am not sure there is any real solution for getting rid of all those piles. I like the idea of getting rid of the big desk. That might be something I try for more room.
I really like to stay organized – but it doesn’t always work! I think the most important thing is to have a system that works for you. I use several things – filing cabinet, metal racks for file folders, three drawer plastic organizers, etc. Remember the motto: A place for everything and everything in its place. It’s so much easier to stay organized if you’ve planned to be!
I have found binders to be really useful. It is great to have everything for the same project all in one place. I also have trays for papers that need to be filed and need to go home. My students have a tray that they turn work into as well. I also use alot of plastic storage containers and organizers in my desk and closets. I agree that it is best to find a system that works best for you!
I like to recruit student helpers to collect and organize student worksheets and test papers. Each student(in alphabtical order) is assigned a student number at the beginning of the year. Anytime student work needs to be collected I have a student volunteer stand in front of the class and call out student numbers. The volunteer collects the papers in numerical order, paperclips the papers together and then places them in a bin on my desk labeled “To Be Graded”. This procedure saves me the time of placing the papers in alphabetical order and they are always placed in a bin where I can easily retrieve them.
I try to stay organize but using baskets. When students have finished their assignment I try to grade it right away. If I can’t they put it in a basket beside my desk. At the end of the day, I will grade their papers and immediately put them in their mailbox to take home. I also have a separate basket that I put the important papers I need to complete for the office, or that needs my attention within the next 48 hours. When I am finished with a unit, I put the material in a box. At the end of the nine weeks, I will sort through the box and refile the material. Although a little time consuming, I find that if I come back to it later, I have time to reflect on if the lesson was a good one or not.
I have a notebook for each of my students with protector sheets in them everytime I give them something to do I file it by theme, I like to file their work by theme and the assessments and evaluations I file by month, I decide which items I want to send home or keep until the year end.
I also file my theme ideas and all activities in a large note book with sheet protectors
Yikes, I’m a piler, too. I have resigned myself to staying after school for a few minutes to straighten it out. I don’t mind the quiet 10 minutes after school as it saves me much more in the way of being able to be with the kids and keep them on task. The day seems to run smoother when I am not having to turn my back (or get off task myself)to put the papers where they are supposed to be.
I’m a piler too. I do best if I put things away right away, otherwise I get behind. I’m still trying to think of ideas that will help me stay ahead of the mess this year. I think that I’m going to buy some portable crates and make files in them for each child. But I’ll be watching these ideas for ideas.
I use filing folders and binders for each student. I teach Life Skills, so I constantly have a barrage of student specific information coming at me. The binders work wonderfully to organize important notes, student information, assessments, and other necessary information that I am constantly needing access to. Any new paperwork is placed in a basket and filed in the binders first thing at the end of the day.
I also have student specific work tasks for each child. The filing folders are labeled by child and hold multiple copies of the worksheets and lists of work tasks they use, and a second folder per child holds copies of their completed work for assessments. The binders and folders are kept together in a cabinet that has shelves and filing drawers for easy access to all of the info.
I enjoy having access to lots of papers but if it is not in my list of things to do, I either accomplish th task at hand or I put it in my bin. The lower that bin is, the fewer things I need to get done! Keeping front of me really forces me to have a “finish it or file it” mentality – I call it my “F&F pile” 🙂
Good luck to all of us as we use the summer months to get organized!
Tanya 🙂
I use a 5 shelf storage unit on my desk and a wire basket. The wire basket is for homework to be turned in. Each shelf on the shelf unit has a purpose. One is for graded homework that is ready to put into my grading software, one is for memos and faculty meeting notes. The others also have specific purposes.
For paperwork for lessons I have a hanging file for each chapter/unit for each subject. Everything I need is in the folder. I only bring out the file folders from my file cabinet that I need at the time. These are put in a plastic milk crate-type container for as long as I need it.
I’m a sorter. Piles, drawers & bins!
I have piles all over . I go through student work each day so that is a good thing. I have to do a better job explaining to my new para where to put things. I am finding she doesn’t put anything away after centers are finished. She picks up , but doesn’t put games back on the shelves. So To help us both I bought a label maker and I am going to label where everything belongs. I find it is better to put things back right away. The papers , I have folders for each student and one for assessments.
I love my folders and plastic bins. I have taught fourth grade and found a great idea. I always make 5 extra copies of everything I make – for kids that are absent, lost it, or never did it. I have 2 baskets under my desk. I keep all the “extra” paper and the students know where they get them. I keep graded papers in another basket and we pass those out on Friday. Along with passing out papers on Friday, I pass out missing grade reports. Instead of coming to me, they can look through the papers they just got back and show it to me (having 30 kids you might forget to put in a grade) or they can grab an extra paper so it isn’t missing.
I have an office file on my desk and on the table where the students do attendance. I put my important papers in my file, and the students put their papers in the appropriate folder (excuses, fieldtrip, etc.) I also have a notebook that I put student info and excuses in.
I have never considered getting rid of my desk, but it’s a great idea. I rarely sit at it and use it mostly for helpers. Thanks for the great tip. As to the rest, every year I say I’m going to go through everything and get rid of what I don’t need, but I haven’t done it yet. Maybe this year?
I’m a piler and a stacker. 🙂 Yet, I tend to know which pile or stack I put things in. I’m an ESL 3rd grade teacher. This last year I taught my students about “trade and grade”. They would trade tests/quizzes to grade them. That helped A LOT with keeping the piles/stacks down. All I had to do was take the tests/quizzes home, put a grade on it, and put the grades in my grade book. Then I could pass them out to the students. I’m not sure if I can do that this year. My grade level is still up in the air …
What I would pile and stack though is station packets to grade, papers from the office, extra worksheets, etc. I need to figure out a way to keep those piles low.
I bought 3 colored baskets where I put papers that I will use during the week, divided by subjt. matter, another for copies to be made for the following week, and the third basket for the continous papers we get but in our office boxes. On Fridays, I go through the 3rd basket and trash or file the necessary papers. It takes only 5-10 min. to do that, otherwise, I will have very tall piles!!
I have a file folder for each student. I keep all papers for each student in his or her individual files.
I also have a great filing system. I make a file folder specifically for memos from the principal. Then, when I notice any recurring themes, I make a file folder for those things also. I would rather make a file folder and rarely need it than to have papers just lying around on my desk. My desk has to be clutter free or I just can’t funtion well.
I also work hard at only handling memos, letters, etc ONCE. I read them and immediately file them where they need to go. That way, I’m not wasting time handling the same papers over and over again.
I try to organize in the storage boxes I bought this past year. I have found that if I take 2 extra minutes to put away papers daily, then I don’t have a big mess at the end of the week, month, etc.
I am a lot like Dianne and love reading some of the suggestions that are posted in reply. I attempt to keep caught up on my filing on a daily basis, however I often find myself behind.
I have two filing cabinets one for yearly things I use every year and the other for things I use on a weekly basis. That was I have access to things *quickly*, if they are where they are supposed to be 🙂
I live by file boxes and binders. Without either, I don’t know what I’d do! Oh, and a list telling me exactly what is in each.
I tend to stack stuff. I was going to get rid of my desk, but then I would stack stuff on my circle table and that would cause more problems. This year I created a file folder for each chapter in our math book, each reading story and their concepts, science, social studies, and writing.
I took about three weeks to tear apart my Mailbox magazines. I printed off any pages that were double sided so I had both sides. I then filed each page into the appropriate file. It took a while, but now I can actually find all of the activities that I love and use them instead of forgetting them.
I crave order and really have a gift on how to arrange and organize things BUT find it hard to motivate myself to keep up with it all. So, a teacher friend from across the hall who has the same pile problem and I made a deal. On Friday we check each others’ rooms. If it is pile free we treat ourselves to a Starbucks or treat of choice together on the way home. If not, we help the other one clean up then go out for our treat! Like I say to my students, “Friends help friends!”