Clutter-Free Classroom Project…and Other Stuff

First – I am sooo close to 100 followers!!! I never thought I would get here!  I think I feel another give-away coming on.  Stay tuned!!!

Second – whew!  What a day!  I had a field trip, 2 trainings (1 during school and 1 after), bus duty, a roller skating party, and one of the trainings was at another building…and I only had 10 minutes for lunch between our return from the field trip and my training.  The kids were super excited for the trip and you know how the day goes when they are so excited about something.  I had a 3:1 chaperone ratio, but was still dealing with behaviors constantly.  That is another matter entirely.  Let’s just say this has not been an easy year for behaviors or, shall we say, adult supports. 



Thirdly, are you following the Clutter Free Classroom Project?  We just got the assignments for this week. 
Today I wanted to post about my “non-negotiables” for purging.
As a side story, I have to tell everyone that I was a reading teacher a few years ago and another reading teacher and I combined rooms in the old room of a retired teacher.  Our rule was anything older than me HAD to go!  Can I tell you there was a game from 1950 something?!?  We also found that she had literally copied class sets of entire books and FILED them.  We had copy paper boxes full of sets of papers we were recycling by the time we had cleaned out the room.  Then…a construction worker left the ceiling hatch open, it rained and flooded the hallway.  They had to shovel piles of disintegrated papers out of the hallway!  Amazingly, it was all cleaned up by the time I got to school.  Can you imagine?
Anyway, here is my list of non-negotiables.

• Anything that I haven’t used in 5 years (that is how long I have been teaching 1st where I am).
• Books from programs that are no longer used – I can’t throw them away, but I can put them in a nice little closet for someone to use, should they wish to)
• Multiple copies of papers and books (other than books for listening centers).
• Picture books I have not read in five years.
• Odd items that I have bought or collected that are in a box because they have no other home.
• Copies or files that I am never likely to use or ones that I do not have a place for.
• Old units and binders full of resources that are no longer used…can I do it?

Hmm – I think that is about it for now.  I have mentioned before that I have very little in my room that I do not own personally.  So, I plan to put things that belong to the classroom or items I can purge for whoever may take my classroom in the future in a forlorn little closet that is blocked by my bank of computers.  Is that cheating?


What are your purging rules?