New Classroom Transition Organization Trouble Shooting (Setup Day 3)

Today was more about tying up loose ends than starting new projects.  However, I thought of a few tips to share.

Problem:

Organizing by subject works best for me.

Scattered items. Part of what has made this transition feel overwhelming to me is the amount of "mixed up" items.  Of course when you change classrooms, it is rare for your organizational system to perfectly match the other teachers.  What worked for one person doesn't work for everyone.  Personally, I like to organize my materials by subject.  For example, I might organize my classroom into a games area, math area, and reading area.  I'm used to having my teacher's manuals also organized by subject.  At the end of day 3, my new ones are set up this way and that makes me happy!

One shelf won't work; I'll need to split them up.

The other teacher did not sort items this way, and as a result, it's been a challenge to know how much space I need to allocate to any given subject. Well, today I realized my math area was too small.  As a result, one of my "hubby helper's" jobs on Monday will be to move everything from one shelf to another.  This conglomerate of math and writing materials makes more sense split up.

Solution:

To prevent this from happening again, a rule I generally follow is to gather items into an area before really settling on their placement.  Start with an idea of the big picture, and then fine tune.  It is easier to move an empty shelf over than to start over (removing and refilling shelves).  

Today it's clear they need a bigger shelf

.

Yesterday I knew I had to purge toys.

Problem:

Those big books needed a big tub!  Now they're accessible.

Containers.  Similar to the above idea, with everything mixed up, it's hard to know which containers will be home to which materials.

Solution:
Create a gathering place for empty containers.  I started to find that there were some "like" containers, which made them stackable.  Then, as I started filling containers and finding that they were too small, I could just swap a larger one and put the smaller one in the empties pile.  And vice versa.

Problem:
Random pieces in the bottom of bins.  I've met some organized teachers, but none so organized that they can avoid this issue.  'Nuff said.

Solution:
Create a "misc" box.  Sometimes, if I'm near the spot where that outlier belongs, it makes sense to put in in the correct place immediately.  However, if it's on the other side of the room, it's fastest to have that miscellaneous box right near my current work area and pop it in there.  Then, when I move on to the next area, I bring the misc box with me, put the items in the area where they go, and continue filling.  I forgot to take a picture of my empties, or my metal cabinet that is pretty much all set now thanks to this strategy.

Once again, it's not pretty, but it's looking more organized after just 3 days.  I was even able to get everything off the floor (not off the reading rug, but it's a start).  Everyone teacher knows, you need to keep the custodians your friends, so I felt better leaving the area presentable for them.