Castro's Clutter Chaos

Ok, I found another great Linky party that should really challenge me to get my act together.  I'm not the most organized teacher BUT I'm not really as bad as these pictures will make it seem.  I do struggle finding the time to really sort through all of the materials I have.  I inherited a lot of stuff from the teacher who previously taught as the bilingual second grade teacher - which is mostly a blessing, but sometimes a curse.  At this point I've sorted through most of the material, but there is still sooooooo much I need to get to.  It's overwhelming, and until now I've had an "I'll leave it for tomorrow (a.k.a. summer)" attitude.  
However, The Clutter-Free classroom will help me change my procrastinating cluttery ways.  I'm a few weeks behind, but am determined to join the fight against clutter!  Week 1 of the challenge, asks teachers to take before pictures of their room.  I have taken pictures.  And you may think that since today was a plan day my room would have become less cluttery, but if you think that you would be wrong!  My clutter making skills are enviable and by the end of the day I had created several more piles - honestly, sometimes even I drive myself crazy!
So without further ado, here are some before pictures of my classroom.  (Don't judge me!)


All of the boxes I inherited - 2 literacy curriculum, a math curriculum, social studies and science materials, a classroom library, teacher books and more!  (I really am lucky!)  This picture is from last June or July.

Here are some pictures from today.

My Desk - where the mess happens.  ;)

 Next to desk

 Closet - it's semi-organized! A bottle of juice logically goes next to Kleenex and Ziplock Bags!

Check out one example of a filing cabinet drawer - trust me one is enough!

My closet - those binders are binders I have purged of unnecessary materials - so I'm on the right path at least!

Here are some more pictures of area of "improvement needed" areas.

 Where I spend most of my day - by the ELMO, whiteboard and student desks.

 Underneath the easel - kind of a free-for-all down there...

Student mailboxes/extra materials/teacher resources in cabinets above - didn't want to take a picture of that.  :(

 Inside the lower cabinets - mixture of student games for indoor recess and actual educational games.  NOT GOOD, I know!

 My only two drawers - probably could be used more effectively.

Honestly, it's not as bad as the pictures make it look.  It's controlled chaos - but I know that is not the most efficient and effective way for me to use my precious classroom space.  Perhaps after seeing these pictures you feel better about yourself, or perhaps you can sympathize...either way I expect my classroom to look a lot better at the end of this challenge! 

Maybe you feel inspired and want to try joining the clutter-free challenge - you can find out more by clicking the picture below.  There you can also see lots of other teachers who have begun this process as well.

Cheers to clutter-free!

Mrs. Castro