Setting up my classroom is one of my favorite things as a teacher! I love reorganizing spaces, and because I’ve moved classrooms every single year, I think I’ve become a pro! I shared 10 tips on how to pack up your room, so if you are in that stage, go check out that post! If you have packed up your room, let’s get to unpacking!
Tip #1: Plan your layout
Walk around your room with a piece of paper and jot down good spaces for different areas of your room. Need a library space, where should that go? Your teacher space? Where will you teach from? How will the desks be arranged? Get it all laid out in your head or paper. Start to move key furniture around and play with the layout.
Tip #2: Clean your space
Chances are the last teacher didn’t clean everything out, or if they did, it might have gotten dusty over the summer. Wipe down the inside of cabinets, shelves, bookcases before you start to unpack. It is also helpful to open every cabinet and see what the past teacher’s left behind. I make a pile of things to get rid of if the teacher left a ton behind.
Tip #3: Sort your boxes
This was the last tip of packing up, so if you weren’t able to sort your boxes as you moved them, take your time now. Think about your layout of the space and place boxes accordingly. Books go in the library space, math stations in the math station space.
Tip #4: Unpack 1 area at a time
It’s easy to get overwhelmed and almost have ADHD while unpacking a little of everything at once. Start in 1 place, the place that will make you feel most successful, and finish that space before moving on. For me, that’s my teacher desk space!
Tip #5: Label
As I am unpacking and reorganizing, I have a pad of post its next to me. Each time I fill a bin, I put a post it note on it with what’s inside (or what will be inside for student supplies). At the end of the day, I take a picture of the space so that I know what labels I need to make at home. This is super helpful if you label a bunch of things or if you have a library.
Tip #6: Get rid of things
Now that you are in your new space, there might be some things that just don’t fit or don’t have a use anymore. Give things to another teacher to use, donate them to a thrift store, or host your own garage sale.
Tip #7: Shopping List
Once you have everything totally unpacked, and reorganized, make a shopping list. I make a list as I unpack each area so that I don’t even up going to the store a billion times. To make this step as hassle free as possible, take pictures and measure, the exact space you have and things you need to organize. This will help ensure that the items fit AND that the storage you find will fit. I love these bins (that come in an 8 pack!) and this gorgeous rose gold organizer set!
Tip #8: Thrift
Along with shopping, don’t forget to check out thrift stores for finding storage. Bins can be expensive as can book cases so look around at second hand options.
Tip #9: Sweep through
At the end of each day of working, I sweep through each area of the room making sure I have written down what I need to buy and what I still need to do for that area. I take pictures of my post it labels so I know what labels I need to make at home.
Tip #10: Be patient
Know that this process probably won’t be done in 1 day. You might change your mind on how things are arranged, or it might take you a while to find a storage container. Take your time (if you can!) and enjoy the process. I always loved imagining my students during the set up and to see them in our space made it worth while!
Leave a Reply