Good teachers - the ones who keep coming back year after year - do it because they love teaching. They have a passion for being in the classroom, inspiring and encouraging students. Good teachers - like you - don’t do it because it’s easy. Nothing about teaching is easy. And really, how could it be? You’re dealing with a group of small humans who all see and process the world differently.

So no, I’m not going to tell you I can make teaching easier for you. What I can do is help you simplify teaching. The secret to making teaching simpler is making it more manageable. And that happens through organization. 

We’re going to talk about three ways you can not just get organized, but stay organized all year long.

Get organized now and enjoy the benefits now and later

1 | Decide What’s Important

Take some time to think about what is truly important to you as a teacher and what is truly important in your classroom. Are cute, color-coordinated bulletin boards and labels important? If they are, they need to be organized in a way that makes them easily accessible. If they’re not, get rid of them. 

Your goal in this step is to purge anything that is not purposeful, necessary, or leading to success for you and your students. If something gets in the way of you being a more effective and efficient teacher - if it complicates rather than simplifies your teacher life - it’s not important. 

Now, I’m not recommending you go into full Marie Kondo mode here. If you’ve never watched Marie’s show on Netflix, she helps people purge and organize their homes. Her method relies on a simple philosophy - everything in your life should spark joy. But let’s be honest. Just like there are some things you need in your home that don’t spark joy (a toilet brush, for instance), there are things in your classroom that are important, but may not spark joy (your building emergency plan might come to mind).

Need help deciding what’s important? Learn more in this post. 

Once you identify what’s important and needs to stay in the classroom, it’s time to start labeling. I have a cute set of labels for just about everything available in my TPT store. Start the year off with a place for everything and everything in its place. Involve your students in keeping your classroom - it’s their classroom, too - a place where organization and order reign.

2 | Manage Your Time

Are you surprised that we’re talking about time management in a post that’s all about organization? Don’t be. 

Getting control of your time may be the most impactful thing you can do as a teacher. Taking control of your time makes you less stressed, less overwhelmed, and less tired. It also makes you more efficient, more effective, and more able to actually enjoy teaching. 

Taking control of your time as a teacher starts with focusing on three areas: 

• Setting boundaries - set them early and often - when you are available, when you will and won’t respond to emails, etc. 

• Purging non-essential tasks - concentrate your efforts on what must be done, limit “extra” obligations. 

• Delegating - identify tasks and activities that can be taken on by an assistant or volunteer. 

Be intentional with your time. Schedule time in your days and weeks to tackle certain tasks like returning emails or phone calls, making copies, and grading papers. Dedicating time to a particular task means focusing on ONE thing during that time. You’ll get more done in less time. 

I have so much more to say about what a difference getting control of your time can make in your life as a teacher. Read more here.

3 | Establish Systems

There are TWO parts to organization - organizing your “stuff” and organizing your “systems.” 

Systems are those step by step processes by which certain tasks are completed. Working within established systems takes less time and less effort. Working within established systems in your classroom makes teaching simpler.

Take time now to establish systems wherever you can within your classroom. And when school starts, start modeling, practicing, and perfecting those systems that include your students. 

You can create a system for just about anything in your classroom. I suggest starting with these five and working from there.

Paper 

Have a system for what happens to paper each step of the way from being handed out to being handed in to where it’s stored and what happens to it when it’s late. You’re likely to have more than one system for managing paper.

Student supplies

Students bring supplies in at the beginning of each school year. Some are for personal use and others are community or classroom supplies. All have to be stored. You need a system for taking in and managing student supplies. 

Create a system that empowers students and informs them about what supplies they need for a given subject or lesson. My Materials Needed Slides Bundle saves you time and makes the communication clear and easy to understand for students. 

Centers and stations 

Create systems for working in centers or at stations. Practice these systems with your students at the beginning of the year until they have mastered them. Centers and stations will go so much more smoothly if you have established systems in place and your students know and understand the system and how to follow it. 

My Google Slides Bundle includes slides that help you and your students manage centers and stations with ease. 

Your teaching materials 

If you’re a first year teacher, you have some stuff. If you’ve been teaching for a few years, you have more stuff. And if you’re a veteran, oh my, the stuff you have! Resources, files, materials for projects and activities, books, the list goes on. The more “stuff” you have, the harder it is to find what you need when you need it. 

The solution? A system, of course. After you decide what’s important to keep and purge the rest, you need to create a system for managing your materials. Yes, it will take time to create a system and put it into practice, but just wait until you see how much time you’ll save.   

Your digital files 

We talked about having systems for things that cause physical clutter - paper, supplies, excess materials. But what about digital clutter? Think about your email inbox and all the digital files on your laptop or tablet. Are you able to easily find an electronic resource or lesson? If not, you need a system. 

Click here to learn more about why you need systems in your classroom and how to put them in place.

Closing note…

Don’t just get organized. Commit to staying organized all year long. You’ll be amazed at how much time you’ll get back in your days and weeks. You’ll feel more confident and capable knowing that your materials and resources are easily accessible and your systems are running smoothly. 

Do you need more help with organization? Maybe you know it’s important and believe organization will simplify your teacher life, but you need more of a roadmap. Organized Just So, my comprehensive, self-paced online course, may be exactly what you need.

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