The Life Changing Magic of a Clean Classroom

Any time a book has “life-changing” in the title, it warrants the side-eye from me. Yet, I kept hearing that The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo would indeed change my life, so I gave it a try. That was many years, student loan payoffs, world travels, and new career opportunities ago. So yes, I would definitely say that this book changed my life! And, I know it can do the same for you! There’s something about a clean classroom that makes everything seem more possible. 🙂

This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting my blog!

If there’s one thing teachers love, it’s a good acronym. So, to help you on your clean classroom journey, follow this C.L.E.A.N. method:

• Step 1: C– Choose your why for a clean classroom 
• Step 2: L– Learn the benefits of clean classrooms
• Step 3: E– Empty everything out of your classroom storage 
• Step 4: A– Acknowledge things that spark joy, guilt, or other emotions 
• Step 5: N– Notice classroom system needs

Step 1: C- Choose your why for a clean classroom 

Wanting a clean, decluttered, and organized classroom can be a surface-level task, but if you dig deep enough, you may just unlock a much bigger “why” behind the work. Though it’s a little woo woo, I truly believe that clutter in our classrooms or personal spaces can hold us back from achieving what we truly desire. 

Reflect on these scenarios: 

• You see your DREAM education position pop up and you are highly qualified. But then you are sunk back to reality when you start to think about the amount of work it would take to either move your classroom to a new location or clean out your classroom for a new opportunity. Whether subconsciously or not, the amount of stuff tying you to your classroom can affect how you approach career mobility. 

• You watch a reel on Teachergram and get inspired to try the fun activity. But then you start thinking about how much trouble it would be to dig the supplies out of your cluttered storage and decide it’s not worth the effort. Whether subconsciously or not, the amount of clutter in your classroom could be hindering your joy and creativity as a teacher. 

• You know collaboration and movement are key to keeping learners actively engaged, but your classroom is so small and your roster so large that there’s just not enough space. If you could free up and remove some classroom furniture like old filing cabinets, would that give you the space to make your ideal lesson plans a reality? Without even knowing it, the clutter in your classroom might impede your capacity to devise captivating lessons.

• You are scrolling through Pinterest and stumble upon an adorable classroom that immediately captures your heart. The thought of transforming your own space with cute classroom decor fills you with excitement, but then you realize how much effort it would take to clean out your classroom and your enthusiasm wanes. Whether you’re aware of it or not, disorder may hinder your creative spirit and the joy you find in crafting an aesthetic learning space for your students. 

• You love teaching but your workload is sucking the joy out of the job. You know you have to make some changes because you won’t be able to keep going at this rate. While you are a great teacher, your lack of organization is causing you more work. Without even realizing it, your disorganization could be dramatically increasing your workload and taking away time to focus on the things you love! 

Which one of these clean classroom scenarios resonates with you the most? That is your big “why” for the work you are about to do. Yes, it will be messy. Yes, it will take time. Yes, it will be challenging…. AND…Yes, it will be worth it! Yes, you can do this! Yes, you deserve a clean classroom to help you fulfill your teacher dreams! 

Step 2: L- Learn the benefits of clean classrooms

Not only will decluttering and cleaning your classroom help with the woo woo side of things, but your efforts will be grounded in science as well! If you are the type of teacher who strives for research-based learning, then you’ll be interested to know how much clutter can affect learning spaces. Please keep in mind that these studies are meant to educate and motivate, not judge. As someone who loves crafts, posters, and cute classroom decor, I constantly have to keep my clutter in check too! 

• Researchers at the Princeton University Neuroscience Institute studied the effects of uncluttered and organized spaces. According to their research, “Multiple stimuli present in the visual field at the same time compete for neural representation by mutually suppressing their evoked activity throughout visual cortex, providing a neural correlate for the limited processing capacity of the visual system.” In simpler terms, a cluttered space can overwhelm your mind, making it difficult to concentrate and efficiently process information. In contrast, a clean and orderly environment helps you focus and process information more effectively. 

• In an interview with the American Psychological Association, professor of psychology Joseph Ferrari, PhD discusses the psychology of clutter, how it impacts our mental health, and how it’s linked to procrastination. For both teachers and students, procrastination and clutter can increase anxiety and stress levels. 

• Additionally, there’s evidence that clutter can affect both our physical and mental health. For example, the research found that women who described their homes as cluttered or unfinished felt more depressed and stressed as the day went on. Though I wish there were more studies specifically analyzing classroom clutter, many teachers spend just as many waking hours in the classroom as they do in their homes. 

Step 3: E- Empty everything out of your classroom storage

I believe that teachers are natural hoarders, and I was no exception. I’ve tried decluttering in the past, but mental blocks always held me back. “What if I need this one day?” “I could make a craft with this!” “This costs too much money to throw away!” “A new teacher could use this!” and so forth.  This is where The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up excels. The way Kondo explains how Japanese culture views objects really hit home for me and allowed me to rewrite the narrative I told myself when trying to declutter. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook (free on Hoopla or Libby!) on your commute to school to keep yourself motivated during the process of decluttering and cleaning your classroom!

Here’s how to Konmari your classroom: 

• Start with non-sentimental items. Don’t go straight for student projects, notes, awards, or books. You have to build up your decluttering muscles before tackling sentimental items. 

• Do one cabinet or drawer at a time. Take EVERYTHING out. This part is very important. Your mind will see a clean slate and will automatically not want to clutter it back up by filling it with junk (This is also how I’ve saved so much money since reading this book; I think long and hard before buying anything now).

• Declutter as much as possible. As Kondo explains in the book, our need to tidy will continue as long as we allow clutter to live in our lives. It’s impossible to keep mountains and mountains of items organized day in and day out. The less you have, the tidier your room will be. 

• When dealing with paper items, discard almost everything. If you are in a paperless classroom, then you are well on your way to achieving this lofty goal! While I grade essays fast and effectively online and use Canvas for assignments, I’m still giving my tests on paper. However, one thing I love about using ZipGrade to grade paper tests is that it scans tests and keeps the “copy” in the app and in the cloud. 

• Throw out nonhelpful PD material. That PD served you in some way at the time, but if you have never used or reviewed the copies or brochures, they no longer serve a purpose. By getting rid of old material, you will create space for better-serving material and ideas to arrive. This rings true for all items in your life which brings me to my hardest category…

• When cleaning out your independent reading bookshelf, ask yourself, “What overall star rating would students give my bookshelf?” For example, we all know those 5-star books that fly off the shelf. These 5-star books bring up our total bookshelf star rating. But what about the 1-3 star books that never get checked out? Those are bringing down your overall average. Other 1-3 star downers include books with unfortunate covers, books that are falling apart so badly that they irritate students to read them, and books that had their moment of glory but are now a passing fad. The books on your shelf deserve to shine! If the shelves look empty after purging then that’s great! This sends a message to the universe that you are ready for more 5-star books to come your way.🙂 

• Get students involved. Cleaning, decluttering, and getting rid of papers in your classroom is a HUGE undertaking, and you shouldn’t have to go at it alone. Here is a helpful freebie that both you and your students will love!

Step 4: A- Acknowledge things that spark joy, guilt, or other emotions 

You will need to read the book to get the full explanation of how to be in tune with joyful items, but for most things, this will be obvious. The key is to fight against a scarcity mindset (something a lot of teachers experience) and see the world as abundant as the school supply aisle in July. 

• After acknowledging and thanking the items for their time, toss, donate, or recycle things that do not bring you joy. However, just be aware that in some cases, you are not allowed to toss tax-funded supplies. When in doubt, ask your admin! 

• Avoid transferring your discarded junk onto others. Whenever you ask someone if they would like something you want to discard, they often feel obliged to take it. It might make you feel better to believe that it will be used, but all you are doing is transferring the burden of an object onto someone else. Instead, put a box outside of your classroom door and send a picture of it to the staff. Tell them that you plan on donating it this evening so come get anything you want before it’s gone. If teachers are truly in need of the items, they will make the trip to your room after work. 

• Once you make it to the sentimental items in your room, consider how each item is best honored. If it’s truly something precious to you, how should you display it or honor it so that it gets the recognition it deserves? 

• Add things in your classroom that make it a more joyful place to be. So far, this post has leaned heavily on getting rid of things in your classroom, but it’s also acceptable to add things that bring you and your students joy. Actually, that is the entire point of the book. Get rid of things that are weighing you down or causing you guilt so that you can highlight and appreciate the things that bring you joy. 

Step 5: N- Notice classroom system needs

Once you have decluttered, it’s time to put things back in an orderly way and take note of organizers or tools that will help your classroom systems. 

• Notice items you need that will help keep your classroom organized. Though you can group items without buying expensive organizers, sometimes spending a little money on the perfect solution is totally worth it! 
• Notice where your trouble spots are. Which areas are more prone to clutter than others? What systems can you put in place to combat this?
• Notice the joy of empty spots! Try to leave open spaces for better things that may come along. You can see in the pictures that I have plenty of open spaces that are waiting for any nice and needed supplies that may come in the future. 🙂 

As you can see, my last classroom was far from minimalistic, but the things that are left here are useful and brought us joy. Clean classrooms are happy classrooms!

If you want more classroom inspiration, browse here:

• Nature themed classroom
• Retro themed classroom
• World themed classroom
• Academia themed classroom