Want Students to Actually Pay Attention in Class?
Mess is sabotaging classroom education all over the world. Drawers that won’t close. Stacked piles. Supplies EVERYWHERE.
And it’s preventable…
School storage doesn’t have to be difficult or expensive. You don’t need to remodel your entire classroom. Some simple decluttering strategies can help you get back on track.
In this post you’ll learn:
- How Classroom Clutter Kills Concentration
- Students Really Struggle With Visual Noise
- 5 Decluttering Classroom Strategies that Work
- Picking the Best Classroom Storage Options
How Classroom Clutter Kills Concentration
Messy classrooms lead to messy minds.
Studies by Carnegie Mellon University determined that students who attended class in overly decorated rooms were easily distracted and learned less than students in classrooms with fewer distractions.
The issue is
School rooms tend to collect “stuff” quicker than you can clean it.
Paper piles grow. Supplies get lost. Projects stack atop one another waiting for a chance to be displayed.
When your student walks into a room their mind starts to take in everything they see. All that mental processing happens before the lesson has even begun.
Imagine walking into a room…
Dozens of posters on the wall. Plastic dangling from the ceiling. Items left out just cuz.
Every single thing in that room is fighting for your students attention. When your school storage and classroom organization systems fail your student learning suffers.
Students Really Struggle With Visual Noise
But did you know that?
26% of public school Principals stated that students not paying attention had a severe effect on the learning taking place within their school for the 2023-24 school year.
That’s almost 1 in 4 schools that are having serious issues with concentration.
And clutter adds to that problem.
Kids have a hard enough time focusing on the task at hand. The average classroom has plenty of distractions. Desks. Chairs. Windows. People.
When you add visual clutter to the mix you’re asking for problems.
Young kids may not even know how to tune things out. classrooms with limited distractions.
Teachers also lose focus when they’re digging through piles of stuff to find what they need. The seconds add up. Before you know it you’ve lost hours over the course of a school year.
5 Decluttering Classroom Strategies that Work
Ready to declutter your classroom? These 5 Strategies work. And they don’t require you to toss everything out and start from scratch.
Strategy #1: The Zone Technique
Section off your classroom into zones.
These zones have a purpose. Reading Nook. Supply Closet. Group Projectors. Individual desks.
This strategy works because
When everything has a “home” things will go back to where they belong. Students know where to look for supplies. You’ll no longer be wasting time telling kids to clean up or asking where something is.
Label each zone. Use visual labels for younger students. Color code the areas. Teach students the boundaries and watch your system take care of itself.
Strategy #2: Vertical Storage
You’re wasting precious floor space.
Put those shelves on the wall! Hang those bins! Stack those trays!
Vertical storage is the name of the game. Store as much as you can vertically. Keep supplies within easy reach and you’ll create more room and less clutter.
Make everything visible
Use clear bins and label everything. Students will know where to return lost supplies. There will be no more digging through “mystery bins.”
Think about installing a peg board for those daily use supplies. Pocket charts are great for daily items as well. Utilize every vertical space you have.
Strategy #3: If it Doesn’t Move in 24 Hours…
It doesn’t belong out.
This rule is amazing for those random projects that tend to pop up. If it’s not being worked on it gets put away. Don’t let that project stack pile up until it’s too big to lift.
Consistency is key
Make your classroom rules clear. If something comes in it needs to go back home when you’re done. Make your students help you enforce these rules.
The 24 hour rule works tremendously. If you allow messes to sit, they’ll only continue to grow. Small piles become gigantic messes.
Strategy #4: Seasonal Teaching
You don’t need to have summer materials out during the winter.
Store extra materials off-site or in a closet. When it’s time to bring them out, bring them out. When you’re done simple pack it away.
This will help you keep your active storage reasonable. Your shelves will only contain materials for current learning. The same goes for your classroom displays.
A quick retail example
Stores don’t keep winter coats on display when it’s 90 degrees outside. They rotate their inventory based on what’s selling. You should too.
Just because you taught about Jupiter last month doesn’t mean you need to showcase it’s picture during Earth month.
Strategy #5: Let Kids Help
Who better to clean up than the ones making the mess?
Assign storage areas to certain students. Teach your students how you’d like to see those areas kept when cleaned up. Reward groups that do a great job keeping their area tidy.
Life lessons
Organizational skills aren’t just for keeping your classroom in tip-top shape. Kids that learn how to keep their world organized learn skills they can use for the rest of their lives.
Use visuals for your students. Post pictures of what your storage areas should look like when properly cleaned. Take the guessing game out of cleanup time.
Picking the Best Classroom Storage Options
All storage is not created equal.
Good storage has many qualities. Sturdy enough to be used by your students. The correct size to fit the materials you plan on storing. Easily accessible for those who need it.
Ask yourself these questions when looking at storage:
- Can you see inside the container?
- Is it cheaply made?
- Will my students be able to reach it?
- Can I use this for multiple different storage needs?
If you answered yes to that last question than you’ve found yourself some quality storage. Cheap storage falls apart. But quality storage lasts you for years.
Closing It Down
Decluttering your room is simple. Don’t feel like you have to change everything at once.
Pick one of these 5 Strategies and apply it to your classroom. Once you’ve mastered that particular strategy move onto the next.
You didn’t clutter your classroom over night. And you won’t declutter it over night either.
But using these 5 decluttering strategies will help you create a learning environment where students can focus.
And when your students can focus… miracles happen.