Making Space: An Introduction to Classroom Minimalism

I always used to say to my partner – “I think I could be a minimalist…if I wasn’t a teacher.” While the idea of owning only what is useful or valuable had long appealed to me, it wasn’t I was pregnant with my son that I got serious about getting rid of things. For many parents-to-be, the nesting process involves inviting more things into your home; for me, it involved removing as many items as possible from our home so that I could free up energy and space to invest in my son and family.

Since decluttering our home, I’ve experienced many of the touted benefits of minimalism – less mess, reduced time managing stuff, and more calm. But, there’s one place in my life that remains untouched by minimalism – my STEM classroom. 

Perhaps it’s the very nature of teaching – wanting to have the perfect item to meet the needs of any child at any time – that makes it so tempting to hold onto things in case they become useful. When you’re a STEM teacher, I think it’s even more difficult, because all of those random odds and ends that you’ve siphoned from your household recycling bin truly could be useful for a future project. I want to be able to connect students to resources, not come up empty handed when they ask if I have a clear plastic tube between 3-7 inches long.

And yet, having to manage all of that random stuff is mentally burdensome and often time-consuming. Every year, I swear it will be different, but by February, my storage space is a mess. As the year goes by, I wind up stashing things in my closet space with the intention to sift through it and put it away when I find time – but, if I’m honest, that time never comes unless it’s after hours or during the summer. This year, my first as a working mom, my amazing and tidy custodian even took pity on me and organized some things in my storage space for me – talk about a wake up call that I need to get a better system in place!

But, as I learned when getting serious about decluttering my home, you can’t organize your way out of a clutter problem. As Courtney Carver writes, “If organizing worked, don’t you think you’d be done by now?” If you are constantly tackling a mess, it’s likely that you actually have too much stuff, and not just an ineffective organization system. 

So, this summer, I’ve decided that it’s time to get serious about applying minimalism to reduce the inventory in my classroom in order to bring the benefits of less mess and more calm to my STEM Lab. But where to begin?

Start with Your “Why”

The mission sounds simple enough – keep only what is necessary, useful, or “sparks joy.” It can be tempting to fall into the trap of thinking that the work of decluttering will be easy, that there are some magic rules you can follow to quickly create a more minimized space. While I will share some tips and tricks that worked for me in my own home, decluttering is work and requires investment and mental energy. 

That’s why, before you start, you should get clear about your why. If you don’t have a strong rationale for pursuing a more minimalist space, you’ll have a much more difficult time making decisions about what stays and what goes. Taking the time to have an overarching intention and goals for the outcome will keep you going when you’re sitting in your storage closet trying to decide how many styrofoam packing peanuts one teacher ought to have. 

My big why for my STEM Lab declutter is that I want to spend less time managing supplies and looking for things and more time creating lessons and curriculum content. I also want my students to be able to use the space flexibly, without having to work around my piles or materials that may be out and about in the room.

With this intention in mind, I identified three goals for my declutter:

1. Stop storing materials for lessons on my countertops.
2. Give everything a home where it can be easily accessed and put away.
3. Be able to easily assess what I have for supplies inventory at all times.

With goals and a big “why” in place, you’ll be ready to dive into the decluttering process with focus. 

This summer, I’ll be documenting my journey to a more minimal classroom in a 4-part miniseries. Summer can be the perfect time to sift through materials and make decisions about what will make the cut, so I hope you’ll join me in making space in your own classroom.

To get you started, I’ve created a printable PDF that you can use to brainstorm and record your own intention and goals. I printed a copy of my own vision and have it posted in my workspace in my classroom, so that I can revisit my why when I’m needing a boost of motivation.

Be sure to tune in for my next post, which will focus on managing and eliminating paper clutter.

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Minimal Workspace Photo Credit: bongkarngraphic on Pixabay