Clean and Organized

Clean is not the same as organized.

Organized is finding what you need when you need it.
Clean is absence of dirt and grime.

Sometimes I can tell immediately what I need to blog about because it just slaps me in the face.  Today was one of those days.  Now if I think back over the last week, there were signs that organization was the positive theme surrounding me.

Organization takes time - and which not a lot of us have, but wish we did.  So when we get something organized - a desk, a closet, a cupboard - a wonderful sense of relief comes over you and that is paired with a feeling of renewal.

Such as the case this week - as I was reintroduced to the tickler file, by not one...but TWO teachers and both were very excited to tell me about it.  I used one back in the days when I worked corporate, but I got away from it when I started teaching.  It's relatively simple to set up - a file for each day of the month in some type of larger file.  When you get a paper, thought or idea that needs to be dealt with later in the month - you file it for that day and you don't look at it again until that day.  This eliminates piles, clutter and sticky notes on your desk and allows you to think of other things because you don't have to consistently remind yourself not to forget.  Cool, huh?

So now imagine a storage closet shared by eight teachers...that is somewhat organized, but in the last five years has not been cleaned out and old items tossed and current ones reorganized!  It just hadn't been a priority because of the time factor.  But when you have a student teacher, you have to be accessible, but not in the immediate room...so now you have time to clean and organize!  So, props and shout out today to Ms. Sarah Borzo (and study hall helpers) to work on our storage room - which happens to be right next door to Ms. Borzo's classroom.  Thank you, Sarah!!

Today I wish you time for some organization followed by a sense of renewal and relief!