EP 107 Tackling Teacher Hoarding

Welcome educators! Before we get started I want to share with you an amazing new and free tool I have available to you. It is a curriculum guide for the school year. 

This guide will give you the tools to help with your planning and keep you on track. It is also great to use if you need some ideas about what to teach for the school year. To download the guide go to myadventuresinesl.com

We are going to start off today’s episode with your reflection question. How many of the resources in your classroom such as games, printables, and supplies are you using during the school year?

Take a moment to reflect on this question. Think about this question and answer yourself honestly about where you stand.

I have seen teacher hoarding in so many groups that I am in, and even I am a teacher resource hoarder. YES! I am admitting this aloud for the first time. I am a teacher resource hoarder. 

If you are wondering what a teacher hoarder is, it is simply a pack-rat. You may live in this constant of thinking you will need a resource again, but don’t touch it for five years. This can lead to an unorganized and cluttered classroom. 

There is also this fear of throwing something away that another teacher has passed down to you. You don’t want to seem as

rude or ungrateful for the resource, so you shove it in the back of your cabinet. 

During my first year of teaching, I started with absolutely nothing. I did not have any resources, lesson plans, or workbooks. I just remember showing up with my backpack and a binder. 

Over the years, I would find myself picking up items other teachers were throwing away, or teachers donating bins of resources they were no longer needing. This very quickly led to me hoarding resources. I would have so many copies of pages from workbooks. I remember having random art items and tons of magazines. 

I did start getting organized in the classroom, but under the surface, I was still hoarding resources. Thinking back I can remember the big year when I decided to do a purge. Teachers would come into my room and be flabbergasted that I had so much stuff. I am not exaggerating when I say, I had mounds of books and papers everywhere in my classroom. 

I know there are some out there with a similar situation or if you don’t keep listening so you won’t be in this situation. 

After being embarrassed during that purge, I did make a promise to myself to organize and get rid of materials I was not using. I still struggled, but as the years progressed I found myself getting better at getting rid of materials I no longer needed. I do want to add that I still struggle with hoarding copy paper and pens. 

 Here are some tips and tricks on how you organize and de-clutter your teacher hoard. 
Tip #1: Set a use-by date on the items that you are saving for random projects and lessons in your classroom. A lot of times we hold on to items in hopes of using them in the future. We might have a grand vision of how we plan on using the items we hoard, and then we look up and 3 years have passed by. Setting

a hard date on when you will use the items will help in holding you accountable when it is time to purge. 

Tip #2: Be mindful of the items that you are welcoming in your classroom. Do you really need another set of magazines in your stash? You already have five grammar books, is it necessary to bring another into your classroom? It is important to be intentional and mindful about what items you are bringing into your classroom. Doing so can make the hoard even worse. 

Tip#3: At the end of every school year, do a purge. I want to loop back to tip #2, for a moment. At the end of the school year, a lot of educators are purging. This can be a tempting time to pick out items from their purge. I know this because I live it every year. So as you and other teachers are purging, be extra mindful about what you bring into your classroom. Also, during the purge ask yourself some key questions. Think about when was the last time you used the resource. If it has been a long time since you have used it, and you have no plans for the upcoming school year to use it, consider purging the item. 

There are a lot of teachers out there in need. You can always consider donating your items, but be mindful while donating to others. 

This topic may have been hard to discuss for some of us, but I am hopeful you got value out of the episode. Your next steps are simple. I want you to start preparing for your end-of-the-year purge. Think about some items that can be removed from your classroom that you are no longer using. 

How are you keeping your classroom organized from the dreaded teacher hoard? Share your comments below or in our Facebook community, My Adventures in ESL. 

Download transcript here.