When I moved to another school this year, I found that I really had no use for a file cabinet. Most of my materials are stored online in cloud-based applications or on my flashdrives (I organize my flashdrives by year). I was able to throw away all materials in my two large file cabinets. It seemed like such a waste to keep and transport all those outdated or unused handouts/materials to a new school. I did, of course, keep many of my classroom library books. However, even then, I discarded or donated many older titles that kids haven't checked-out in two years.
Books and other materials are wonderful, but let's not become hoarders. There are always children that need books, new teachers who need to create classroom libraries, and churches or pre-schools that could use extra materials. Once a year, go through and purge materials you have not touched in two years and shred all documents with sensitive materials. (Of course, keep anything that you must house for legal purposes. Just box it up neatly and label it so that it is out of your way.) If you do a little at a time, you'll see that your workspace stays primarily clutter-free. A full-blown purge may take days or even weeks, but you'll feel much better afterwards. I guarantee next time you'll think twice before throwing another file folder full of worthless junk into the file cabinet.
Happy Reading!
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