Spring Cleaning

I'm aware that it is far past the onset of spring. If anything, the sweltering heat that I keep encountering outside has reminded me that it is practically summer already. But with school out for the summer, I finally have enough focus to do a little spring cleaning.

I tend to hold on to things. I think it's a combination of nostalgia and the teacher's belief that "I'm sure that I'll be able to use this for something!"

I've been slowly but surely getting past that mentality as my teaching career has progressed. The longest that I stayed in one classroom was two years, so I had to face the reality of either moving all of my stuff or making the decision to drastically pare down what I had. As I got older I realized that a majority of my worksheets and resources were digital anyway, so to the recycling bin went all of my extra copies.

Despite being a reading teacher, I was never very connected to my classroom library. I was lucky enough to have been left scores of books from teachers who had my room previously and, like me, didn't relish the thought of trying to move them. As I left school buildings, my books stayed there. Yet I always had books for my students to read.

I also attempted to keep artsy things from year to year until I was forced to acknowledge that I just wasn't that artsy, crafty teacher. The differences between my classroom decorations when I did them all on my own and when I had help were...obvious. While I love creating things, decoration was never my strong suit. Yet again, there was a lot to get rid of.

Most drastic is the resources that I got rid of. Some were specific to the curriculum that the school used, some were holdovers from supplemental programs that were left to me by other teachers. As much as I hated to do it, I forced myself to go through all of these things and decide if I was actually going to use them (spoiler alert, probably 98% of them went into the garbage).

It did make it much easier to move buildings, though; especially when I became a reading interventionist and didn't have an entire classroom to myself.

This reluctance to let things go extends to things in my home. I only recently got rid of some teacher textbooks from my master's program - I thought that I would need them and use them in my career. I didn't, and they sat gathering dust and taking up valuable real estate on my bookshelf that could be used for books I'll actually read.

I braved the space under my bathroom sink and found countless half-used products that I had cycled through while trying to find the best combination for my hair (natural hair girlies know), and hadn't touched since I'd found that combination. I found something similar in my medicine cabinet; lotions, creams, face masks, and more were stacked haphazardly inside when there were maybe four products in there that I actually used.

I knew that my clutter was bad when I was trying to find something in my hall closet and my boyfriend almost got knocked out by falling randomness. I went through that closet as well, filling a bag of things to donate which included coats that I've never worn and boots that I don't wear anymore. It also includes a pair of tap shoes that I bought back in college when I frequently performed in summer musicals with tap numbers. I almost got lost down memory lane and put them on, only stopping when I realized I'd scratch up my floor. Considering that I forgot that I even had them, I decided that it was time to let it go.

There are some things that I know that I'm not letting go anytime soon. For example, I have a stash of Playbills from various Broadway shows I've seen. I have signed posters from the shows that I've been in, as well as the playbills and scripts. When I have more time, I plan on scrapbooking them and making a memory book. The posters I want to frame and hang up eventually, as well. I also have three or four formal dresses - one that I made - that I won't get rid of. I haven't had anywhere to wear them, but I'm going to keep them. You never know!

My next project is to tackle my closet and dresser drawers; I was talking to a friend recently who mentioned that her personal style is changing, and she was getting rid of clothes that didn't fit that style anymore. I'm starting to feel the same way. For example, I used to live in 5-6 inch heels, even for teaching. But when I moved to my current school which has three floors of stairs and no elevator, I knew that was wildly impractical. I have a couple of pairs of heels that I wear on special occasions, but several others that I don't wear at all. Even some of the clothes that I used to wear don't seem to fit my new sense of style, so I'm going to go through all of that.

Learning to declutter has been a years-long process. I know that I can do better, and I've enjoyed the joy of seeing previously cluttered spaces in my home be nice and clear. It makes it feel like there are new spaces that I get to enjoy in my house, and it's a nice feeling.

Here's to hoping that my "Spring" cleaning continues on such a positive track.