What is on your desk?

A large part of making my day easier for myself, is not having to search for things.  Over the past 1,000 years (or 14) I have come up with a few things that make every day easier for me!  #1 I am a very visual person, if I can't see it, it does't exist, so my desk is a mess. but there are a few highlights.  

I have a small crate of files of things I need all the time.  This includes "the plan" aka my pre-planned calendar for the year, grade sheets, Things to turn into the office, folders for tests to be turned into, keys for tests (because you always have someone absent on test days), and folders for my examples I do with the kids.

Next, near my computer.  I have I blue "stand-up thing" where urgent things land, I have post-its, I have pics and small gift figures.

I also have a scanner that doesn't work, multiple cups, I'm only using two of those, and I have coasters, and more post-its, then the pens, markers, pencils, and markers that only I get to use.

I spent a lot of time looking for this stinking little white remote before I bought this tray!  This tray holds the remote, tape and the stapler the kids can use (but I don't leave it where they can reach it because they tend to try to shoot staples at one another).  The easy button was a gift, and the windex bottle is supposed to be where the magnetic clothes pins are ... but I took this picture in May.

Last but not least, I have my bathroom pass tracker ... and a place for my special pens, and the blue is where the bathroom pass is supposed to go ... 

So obviously I didn't stage the pictures to be perfect, but I hope you got a couple of ideas to help your day easier.

What's in your drawers? Organization for High School Teachers

This year I had to go through the drawers of another teacher's desk (at their request on a day they were sick) to try to find something ... and until then I didn't know other teachers desks were so much different than mine.   Don't get me wrong, my desk is a mess!  At least the top of my desk is a mess, but the drawers are usually tidy.  So I am offering a tour of my desk. 

Let's start with that middle drawer.

Again, notice the mess of papers on the desk.  But I have these really cheap shallow drawer dividers, all are identical, the right one is turned upside down in relation to the others.  It's the end of the year, so a few are empty, but let's start from the left and talk about what should be in each one.  The far left should be pens, then post it tags and pencil lead, then tacks and push pins, then markers then there should be pencil top erasers, rubber bands, and different sized paper clips in the empty containers, then my favorite block erasers, then erasers for mechanical pencils, then pencils.  You can see i have a few random tags, and erasers in the top super shallow wells, an one eraser I made into a stamp.  but everything has it's place.

Now for the junk drawer :)

This where I keep back up caffeine, manicure kit, chargers, staplers, staples, stamp pads, a random forearm (confiscated), random keys, toothpaste, a tooth brush, an exacto knife and a paper cutter (meant for gift wrap).  As well as, post-its with keys or passwords, or whatever else I can't remember.  Did you spot my Mr. Roger's Encourage-mints? My super sweet co-worker go those for me this year.

Next is the large drawer to the left of the middle. 

Now the front of this drawer looks like a mess. I have a microwave popcorn maker, popcorn kernels, an emergency kit (blue bag), hair brush, fishing line, and I think there is a toy of some sort that I confiscated and dome hot chocolate there as well.  Behind that I have grade sheet, labels, hall passes, and colored paper and card stock filed by color.

The small drawer to the right of the middle.

I have mints, copy me forms, mini staplers, random plastic bag, tennis ball (again confiscated) labels, note cards, calculators, tools/lab ware, plastic ware, and scissors.

Now for the big drawer to the right of the middle.

The the front I typically keep my composition books, and I have a special composition book (pictured) where i write funny things that happen in class, and notes that students give me, then I have a sprial, more labels, a few folders, then hanging file folders for paperwork I need access to every year, notes from the office, and even a file for artwork students made for me including several cartoons of myself.  They are so funny! 

I know many teachers out there have organizational schemes and desk drawers that will out mine to shame, but I think this is a good jumping off point, if you are just randomly throwing things in your drawers.  :)