Make Room for Success: Spring Decluttering Tips for Students
Source: Faculty Focus
As the semester passes by, your backpack, desk, and drawers are probably beginning to overflow with half-used notebooks, pens, and old worksheets—but don’t worry, you’re not alone. Your learning leaves imprints throughout your space, and it's nothing to be ashamed of! But over time, this explosion of your best thinking may become overwhelming, so a spring clean is the perfect time to refresh your space and reset your mindset! In today’s post, we’ll walk through how to declutter, reorganize, and recycle your school supplies so you can finish the school year strong.
1. Assess the Chaos
Before you can get organized, you have to see what you have. That means it’s time to pull everything out.
Start by emptying your backpack, desk drawers, pencil cases, and bins. Spread everything out on the floor or a large table. It might look like a mess at first, but this is the foundation of getting organized. Make piles categorized by supplies and classes. Then decide if the item is a keep or a toss. Ask yourself, “Does it still work?”, “Do I use it?”, “Do I need to review this worksheet?”. If you answer no to these questions, it may be time to part ways. Professionals suggest that all your old papers could actually hurt you in the long run. The more you keep, the harder it will be to find the important stuff when you need it. Repeat this process of decluttering until you’ve trimmed your supply down to the essentials for success.
2. Utilize Organization Tools
Now that you’ve trimmed the clutter, it’s time to give everything an accessible home. Use drawer dividers, mason jars, or small containers to keep similar items together. Group supplies by type or how frequently you need to access them. Use small bins for loose items like erasers or paper clips, put worksheets into labelled folders or binders by subject, semester, or theme. Colour-code your notebooks and folders by subject so they’re easy to identify and simple to keep papers organized on the go.
Every once in a while, refresh your folder and binders by taking out old papers and sort what you need to keep. As your workload increases, add new dividers or label tabs for key sections. A pro tip is to set up a “refill station” with extra supplies so you’re never caught without a pen or sheet of paper during finals season. Keep track of this refill station and make note of the supplies you’ll need to restock.
3. Recycle & Repurpose
Organizing can be both productive and eco-friendly. Instead of simply throwing everything away, think about how you can recycle or reuse some of your supplies. You can recycle paper, cardboard, folders, and used notebooks, or use them as scrap at home. Use your creative skills to repurpose some old supplies. Use old folders as DIY dividers or even cut them up to make colourful bookmarks. Turn partially used notebooks into journals, to-do lists, or sketchpads, and collect clean scrap paper in a box for rough drafts or doodling. You can donate the supplies you bought ages ago and never got to use, like pens, markers, and other stationery. They can go to local shelters, community centers, school supply drives, younger siblings, or neighbors.
Maintaining the Fresh
Now that everything’s fresh and clean, it is important to keep it that way with weekly 5-minute check-ins, and keep a designated “homework station” where you store the essentials you use daily, and continue the habit of throwing away the unnecessary.
Spring cleaning isn’t just about vacuuming and wiping windows — it’s also about clearing mental clutter. When your school supplies are exactly where you need them, it’s easier to focus, stay motivated, and end the year strong. Take an hour this week to declutter, reorganize, and recycle your space, your future self will thank you.