Organized lockers keep students on track
Published 1:33 am Wednesday, August 1, 2018
School is often a student’s home away from home. Spending an average of six hours per day and five days a week, 10 months a year in the classroom or on campus, students may feel as though they spend more time roaming school grounds than they do relaxing at home.
Lockers can be havens for students, giving them a place to store supplies and personal items and meet up with friends each day. Organized lockers may help students handle all of their responsibilities more capably.
Developing organizational habits early on is a worthwhile lesson for students, helping them avoid tardiness and keep their assignments in order.
Students typically keep a number of items in relatively small lockers, which only makes it more challenging to stay organized. The following tips can help students stay organized this school year.
- Make the most of locker space. Space is limited, but with some additions, lockers can be that much more functional. Insert a removable shelf to double the space available. Metal shelves are preferable, but adjustable plastic ones can be effective if they aren’t overloaded.
Install adhesive hooks on the door or an inside wall of the locker to hang clothing, bags and more. Invest in hooks that can hold a lot of weight.
- Organize books by class. Keep books organized by class schedule so that books can be grabbed quickly during period changes. Put folders and notebooks with the textbooks so that all related items will be together.
- Add some personality. Adding color and function with magnetic accessories can liven up the space. Dry-erase calendars, pencil/pen containers, a mirror, cubbies for notes and other tools, and magnetic picture frames are some ideas.
- Keep on top of trash. Routinely clean out the locker if things become unruly. Tucking a small waste pail in the bottom of the locker can be handy for taming garbage. Otherwise, periodically clean your locker during after-school hours, emptying it of old assignments and taking clothes home for laundering.
Keeping an organized locker can help students thrive in the classroom.