It was a sunny Saturday: 65 degrees and gorgeous, especially for November in Michigan. But I was on a mission: PURGE THE ROOM. I bit the bullet and headed in to room 38 to get a major job done: clear the room of unneeded furniture, decorations, curriculum items, and clutter. FURNITURE: after looking over the most recent and (semi) finalized room plan, I pulled out the furniture that was no longer needed and relocated the items I was keeping and set up the room the way it will probably look. It was amazing the floor space and sight lines this improved: I had originally set up my room to break up the large square footage into specific learning spaces, but once I reorganized the furniture, it was a major win! The tables and chairs (for sure) and couch, futon, and other soft seating will probably be removed and replaced. Goodbye, 70's couch! READING CORNER; the students were the ones who originally suggested moving the reading center in their design drawings. I thought, "Hmmm...that's interesting." My biggest problem with where my reading area currently was located was the view of the students was blocked by the mailboxes and bookshelves that created the "wall". They would be right by my desk but making a ton of noise because they couldn't "SEE" me. I also conducted reading groups in the opposite back corner, and anytime someone came into the room I was shielded by that divider as well. Once I moved bookcases around, I matched all the reading center shelves to be black. It made for a nicer aesthetic. That, coupled with the mom who volunteered to reorganize and remove old/unused books, helped create extra shelf space so students can put book boxes/buckets in the reading corner. They didn't really have a good place to put them before. BACK CLOSET: cue horror movie music. This closet, which also contains something relevant to our heating system, is so packed with crap I don't know where to put anywhere else that even the CUSTODIANS don't want to go in there. They always approach with great fear and regret when they must venture in there. It felt SO GOOD to make it actually clear and able to be entered. Everything for holidays and crafts fits nicely inside, with extra room when I pack up for the summer. FILE CABINETS: I will try not to weep with grief over these babies. It was very hard to empty my file cabinets: not because I needed the stuff, but because I kept thinking of all the HOURS and HOURS of my life I can never get back spent copying, copying, filing, copying, organizing, copying...word sorts, RAZ-Kids books, math games, etc. Now that we are ONE-TO-ONE on a Chromebook cart and all these activities and resources are digital, I can't justify keeping them. I filled 5 big boxes worth and they are currently resting in peace in an unused classroom. I plan to offer them to other teachers, but I don't think anyone will want them. I should be named Memphis Recycler of the Year.