Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Organizing Cloths and Towels- Dirty and Clean

I can't remember if I have shared this or not, but currently I am a substitute teacher.  It pains me to not have my own classroom to organize and decorate.  And students to build relationships with and create fun/different lessons for.  But until that time comes again (after 5 years of subbing due to NO available teaching jobs here) I will appreciate the opportunity of visiting classrooms in various schools decorated/organized by a variety of teachers.  Here are 2 different ideas I observed in 2 different classrooms.  I love and appreciate each one.


I love the idea of separating the dish cloths and dish towels into 2 baskets.  I always gave a mini lesson to my students on the difference- dish cloths are for washing and are small.  Dish towels are for drying and are big.  Inevitably someone(s) would use a towel to wash or a cloth to dry.  I know that doesn't mean the world is going to come to an end but it is a simple concept that will aid them throughout the rest of their lives.  These 2 baskets help emphasize (not the word I am looking for but can't think of it right now...) the lesson you give at the beginning of the semester. 


It is hard to read the labels on these baskets- the blue one reads "dirty" and the white one reads "clean".  Love this.  The students know exactly where to throw the dirty/wet cloths and towels if the washer is full or running.  And there is a clear place to put clean towels when they come out of the dryer- before they are folded and put into baskets (like in the above photo) or into the individual kitchens- as I did as we had everything color coordinated to ensure equal number of towels/cloths and organization.  I also truly appreciate the fact that the dirty basket is dark and the clean basket is white.