3 Tips for Keeping Your Locker Clean

In a student survey, 40% of middle school students said that they “sometimes” or “always” struggle with keeping their locker clean and organized. Here are some of the best tips from teachers and students to help students make sure they’re using their space efficiently.

Tip #1: Storage Strategies

Since our lockers have two sections (the main, skinny portion and a smaller shelf above), we teachers strongly recommend that students have SOME sort of strategy for what items are kept where.

For example, will students keep morning books and binders in one area, and their afternoon pile in another? Will recent items get kept in the upper shelf, and older or optional items in the lower portion? Having some sort of plan helps reduce the time that students spend digging through their locker (and in the hallway in general).

Tips from Students:

• “I found it helpful to have all my morning binders and my lunch box in the cubby. I put my afternoon stuff in the bottom of the locker while hanging my backpack and coat on the hook.”
• “Keep extra stuff at the bottom and binders at the top because it fits better.”
• “Put all of your things you don't need in there. DO NOT CARRY AROUND EVERY SINGLE BINDER FOR EVERY SINGLE SUBJECT IF YOU DON'T HAVE THAT CLASS RIGHT THEN. Make it easier on yourself.”  

Tip #2: Timing & Being Proactive  

First, don’t wait to tell a teacher if there is a locker issue, such as when it jams. We might be able to fix it quickly and reduce student stress.

Second, we recommend that students check their lockers at least monthly, if not weekly, to be sure that they don’t let piles accumulate or become “blind” to problematic messes.

Tips from Students:

• “Intervention class (INT) on Fridays is the best time to organize your locker.”
• “Deal with loose papers, untidy books, and random school supplies first.”
• “Don’t wait too long to take home your gym clothes, lunch boxes, or extra coats and jackets. That stuff starts to smell.”

Tip #3: Taking Things Home

It’s fine to keep school supplies and older binders and folders in a locker, especially if the student is uncertain about whether or not a class is truly “done” using it. However, if a science textbook is fully completed, or if there’s a folder filled with papers from a completed quarter or semester, it can probably be kept at home. (That is particularly true if space is tight in a student’s locker, or if someone wants to make room for a particularly bulky book bag or coat.)

Tips from Students:

• “Only keep the stuff you ACTUALLY need in your locker. You can take the totally unnecessary stuff home and keep it there.”
• “When a unit or quarter is over, ask your teacher if you can keep those papers at home.”
• “Don’t wait to start a midterm or final exams binder, keep it at home, and put finished school papers in it.”

Thank you for reading!