A little reorganization!

Today was a teacher work day. No meetings, no obligations, no students. It is purely a day to work in the classroom and get things done. I love these days. They allow me to take time to do some things that I wouldn't ordinarily have time to do during the regular school day. Today, I graded work, hung a couple new projects in the hallway, and got to a little project I found on Pinterest. 

The pile of scraps before.
Witness the sheer size and uselessness!

I ORGANIZED MY CONSTRUCTION PAPER SCRAPS. Take a bit of time to let that sink in. It was a pretty massive undertaking. I use the scraps all of the time with all kinds of projects. My scraps were starting to overflow in one bin and they were in complete disarray. Too many kids throw useless scraps into the bin which makes it harder for the next class to find good paper. 

I simply went through all of the scraps, got rid of the tiny pieces, and set the useful ones aside into piles of warm colors and cool colors. I then cut all of the pieces into rectangles with the paper cutter. No more dangly parts, rough edges, or random cut-outs. These pieces are all begging to be used. The new rule with my students will be to trim all scraps into rectangles and make sure they are placed in the proper bin. Hopefully this was time well spent!

I made signs (two for each bin) showing which colors are allowed in each bin.
The signs are laminated and taped down with packing tape. (Just try to peel that off...)

I went from a single overflowing bin to two fairly empty ones.
Between splitting up the scraps and getting rid of the useless ones,
my stock is pretty depleted. I'm sure my supply will grow soon.

The bins magically fit PERFECTLY under the table.