Want To Declutter Your Files? Quit Your Job.

It’s been a weird semester, and not just because of COVID.

In January I told my administration that I didn’t plan to return in the fall. Being a minimalist and lover of calm, clear spaces, I began to empty my room of used seasonal decor & personal items that wouldn’t be needed for the rest of the year. I also planned to leave my successor a filing cabinet and binders of only the best versions of materials.

I looked at each digital file and physical material with the eyes of whoever would come after me

Over the next few months, I looked at each digital file and physical material with the eyes of whoever would come after me and asked, “Does this look useful? Is this essential? Is this the best version I can pass on?” If the answer was no, out the door it went to trash, recycling, a new home, or to be repurposed. Soon, I had amassed a box of paper to recycle and my files were looking much slimmer.

Then COVID hit.

We closed up and I headed home, taking with me, most of my classroom. I returned a few weeks after our school building closed (I teach in an unconnected trailer), packed up the rest of my personal belongings, took a tearful last look and walked out the door to finish my last classes from home.

This is where it gets weird.

Fast-forward another week or two and my principal calls and asks if I’ll consider returning next fall in an altered role. I debated but eventually decided to return next year.

Long story short, I am now going back, to my emptied classroom. I’ll be entering a blank slate with empty shelves, a filing cabinet and binders with only my best work, and a new foundation to build upon.