Clutter Jail

Okay teachers. Does this look familiar? Please tell me that I am not the only one. Do your students make little collections of junk inside their desks? Does the junk sometimes even sneak out onto desktops and fall all over the classroom floor? Sigh.

I saw this brilliant parenting idea for a home “Clutter Jail” on imom.com and decided that it could be easily adapted for classroom use! The original plan calls for a laundry basket. Parents collect toys and other clutter left around the house and place the items in the laundry basket clutter jail. In order for the clutter to be released from jail, the child must perform household chores.

I found the perfect classroom clutter jail at Five Below. These safes come in a variety of colors and you can’t beat the price! I snatched up a silver one.

Then I headed over to Joann Fabrics and picked up one sheet of black Duck Tape. The sheets are so easy to cut, peel, and stick. You can probably find these sheets at most craft stores.

I cut the black Duck Tape into thin strips and made stripes on the safe. Then I used some puffy paint to embellish with the words “Clutter Jail”. Here it is in my classroom just waiting to be introduced on Monday.

I also made these cards to be used with my classroom clutter jail system. Classroom clutter will spend the night in jail and be released upon completion of assigned classroom chores from the Clutter Cop (AKA: me). 🙂

I am sharing these cards with you in case you do in fact have a classroom clutter situation like I do. There are eight cards in all, so hopefully some of them will work for you and your classroom. Click on the image below for a link to this freebie.

Clutter Jail Cards for the Classroom

Enjoy!