Classroom File Cabinet Makeover

I wasn't sure I would have the time or drive to do something about my filing cabinet this year.  On the one hand, a white cabinet is not going to help my students any more than a grey one would.  But on the other hand, this depressing looking thing is the first thing you see when you walk into my classroom.  After all the time, money and effort I've put into the decor, I really wanted to make a better first impression!  So I bought the paint I needed before my trip.  Sure enough, once I got back I had that sense of, "Well, I have what I need, I might as well." 

And I'm so glad I did.  It's nearly 2020 and still looking beautiful.  So here's how I did it!

Primed and ready!

Step 1:  Decide where it's being painted.  I asked our head custodian if he could move it outside but he suggested I do it indoors, using my rug turned upside down as a drop cloth.  I figured if it was good enough for him, it was good enough for me!  (Note:  Do NOT spray paint indoors; I learned the hard way the cleanup was a NIGHTMARE.  Also my normally very laid back principal told me do NOT do that again...obviously.  Do this project OUTSIDE or read on for an alternative).

Step 2:  Remove as much of the hardware as possible.  I asked our custodian for a screwdriver and he removed the handles for me.

Step 3:  Remove bits of tape and grunge.  Give the whole thing a cleaning, just be sure to let it dry a few minutes before the next step.

Step 4:  Sand.  I did it by hand with fine sandpaper and a woodblock.  This was a lot of work!  If you're planning to do this project at school, the rest of your time should be spent on something light and not very physical, like filing paperwork.  I'd also recommend goggles and a mask so you don't inhale the dust.  And of course if you're not sure if the cabinet has lead paint, don't sand it!!!  Finally, be sure to open a window for ventilation (although this is a mute point because you've already decided to take my advice and do this outside, right?).

Step 5:  Dust.  It's going to be messy.

Step 6:  Wash.  Again, messy.  Give it a few minutes to dry.  In fact, I called it quits for the day at this point.  It was a lot of work!

Step 7:  Mask the rest of the hardware (carefully wrap masking tape around those bits you want to stay the old color, like the lock).  See the little "frames" on each drawer?  I decided to let the inside remain grey for ease of masking purposes.  I figure I can put an insert into those easily enough. 

Step 8:  Prime.  I used Rustoleum primer and just sprayed it all over.  I gave it 2 or 3 coats as suggested.  Unfortunately I also discovered that the "drop cloth" was not big enough.  :(  I'd say the range of settling paint was about 12 to 15 feed from the area I was standing.  I tried to mop up as much as I could but I did not time this right.  My plan was to do other work in the room and then spray primer at the end so that I wasn't inhaling the fumes the rest of the afternoon.  However, I needed more than an hour to spray and clean up.  So two lessons learned here:  Really prepare a wide area to spray paint on and save an hour to clean up!  It's easier to clean wet paint than dried on paint another day.  I swear, if I could do it all over again I'd use liquid paint and a roller like this one.

Step 9:  I hope I haven't scared you from trying this yourself at this point, haha.  I suggest again, call it quits for the day and pick up step 10 tomorrow.  It lets you rest and gives the primer time to dry completely.  The next step is, of course, to paint. 

Word of advice:  If you do use spray paint instead of the liquid I recommend, buy TWO to THREE cans for your file cabinet!  I bought one and didn't even finish the first coat.  :/  I was so annoyed.  More mess to clean another day.  Then I couldn't remember if I needed gloss white or semi gloss white.  At least I had the forethought to get both and return the rest after so I wasn't stuck for a third time. 

White!

Oh, and just a little aside here.  I'd struggled with what color to paint my cabinet.  My classroom colors are the same as my blog (lime, aqua, teal, brown and white).  I was going to go with brown because I love it for my furniture at home, but just before I primed my husband pointed out I have very little brown in the room (just the floor).  I'd have loved aqua or teal but it's only available online at Walmart.  Rather than delay the project a week (too close for my comfort in getting the project done before school starts) I figured white would let it blend right in with the walls.  Six years later and I'm still happy with this decision.  I was scared it would get dirty but the kids don't touch it so it doesn't!  

So what do I find when I went back for a couple extra cans of white paint?  You guessed it.  Teal.  AND AQUA.  I could have had EITHER COLOR!!!  *Sad face*  I just need to keep telling myself that having it blend in with the walls and not standing out is for the best.  Why bring the kids' attention to something that doesn't have information they need written on it?  I'll just keep telling myself that...

So anyway, I got back to school after the weekend and luckily something told me to do a little test patch on the "drop cloth."  Sure enough, it wasn't white; someone at the store had switched the caps; I had a can of blue.  So instead of continuing with the gloss paint, I did the final few coats with semi-gloss white.  At least it's done!

Step 11:  Call it quits for the day and let it dry for 24 hours (the can said you can touch it after 9 hours, but might as well give it extra time).  Remove masking tape.

Step 12:  Reattach hardware.

Step 13:  I finished it off with just a little Washi Tape to dress it up.  I was planning on outlining all the drawers completely, (but waited since time is ticking before the kids' first day and I need to start prioritizing) but now I sort of think less is more!  The dark teal is fabric and there is bulletin board trim on that side as well.  I LOVE how it turned out! 

Has anyone else "upcycled" an old filing cabinet? 

Covering Classroom Closet Doors: Trying Something New

After reading this post from Schoolgirl Style I decided it was time to update my classroom decor.  Don't get me wrong, I love my color scheme!  It's the same as I have for my blog (teal, aqua, lime green, and brown) and it coordinates with a lot of the existing colors of the furniture and built-ins in the room.  No, what this post got me thinking about was the idea of consistency.  I wasn't going to change my palette; I needed to bring more consistency to my classroom decor.  And that meant changing out my bulletin board borders.

Jungle

Planets

As much as I like my Trend rainbow swirly star borders, I've had them since my second year at this school.  My rainforest border and planet borders have followed me from my previous school...and before that, when I taught preschool.  I felt I was justified in my decision to splurge in the name of change!

Before I show you the end result, I wanted to talk about the issues and process of mounting my borders.  See I don't just use them on normal bulletin borders; I have them covering two different problem areas.

Rainbow Stars

1.  The front and back of my classroom is a weird mix of whiteboards mounted on top of chalkboards and framed by thin panels of cork boards.  This may work for some teachers, but I decided early on to hide everything but the whiteboards under shower curtains instead of butcher paper.  This way I don't have to change it out every year.  It's worked well so far!  I just have to tape in the chalkboard spots and staple in the cork board spots.

2.  I have 6 closet doors that I use as bulletin boards.  Three of them are actual bulletin board, and the other 3 are more chalkboards.  Once again I covered them all, this time with fabric.  Not only does it resist fading like the shower curtains, the fabric also helps to dampen the sound in the room a little.  I've also found that my borders really last a long time if I laminate them.  Before I did that they'd get shredded and fall off with use (kids opening and closing the closet doors every day).

In the past I used Velcro to adhere the fabric to the chalkboards and then stapled the border to the fabric.  It works pretty well!  There is some sagging, so I've had to replace the Velcro in places, but it's not a bad system.  However, since I splurged on all new borders, I decided to try a new approach.  My idea was to use these tiny Command hooks at the top only.  This way they'd hold the weight of the laminated border and fabric, and the Velcro left on the sides would be more to prevent it from swinging than holding it up.

It took a little trial and error, but here's how I did it:

 

1.  After taking down the old stuff and cleaning the area where the hooks would hang, I stuck one hook in each corner and two in the middle.

2.  I carefully hole punched the fabric so it could hang on the hooks.  Take your time to line up the hook with the area you hole punch!  It helped to have sticky spots to hold the fabric in place during this process, so if you're starting with a clean slate either enlist a partner's help or tape it temporarily.

3. Create frames out of your border.  You're NOT attaching the border to the wall or fabric in this step.  To do this, hold the border up to the top and trim it to the size you need (if you make 2 for each door, use one for the top and one for the bottom.  Put the bottom aside to save for the final step).  Then, staple the sides to the perfectly measured border.  I needed just over 2 strips to equal the height of the door.  Of course you want to overlap the strips to staple the ends together (line them up for a continuous ripple pattern). 

4.  Hole punch the top of this border frame the same way as you did the fabric, starting from the hook in one corner.  DO NOT staple the top of the border to the fabric.  If you do, you have more of a chance that the border or the fabric will pucker.  Just let the hook hold things up and gravity straighten things out below.

5.  Start stapling this unfinished border frame to the fabric.  Again, at this point gravity should have straightened the sides out for you.  As long as your sides are perpendicular with the top of your frame, this step should be easy (if not, you can detach and re-attach the sides from the top).

6.  Finish up your frame by stapling on the bottom of the fabric.

Although I felt a little sad when I took down the old stars (more so than the Jungle and planets borders) I'm very pleased with how my doors look now! 

They flow not just with each other, but with the whole room.  I can't wait to be finished with the cleaning and organizing so I can see how it all looks together!  It's already looking a lot more cohesive and calming.  I'll have more pictures of the rest of the room up hopefully at the end of the month, and as the year goes on I'll try to remember to update you on how the Command hooks "hold up."  

I've already made headway with several of the other projects in my summer series, (as you can see above the Teacher's Bulletin Area is pretty much set) which I'll post next week.  Sadly, once that's done it's on to filing paperwork, which is sadly more like ACTUAL work!  At least being in an updated, pretty room will help me feel renewed.  That and hitting the beach once the building shuts each afternoon for as long as the sun will let me!  If you're still on vacation, I hope you're finding a good balance between preparing and relaxing. 

Also, I'm linking up with Swimming Into Second for her Show Off Your Space linky!  If you love to check out classroom design there are some great ideas here.

Teacher's Bulletin Area (Summer Project #2)

The second installment in my "Summer Project" list is the "Teacher's Bulletin Area."

You know, that spot behind your desk where your schedules and meeting calendar dates go so they never get lost on your desk.  This space is pretty functional, and by nature I don't think it will ever be attractive.  Plus, since it's the only real bulletin board I have (other than 3 closet doors) I have to share my own organizational needs with the job chart board.  On the other hand, I think that there are measures I can take to improve this area for next year.

Here's what works:

1. The job chart planets were new last year (I just started selling them on Teachers Pay Teachers), and I like how they go with the Trend stars I get every year for the kids' names.  I feel like stars will never go out of fashion, so I'll stick with them!
2. The sparkly gold letters do not fade.  They've been there for nearly a decade and still going strong.
3. The shower curtain matches my classroom theme, doesn't fade, and is very durable.  It's a keeper.
4. The paperwork on top of the filing cabinet has been a REAL success this year.  I might want to create a "cover page" at the very front to hide it a little, but it's been too functional to ditch, even if it's a little cluttered looking.

Here's what I plan to change:

1. I feel like it's time for an update, in the borders department, even though the planets fit with the job area.  I'd like to have a more cohesive look with the borders in my classroom.  I may have enough Trend rainbow stars, but I'm really in love with some of the more modern colors to tie in more strongly with my lime green and teal theme that I just recently started selling on Teachers Pay Teachers.  I made a Pinterest board JUST for my border loves!  Anyone willing to weigh in below in the comment section?
2. I suppose I could divide this section in two by using borders to create a dividing line.
3. I would love, love LOVE to update my filing cabinet!  Although the front is cute, with a fabric cover, border and magnets, the first thing you see when you come in the classroom door is the grey drawers.  If the thing was just somewhere else in the room I wouldn't mind, but it's so conspicuous.  And since I can't foresee reorganizing my classroom layout this year, I am thinking of painting.  I'm sure you've seen the Pins on how filing cabinets can be turned into the highlight of a room, but I'm very afraid of my effort turning into a peeling mess.  *so nervous*
4. Finally, I'm just going to have to promise to really think about what paper work MUST go up there, and which can be tucked into a binder.  It's gotten better over the years, but it's still not pretty.  I might even want to invest in a prettier calendar (or cover the advertisement) since that one is so conspicuous.  

This is a taller order, and purely cosmetic!  None of this is going to help my fourth graders next year in any way, so if I have to let a project go, you know it's going to be that filing cabinet.  We'll see how things go this summer.

Got $12? How About a Classroom Makeover!

I can't believe some teachers are soon to be finished for the year!  Here in Massachusetts (well, this city, anyway), thanks to Nemo the kids don't get out until June 26.  Feels like FOREVER.  Although now that the state testing pressures are off, I can refocus my energies on poor, neglected little Social Studies and Science, woohoo! 

In order to breathe some life into the classroom during a school year that runs the risk of feeling really, really long, I did a little freshening up right before the state tests.  Some of you may remember the before that I posted at the start of the year.  I kept the same color scheme since our desks are teal, the bookshelves are blue and green, the walls are white and the floor is brown.  However I saw these fantastic tablecloths at CVS for $2 each!  I thought they'd add a new punch of color and let me join the "cover your shelving with fabric club" that so many teachers in my building and the blogosphere have been doing.  So here are my upgrades:

The round table got a round tablecloth of course, and I put some double sided tape in 8 spots around the circumference.  It seems to be staying in place very well. 

Behind that I took a rectangular tablecloth, folded it in half, and put Duck Tape on the fold at the top.  This gave it some durability when I hole punched it.  

I got the tiniest size of those 3M hooks for the edge (I think I used 4 in total).  This way I can easily remove when needed.

For my shelves near my desk, it's hard to envision the full effect all the way across (with my desk there in the middle), but I did a solid blue in the center, and then the striped panels on the ends.  For those I accidentally got round tablecloths!  D'oh!  So I cut each one in half, folded it, and again, Duck Taped the top where I'd cut for durability.  The little hooks make it easy to get to the books underneath.

 For the kids' shelves I decided to leave half of it open so they could find things more easily.  For indoor recess I told them to remove the panels so they don't rip.  I also used those little plastic hole-punch reinforcements applicators for even more durability. 

I had 2 panels left, so I put them over at the computer table.  We only ever use the middle computer anyway; the others each have their own little "quirk" that makes them undesirable. 

Finally, not really an upgrade in decor, other than to keep my "dotted table" a lot more organized, was the Morning Meeting Kit.  Previously all those things were spread out on the table and it looked messy.  Now we have the Shares Sign Up board, a whiteboard with marker and eraser, character education information, and a ball for games. 

I LOVE it, and I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier!  This vertical storage works so much better than the tub I put there first. 

Did anyone else feel the need to spruce up their classroom decor this spring? 

And do you have an Instagram account yet?  I just gave it a try!  You can follow me at:  http://instagram.com/amberthomas7 

I am also linking up with What the Teacher Wants:

If you have never used Instagram before (like me 3 weeks ago) you need to download the app for your iThing or Android device.  From there you can set up an account, take some pictures, edit them, and post them on Instagram (it's often likened to Facebook in that it's all about sharing and followers and what-have-you).

Now I know what you're thinking.  Why bother?

Well, I'm bothering because I love to look at other people's classrooms.  :)  So if you love to get ideas about classroom setup and decor, you'll probably want to join in!

I already do so on Pinterest.  And I think Instagram will become an even better medium for this since you can post instantly.  Pinterest is great too, for websites and full blog posts.  But if you like just the visuals, it seems like this will be another great medium for you.  At least that's how I see it.  :)