Your blog made me smile! I am one of those "I might need it someday" hoarders, to whom you refer, but two and a half years ago, my school got closed mid-year and all those hoarded treasures made their way into my basement, ready to move into my new classroom that fall.
As luck would have it, I didn't get a classroom that fall - I began teaching in the virtual environment, and my classroom is my home office. No need for student libraries (Grades 1-8, thank you very much!), but I did pull out and sort all of my resource materials, and my husband was kind and patient enough to set up a wall of bookcases onto which I transferred all of those resource books (yes, Grades 1-8). Now that I can see what I have, I can cull or loan easily.
If no one in your school building is in need of your treasures as you cull, consider posting them on a local Freecycle website - you post what you don't want or need, and others come and pick up your postings. It must be free, but it is a great way to recycle those materials that are too good to throw away, but you no longer need, or want, to keep. I've supplied a few brand new teachers with a number of resource books and piles of manipulatives, and it not only feels really good, it's a great way to winnow out a few more boxes of stuff!
Your blog made me smile! I am one of those "I might need it someday" hoarders, to whom you refer, but two and a half years ago, my school got closed mid-year and all those hoarded treasures made their way into my basement, ready to move into my new classroom that fall.
As luck would have it, I didn't get a classroom that fall - I began teaching in the virtual environment, and my classroom is my home office. No need for student libraries (Grades 1-8, thank you very much!), but I did pull out and sort all of my resource materials, and my husband was kind and patient enough to set up a wall of bookcases onto which I transferred all of those resource books (yes, Grades 1-8). Now that I can see what I have, I can cull or loan easily.
If no one in your school building is in need of your treasures as you cull, consider posting them on a local Freecycle website - you post what you don't want or need, and others come and pick up your postings. It must be free, but it is a great way to recycle those materials that are too good to throw away, but you no longer need, or want, to keep. I've supplied a few brand new teachers with a number of resource books and piles of manipulatives, and it not only feels really good, it's a great way to winnow out a few more boxes of stuff!