Buzz
Maintaining a clean school is not solely the responsibility of the janitorial staff. By contributing to the cleanliness of your school, you’ll feel a sense of pride in its appearance and gain valuable experience in environmental care. Whether you take small actions every day or engage in a school-wide cleanup event, you can make a difference in keeping your school clean!
Steps
Adopting Daily Cleaning Routines
Wipe your feet on mats before entering the school. Dust, pollen, and debris can easily be brought in by students' shoes, making the floors appear dirty. Prevent this by wiping your feet before entering the building.
- If your school lacks mats, simply scuff your shoes on the sidewalk before stepping inside.
- Speak with your principal about getting mats if none are available. Offer to organize a fundraiser to help cover the cost if your school doesn’t have room in its budget.
Dispose of any trash you see in the proper bins. It may not seem significant if a candy wrapper slips from your pocket, but over time, litter can accumulate and make your school look untidy. If you spot someone else dropping something, pick it up and dispose of it properly.
- If you find a used tissue or something unpleasant on the ground, use a napkin to pick it up to avoid touching it directly.
- Encourage your friends to follow your lead by picking up litter when they spot it.
Recycle paper, glass, and plastic. Recycling reduces the waste that ends up in landfills, so you’re helping the planet and keeping your school environment clean simultaneously.
- If your school doesn’t have a recycling program, ask your teachers or principal about starting one.
Return items to their proper places after use. When you take a book from the shelf in your classroom or use a microscope in the science lab, be sure to return it once you're done. Leaving items out contributes to a cluttered and disorganized space.
Ensure your lunch table is spotless before leaving. Don’t leave behind milk cartons, crumpled napkins, or food scraps on the table. Push in your chairs as you exit, and double-check the floor to ensure nothing was dropped.
Clean up any spills immediately. If you spill a drink, clean it up as soon as possible. Use paper towels, or ask a teacher if there's a mop available to help you clean the mess swiftly.
Be mindful not to damage displays around the school. Teachers may set up dioramas, artwork, or science projects around the school to showcase their students' hard work. If you come across any of these displays, be careful not to bump into or knock them over, as this can create a significant mess.
Planning a Beautification Event
Request permission from your school’s administration to organize a cleaning event. Organize a school-wide event where students, teachers, and even parents can come together to deep clean the campus. The event can take place during lunch, after school, or on the weekend.
- Go to the office and ask the secretary for an appointment to speak with the principal about organizing the event. Prepare some notes beforehand about what you hope to achieve during the event.
- For example, you might say, “We’d like a group of students to come on Saturday to pick up trash on the playground and clean the windows in the classrooms.”
- Before the meeting, ask teachers and students to sign a petition showing their support for the event.
Collect your cleaning materials. If your school has cleaning supplies available, you might be able to borrow them for your event. Otherwise, consider holding a fundraiser to purchase the necessary supplies. Depending on the tasks you choose, you'll need:
- Rubber gloves
- Bleach-based cleaner
- Cloths
- Trash bags
- Feather dusters
- Toilet brushes
- Gardening tools
EXPERT ADVICE
Susan Stocker
Cleaning Expert
Cleaning Expert
Pro Tip: Mix a teaspoon of castile soap with a quart of deionized water in a spray bottle to create a versatile all-purpose cleaner. Deionized water has had its charged atoms and molecules removed, making it a powerful cleaning agent capable of cleaning almost anything.
Spread the word about the event. Once you have permission to host your cleanup day, see if you can post flyers to advertise the event. You might also be able to promote it during school assemblies or through morning announcements.
- Don’t underestimate how powerful word of mouth can be. Encourage your friends to help recruit other students who are interested in signing up.
- Try something like, "A few of us are gathering on Saturday to clean around the school. We might even grab pizza afterward. Come join us and lend a hand!"
Assign students to specific groups during the event. Organize each group to tackle a particular task. This will help ensure that no one is wandering around aimlessly or cleaning an area someone else has already completed.
- For example, one group could focus on cleaning marker stains from the bathroom walls, while another could be outside pulling weeds and raking around the school grounds.
Concentrate on cleaning overlooked areas. There's no need to focus on tasks that the janitor already handles regularly. Make the most of the cleaning day by tackling things that are often missed, such as cleaning the auditorium chairs or dusting the tops of lockers.
- If you're interested, you could request permission to plant some flowers around the campus, like in a flower bed near the school's entrance.
Follow safe cleaning practices. While cleaning, always read and adhere to the instructions on cleaning products. Make sure to wear rubber gloves when handling chemicals like bleach.
- To avoid health risks, refrain from touching used tissues when emptying waste bins. Use disposable gloves or wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water after you finish cleaning.
Form a club to make this a regular activity. If the event is successful, consider seeking approval to start a club that meets regularly to clean the school. You could organize weekly meetings, daily lunch sessions, or even hold cleanups once a semester, depending on the workload and what your principal is willing to allow.
