Many Canteen managers find once they do a de-clutter and remove all the non-essentials, they have enough room for their needs. There are even some canteens that are too big. It means more time spent on cleaning and more time spent on walking up and down between workstations.
The Canteen is a food preparation and storage area not a dumping ground for others. All previous P&C records from this and last year should be under the care of the current exec. All other records should be under the care of the Principal. Where they shouldn’t be, is in the canteen, attracting cockroaches and silverfish.
The more you store in the canteen the harder it is to clean. Do you really move all those heavy things on the top shelf to clean the shelf? The answer is usually no.
First step is to start at one end of the building and work your way around. If it is cracked, broken, unusable or someone else’s then it needs to be relocated. If you haven’t used it in months or it only gets used once a year, can it be stored elsewhere? A great way is to start making some piles such as-
Keep it, but clean it
Sell it
P&C exec to sort
Groundsman may like these
Teachers may want these
Bin it
Try to “re-gift” what you can. Prep, younger grades, art and drama depts. may well love your trash/treasure.
As you move around the building it is also a good time to update your equipment and appliance register. You should also remove all signs not needed in the operations of the canteen, wipe over the ones that are needed [they should be laminated if up long term] and put them back in a slightly different spot if possible or replace them with a new look updated version so people read them again.
Don’t fall into the trap of then allowing the piles to stay there. Advertise before you do the de-clutter on when they can come and sort and remove any giveaways. Stipulate a closing date and stick to it.
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