Storage Solutions

We are fortunate to have strong (and big) band and orchestra programs at my schools, which is great except that storage is kind of a problem.  At one of my schools, we have over 100 orchestra students and 75 band students.  That's a lot of instruments and we don't have a lot of space.  There is just enough room for kids to store their instruments if they put them where we ask them to.  That's a big "if!"

I feel like I've tried a lot of things... I have picked instruments up and put them where they belong, I have moved them to a different spot so the kids come ask me where they are and we have the "was it where it was supposed to be?" conversation, I have tried letting them leave them wherever they want... it's driving me crazy!  So today I had an idea:  if we can keep our instruments put away for the next three weeks until President's Day break, we will have a party the last day before break.  The kids seem jazzed about it and already the room is much neater, which makes me a more relaxed and happy teacher :)  And hopefully three weeks will be long enough to make it a habit!

Neat room = happy teacher :)

My question is this:  how do I enforce?  If there's one chronic instrument laying around, does everybody else lose the party too?  What if a kid moves another kid's instrument so they can put theirs where it belongs?  (Believe it or not, it DOES happen!)  I'm going to make it "all-or-nothing," so that either everybody earns the party or no one does.  After all, we are a team and we all need to work together to keep this place organized!  Maybe we can have a few "strikes" so one stray instrument doesn't ruin everybody's chances.

Leave me a comment if you have an idea.  I am counting the days until we are in our new room!  Which, by the way, is next year!! (AND we will have more storage!  Yeah!)