How are you planning to organize and store your kid’s school papers?
Because there will be a lot!
My Story
For a very long time, I have been attempting to wade through the very many school papers and kids’ memorabilia that I have so lovingly kept in my attic.
Beyond a shadow of a doubt, I kept way too much.
The reality is that what seems so special one year holds almost zero appeal 15 plus years later.
I don’t want most of it, our kids want even less. I am now taxed with the chore of determining what to keep, what to trash and what to leave for them.
Very late in the game, I came up with a plan for how to organize and store kids’ school papers.
If only I had devised that system about ten years sooner!
Learn from my mistakes!
Be ready! Before the first day of school have a plan in place that makes it easy to organize and store all school papers on a daily basis.
Note:
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The key to organizing and storing school papers is to choose a system that is both simple and convenient.
If a system is complicated and time consuming, the chance of failure is high.
The system that I came up with way too late relies primarily on basic manilla file folders (affiliate link).
File folders are inexpensive and easy to maintain.
At the beginning of each school year, create a file folder for each child.
If you want a good head start, begin this system at birth!
Create a new file folder for each year of the child’s life or year in school.
Put the child’s name and age or year of school on the tab.
As the papers come home, sort them much like you would the mail.
Keep, discard and undecided.
The keep items that will fit in the folder get placed as soon as possible.
Set aside the discard items until it’s safe to do so without hurting anyone’s feelings.
Set a time limit on the undecided items. It’s so much easier to reclassify an undecided item as a discard item once the freshness wears off.
A word of caution: The undecided pile has the potential to be the pile that becomes the tote that is overflowing at the end of high school. Be intentional about keeping the undecided pile under control.
For items that are too large to fit in a manilla file folder, create one tote per child.
Put large keep items, that won’t fit in the file folder, into the tote. Once the tote is at capacity, something must be discarded. Do not allow yourself to purchase a second tote.
Little tip: Make sure the tote you choose has lids and seals. (affiliate link). Otherwise, in fifteen years, you will have a tote full of dusty papers!
If you take only those basic steps, you will maintain control of the majority of the school papers that come home on a daily basis.
Turn the file folder itself into a fun activity and a potential keepsake.
Decorate the outside.
Capture hand and footprints somewhere on the folder.
If the child is old enough, allow them to draw their picture of choice on the outside.
Use stickers, crayons, whatever your crafty self can come up with to decorate the folder.
Record some basic information on the inside covers.
This could be favorite color, best friend, what they want to be when they grow up. The list is practically endless.
When the child is old enough, allow them to record the information in their own handwriting.
This will capture their handwriting without making it seem like a homework assignment.
Use your imagination to turn the plain manilla file folder into something special.
Believe it or not, someday, it will very likely become the file folder that is the keepsake and not so much the papers inside.
How are you planning to organize and store your kid’s school work and memorabilia?
Whatever plan you choose, start sooner rather than later. Your future self will definitely thank you!
updated 08/16/2024
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I love the file folder idea – especially the info and hand/feet prints on the cover. One thought is that if something special needs to be saved, one plastic tote be purchased for each child. This will be used for the child’s entire time at home. If it becomes full, then it will need to be pared down. And since time removes the “specialness” of many items, eliminating a few becomes easier.
I love the idea of one tote for the child’s entire time at home. Together the folder and tote would be plenty!
Thanks for the addition!