Help! School Papers Are Coming Home In Bags!Organize your children's school papers before they take over your home! School's Out For Summer... School's Out... And just look at those piles of papers, artwork, spelling tests, reports, projects and well-used school supplies! What to do? Quick! Gather all school papers, artwork, etc. all in one place. Get two boxes and pre-sort using the Keep/Toss Method. That's it, you just Keep or Toss. Bag up the Toss Box and recycle or throw away NOW! Still have too much? Do it again! Be strong and just keep the most creative, original and memorable. After 12+ years of school papers per child, you will have more than enough for a memory book. If you save too much you may never do a memory book because it will be too overwhelming. You can be a minimalist and keep one or two items per year. (Almost impossible for most of us). OR You can decide to keep no more than one large plastic tote can hold. This means that if the tote is full after 5th grade, it's time to prune again and make room for the next 7 years of school treasures.
A Quick Personal Story About School PapersHere's a quick story about my children's school papers.(If you just want to get on with organizing your child's school papers, scroll down to "Special Tip") I'll be honest here. With my firstborn I practically kept a tote PER YEAR until 5th grade. I mean EVERYTHING she did was so special! Then one day I had to move those 7 totes and I realized at this rate I'd have 7 MORE by the time she finished high school...and then multiply that by how many children we have...that's a lot of school papers! Not to mention all the "other papers" we have to keep. It was definitely time to get realistic. I asked myself if my children would really want to go through 14 totes of their old school papers once they had their own families. I doubted it. Then something happened that made my answer very clear. My mother gave me a box of my own memorabilia. I admit it was fun looking through some of the items and going down memory lane. However, I still haven't gone through all of it and that was THREE years ago. And I'm an Organizer! Lightbulb Moment...I knew then and there that my children would not want more than a sampling from their school years, so it was time to REDUCE! At first it was tough, but after seeing those empty spaces begin to open up, it became easier. The reduction process was freeing (and I am sure my children will be thankful). I took photos of some of the larger pieces with whichever child created the project and then put the photos in each child's one tote. Every year in June we go through their schoolwork and pick out a few "faves" together. The rest goes down in history...
Special Tip:As your children get older, have them choose their "faves." Take photos of your child holding special projects, showboards, etc. and then put the photos right into their tote. Then you can part with the project and keep the memory.
Take the time to do this as soon as school is out. If your children are schooled year-round, choose a month that make sense and go through their schoolwork at the same time each year. Be sure to mark each piece you keep with your child's initials (if name is not on it already), grade and year. Separate the years in the tote with a sheet of paper marked with the year. You will be glad you did...and so will your children! Now, for all those dried-up markers, worn down pencils and broken erasers... Sort them all into categories and pitch any that are not re-useable. Ziplock or contain each category and box/shelve them for home use. Voila! It's Time To Enjoy Summer/Holiday/Vacation. See you when it's Back-To-School time... NO, don't wait that long! Subscribe to The Home Organize It! S.O.S. Newsletter which is filled with Seasonal Organizing Solutions and comes automatically to you every quarter. Just complete the form below. It's totally secure. And get those School Papers Organized today!
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