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Now that the new school year is just days away (gasp), it’s time to get organized AHEAD of the influx of papers that will soon invade your kitchen counters. Below you will find a simple method for organizing all the papers your kids bring home. I have used this method for six years now and I’m never disappointed with the results.

I am not a scrap booking kind of gal in the traditional sense (although I am a fan of Shutterfly photo books).

I am embarrassed to admit that I still have a tote in my crawl space that has every piece of paper, card, advice, and memory from my daughters first few months on this earth. I envy anyone who has the creativity and time (and dedication) to put together a scrapbook of special memories.

The Problem

As the years passed and my two children started to attend preschool, you can imagine the papers and art projects that started to take over our kitchen counters. I wanted to keep EVERYTHING. Who wouldn’t? It was their first school experience and I thought they were coming home with the most amazing stuff!

Problem was, I didn’t have a clue in the world what I was going to do with all the paper piles. Now, I may not be a scrap booker, but I am somewhat of a clean-freak and don’t like my house to appear messy. Nothing screams messy more than piles of paper. So, I made a plan. It’s the only way I could manage the flow of papers back then and I continue to manage papers the same way today. Sadly, the types of papers that come home now are no longer covered in pretty paint colors or mountains of dried glue but instead include tests and written assignments. The binders have become smaller as they have gotten older but no less important.

The Plan

I devised a series of six steps to gain back control of the clutter taking over my kitchen counter. Taken one at a time, the task does not seem so monumental.

First Step: Sorting Through the Pile

1. Remove all paper and projects from backpack each night. Make two piles, one to keep and one to recycle. All papers that are deemed worthy of being kept are stored in file folders labeled with each child’s name and kept in a drawer (or wherever you choose). In our kitchen we have two wall-mounted letter bins from Pottery Barn that work great.

Second Step: Move Papers to Expandable File

2. After the month is over, remove all papers from the file folder and give them a second look. Do you still want to keep all of them or are there some you can do without? After making your decision, put that month’s worth of work inside an expandable file (one for each child).

Repeat steps one and two through the end of the school year. By then, your expandable file folders will contain all the papers that have passed two “edits”. Keep in mind that you may want to keep the papers in chronological order (by month) to make it easier when you create the Memory Book.

Third Step: One Last Look

3. Remove all papers from the expandable file and give them one last look. This is now the third time you will decide whether a paper or project is worth keeping. What you have left  is a sampling of the best of the best.

Fourth Step: The Materials

4. Next step is to pick up a few essential items. 

• 3-ring binder with clear pocket on front (5″ for younger children due to the bulk of their artwork and the amount that will come home, 3″ work best for older students who primarily have papers). I would either let my children pick out their color of binder or I would choose a color that best represented them for that time in their life.
• Sheet Protectors
• Colored Cardstock or Copy Paper 
• Stickers
• Scrapbook Paper (1 for each child to use as a background on the front cover of their binder, style chosen to reflect the interests and personalities of each child).                     
• Scissors
• Glue
• Sharpie

Fifth Step: Putting it Together

5. Now for the creativity! Put papers/artwork in the page protectors and place them in the binder in chronological order. Glue or tape artwork to colored cardstock or copy paper to make them look framed before placing inside the sheet proctors. This step can become tedious if done all at once so I would take frequent breaks or just walk away from it for a day or two. You may choose to organize your Memory Book by seasons or months, whatever way works best for you.

Sixth (and Final) Step: Front & Back Covers

6. Cut the scrapbook paper to fit the inside of the front cover. Use this to highlight pictures of your child from school and other hobbies that are of interest to them. Type their name, name of school, and school year to identify each book you make.

I also attach pictures and other memorabilia from the school year to the back of the binder.

Now, all of your piles are officially gone and inside your child’s Memory Book for them to enjoy.  My children definitely look forward to seeing the final product and I enjoy knowing that I captured a sampling of what I considered their best work from the year. What has become a summertime tradition for me is helping to create long-lasting memories for them.

Let me know in the Comments section if you try this method of organization out or if you have tried something similar and have suggestions. Thank you for visiting!

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