Back to School Keepsake Organization
Posted by Eric Skates on
Whether you are doing school in person, online, or homeschool - you’re going to have lots of papers to deal with. From beautifully painted pictures and well-crafted essays, to a hand print made to look like a turkey - your kiddos are going to be ready to show off everything they have worked so hard on during their school day. And like most kids, they will likely expect you to hold on to all their masterpieces. We’ve got some back to school hacks that will keep clutter away and allow you to enjoy your kids work for years to come!
The Box Method
Our first hack is for the busy parent who just wants an easy solution that doesn’t involve stacks of artwork weighing down all the magnetic clips on her refrigerator. This is the Box Method.
First, pick up a small cardboard box for each child in your home at your nearest Hobby Lobby. Write the name of each child on a box, you can even let them decorate their box as a fun activity. Each time they bring home something new that they want to keep, have them put it in their box. At the end of the year go through each box with your kids. They will love looking back on all the fun things they did throughout the year.
Ask each child to pull out their top 5- 10 favorite things and write on the back of them the grade they were in. Then, take all the papers each child chose to keep and put them in a Family Keepsake Box. This will make it easier to let go of everything that remains in each of the original boxes and you can start again next school year.
The Binder Method
This second idea is a little more involved, but still incredibly simple! We can call this the Binder Method.
You will start with a large binder, a three-ring hole punch, and dividers. Use one divider for each child, write their initials on it, then place them in the binder. Throughout the year just hole punch whatever they bring home and put it behind their divider in the binder. At the end of the year look through all the papers with your children and together pick out your favorites then toss the rest.
Lastly, write the year on one of the dividers and place it in the back of the binder with all of that year’s work behind it leaving the dividers with the children’s names on them in front to be used next year.
You can also have a separate binder for each child and use the dividers to separate grade levels. Kiddos can personalize them just like the Box Method.
That’s it! Two simple ideas to organize all the masterpieces coming into your home this school year. No matter which one you choose, all of us here at EPM wish you a safe, fun, and productive school year.
Just as school organization is important, so is your mortgage! EPM is here to help with that, by phone or online. You can reach us toll-free at 877-255-3554 or start your journey to homeownership online by finding a Mortgage Loan Originator in your local area.