Children’s artwork and school work must reproduce in our homes. What to do with it? How to store it? 

Of course we all sneak some of it into the trash (recycling bin!) when they aren’t looking, but some pieces are too precious to give up.

Yesterday  I went through my girls’ school bins and heartlessly pared down to where I meant to be all along. I was able to reduce their 2 large bins each to 1 each. It feels great! Remember when your mom made you take the stuff she saved for you? Or is she so nice that she’s still storing it? I don’t like clutter, and I will be chasing my girls down the driveway with their 3 see-thru bins — “Baby Stuff, School Years, and Keepsakes.” Then it’s up to them to get rid of it, but I bet they each have a sentimental gene and will go through it and laugh and cry like I do.  Anyway, I guarantee that no adult child wants MORE than the three bins. They won’t have anywhere to put it once they start accumulating their own kids’s stuff! In fact, I will be paring down the “Keepsakes” bins next but will probably have to enlist the girls’ help on the decision making.

The Process

As the children bring home awards and A+ work, I stick it in a large, okay GIANT, ziplock bag marked for that school year. At the end of the year, the bag goes into the clear bin. Voila! Organized by grade! I tell people that I only save the 2 or 3 best things from each school year. Ha! Pulled out the bags yesterday, and each one weighed at least 10 lbs! So I pulled up the recycling bin and pitched anything that wasn’t important. Saved report cards, awards, Mothers’ Day poems, self-portraits, and photos. It’s funny that I was sure I had done this all along. Oh well, better late than never. Finally following my own rules.

How do you tame the paper monster?