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betty@logicalplacement.com • www.LogicalPlacement.com

June 2023 – Thinning Out The Kids’ Precious Memories

As an organizer I'm often asked: WHAT CAN I DO WITH MY KIDS' SCHOOL STUFF? What's the best way to care for all their precious art pictures that they bring home from school?

Here are a few tips that I’ve used since my kids were younger:

A. Every day I would empty their backpacks and place their artwork or worksheets in a shoe box in their closet.

B. Then at the end of the school year, I would spread the contents across the kitchen table and pick a few papers from the beginning of the school year, some from the middle and some from the end of the year, to show how they were progressing.

C. We all know that in the early kindergarten to fourth grade years, a lot of cute stuff comes home. That's when we often see lots of growth. But once you get into the sixth to eighth grade levels, there are more copies of worksheets. We usually don't want to keep many of those, since they aren't as much fun as artwork. But we still want to preserve some memories.

D. If my kids worked hard on a particular project, I would take a picture of them holding the project and then print the picture out or save it and make a Shutterfly book for each year.

E. I also had a larger, hanging file folder for each child, each year. These can store lots of items, across several years. This way, they can take their memories with them when they move out of the house. Then they can decide whether to keep their school stuff or throw it away.

F. You can also designate a place in your home where their artwork can be displayed and changed out weekly. Some people do this on a kitchen bulletin board or on the fridge with magnets.

G. Here is a MUST: be sure to write their name and the date they created the artwork on the back side of each piece. This is especially important if you have more than one child. Don’t rely only on your memory!

H. I even know some people who use their kids’ artwork as wrapping paper on family gifts. Don’t you think grandparents would get a kick out of that!

I. ONE MORE USE: you can also make placemats by laminating several of the pieces of artwork. That way your whole family can see them almost every day!

J. Check online or in your favorite store for portfolio storage boxes. These are another good way to keep track of all those precious items which we gather over the years for our kids.

Do you have any other tips about kids' artwork to pass along? If so, please share them and I can publish the best ones in a future column.

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Your local professional organizer,

Betty Huotari

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Does this look familiar on your kitchen counters or tables?