If you are like me, you may have figured out that paper multiplies on its own. I feel like every time I clear out paper, more materializes. The majority of this paper clutter seems to come from my children. Don’t get me wrong, I love all their cute little school papers and such. I just don’t need 700 pounds of it!
I’ve been searching for a solution for a few years now. The most logical idea for the kids paperwork came from Dandee Designs, and Destination Domestication. Both of these pins used file boxes for each child’s school memories. This was my jumping off point.
I bought legal/letter file boxes at Staples along with legal size file folders. Why legal? There were some odd sized papers that wouldn’t fit in a regular sized file. Legal seemed like the best option, and it was!
I wrote out labels for every school year (PreK 2-day, 3-day, Kindergarten, etc) all the way up to 12th grade, making sure that I could see each label as I went.
Next I set about gathering paper momentos from every corner of our house.
After that, I set aside a lot of time and just started filling each folder. Luckily most of the papers in the piles had names and dates on them. Some didn’t, but I just guessed. Yup, guessed! Are they really going to test me on that later in life. I doubt it! It was such a blast looking at all the writing and pictures my cuties had produced over the years.
Finally, I created some labels and cut them to fit the adhesive label pockets I found in one of my favorite places…the Dollar Spot at Target.
I didn’t stop with the boys stuff, either. Hubby and I had piles of our own crap memorabilia that needed a place to live. We got a box, too! I also had a ton of appliance/equipment manuals that were just scattered around. Yup. These got a box of their own, too! I even tackled two file crates and a filing cabinet of household papers getting them down to two file boxes. Two!
The result is neat and organized. All of our paper is in one spot, and there is plenty of room for future additions. I LOVE it!
