How to Organize School Papers

Schools is about to start. That means the influx of paper into your house is about to increase dramatically. When my oldest was in kindergarten, I was amazed by the sheer amount of paper that he brought home -- 5-10 pieces of paper every day! It didn't take long for it to take over the kitchen counter, the kitchen table, his room and most of the house. I knew I had to do something, but what?

I came up with a 2 step system. We have a small plastic open-top filing box for hanging files near our phone with folders for bills, invitations, receipts, etc that has done a great job keeping all those things off the counter. So I simply added a folder for my son. Everyday when he comes home from school, I go through his backpack/folder to take care of the paper. Homework goes on the kitchen table, newsletters and stuff to read goes next to my computer to read later in the evening and his schoolwork goes into his folder. That is the short-term solution. However, within a couple weeks, that folder is jammed pack.

The next step in the system is a large (13 x 18 x 10") plastic bin with lid designed to hold hanging file folders. Each grade level has a folder. So all of my son's kindergarten work went into 1 folder. Of course you can't keep everything so this was my boundary. Everything for the year must fit in that one folder. I took pictures of large artwork and put the photos in the folder. Small 3-D art items go into a small shoebox that fits perfectly inside the bin, behind the hanging files. As the folder in the kitchen fills up, I go through the stack to decide what to keep and what to recyle. When the folder in the plastic bin fills up, I go through and made that decision again. By the end of the year, I've kept all the really good stuff but it's small and manageable.

I also put any certificates, awards, medals, etc that he's gotten that year in the folder. By the time he's finished high school, he'll have a bin of his best work and school memories that is self-contained and easy to go through and store. By using this method, I spend just a few minutes a day and about 15-20 minutes every 3-4 weeks dealing with school papers.

I started a bin for each of my daughters, too, even though they are not in school yet. They both attend preschool so they have a folder for each year of preschool. That is a little more tricky because of what they bring home are art projects. I tend to take alot of pictures of the art items and just keep the photos. This system works well for us but of course every family is different. Hopefully this gives you a starting point so you too can tame the paper tiger before it gets out of control at your house.