{Childhood} Memories in a Box...Back-to-School Organization

This is the first year in a very long time that I have not had a child starting school in the Fall!  But one thing is certain, I have not forgotten how overwhelming the first week can be...so, I decided to dig out one of my favorite clutter-buster ideas that saved me hours of frustration and allowed for easy access and fun hours of looking back at what our children wanted to save...and some things we saved for them "just because".  Remember, this was started almost 21 years ago...so plain ol', plain ol' manila folders was how it was...and our kiddies don't mind at all!  It is the memories within the box that bring back the sweetest of times...and they will have it to share with their spouses and with their children!

As I was looking through Laurissa's memory box, now that she is getting ready for college...it was a bit sad. Hard to believe everything from her baby shower to her graduation is in one box. It will be complete at the end of this summer. WOW! I am glad I took the time to save the things I did and even the things she wanted to keep that at the time I thought were really NOT necessary. Those little scribbles and "important" papers have become just as precious to me.
It is no secret that I have no patience for scrapbooking. I wish I had beautiful books gracing my shelves of well-documented pages and labeled photographs of my children growing up, but I don't.

Baby shower cards were wrapped in recycled gift ribbon, and put into an envelope.

My children each have a memory box that is basically a rubbermaid portable file box. Pretty sure it is not of archival quality either. :)
At the beginning of every school year I put a new marked manila folder with their name and grade and keep it with my everyday files. During the year I file everything that is special to them: pictures, sports awards, birthday cards tied together, movie stubs, tickets to special events, notes, drawings, report cards, notes from teachers, yearbooks and summer memorabilia. At the end of the summer it gets filed into their memory box. It keeps their rooms cleared from clutter, doesn't get lost, and is a fun activity to pull out once in awhile.

I know it isn't fancy schmazy, but it is a fast, easy way to stay organized and "scrapbook" your child's memories without being too time consuming.

When we were putting Laurissa's senior memory board together, it was easy to go to the box and get what was needed for a detailed project. I would suggest always marking the year and grade on the back of filed papers etc, so it is eay to put back if it is used for something...

So glad I have one box filled with memories for each of the children. It is nice and compact, so that when they leave home, it will not take up too much space.

I have given two of these away as baby shower gifts and they were so appreciated. I know. Not very fun, but for a mom who hates organizing things, it is a welcomed gift. :) I pre-labeled all of the manila folders and made a label for the front. They turned out adorable! For you crafty people out there, I am sure you could really have fun embellishing this idea!

**You may want to write the date and grade on the papers in case things are taken out for school projects etc.  Of course, I HATED {I know that is a naughty word!} math and could never figure out what year they were in what grade!  :}  YOU, however may be up for the challenge!


How do you organize your children's papers?