Childrens’ Artwork and School Papers

Dear FlyLady,

Do you have any suggestions on how to organize my six-year-old daughter’s school papers and projects? I am amazed at how much paper she comes home with!

Trying to Fly in North Georgia
——

Dear FlyLady,

My son has taken to getting very upset over any of his artwork being thrown away….. Any suggestions on how to handle this?

FlyBaby J.
——

Dear FlyLady,

What do I do with school paperwork. I still have a bunch of art, etc. from my sons Grade One year last year. I keep thinking I’ll save a few pieces for when he’s older but I never get back to that pile.

Kristyn
Nelson BC
——

Dear FlyBabies,

Paper Paper is everywhere and all we want to do is organize it! When are we ever going to learn that we can’t organize clutter; we can only get rid of it. I am not an unsentimental ogre but we cannot hold on to every single sheet of paper that our children bring home from school. There has to be a limit.

Here is a good way to stay on top of the barrage of paper clutter that comes through our doors from school. Establish a wall of fame for your children. Each day the children’s papers are collected in a folder. At the end of the week your child gets to pick out their favorite one of the week. That picture gets put on the wall of fame. This helps our children learn how to let go of things too.

Then teach them how to address a manila envelope and send the rest of them to one of their grandparents. Then next week you put last week’s paper in a notebook and display the new one. At the end of a year you have 52 papers instead of a huge overwhelming box.

Now here is the secret to having this work and not become clutter for the grandparents. You have to give them permission to recycle them after they enjoy going through them.

If your child is still not wanting to share their work with anyone because they do not want to let go of it then get out your camera. This can literally become a digital scrapbook. Make a big deal out of this. This will help them make decisions. Have them pick out their favorite five of the week. Then they get to choose their #1 pick. Take a picture of the favorite 5 with your child holding it or standing beside it. You can also put the picture on the floor and stand over it and take a close up photograph of it.

After pictures are taken, you can post them on Facebook, print them or put on digital photo album. You could even get your child a bulletin board for their room. We just have to get creative!

OH and Digital pictures are not clutter! I love seeing my pictures on my computer. They roll past all day. I see pictures I didn’t even know I had. LOL

FlyLady

One other thing and start this now. Give your child one of those Rubbermaid tubs to keep their favorite things in as you help them declutter. The rule is that they can only save what can go into the bin. If they really want to save something then they have to declutter an item from their keepsake bin.

This entry was posted in Ask FlyLady and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Like us on Facebook

Can't detect your timezone. Set your zone.

FlyLady.net: Helping women around the world get their home organized. Copyright 2001 - 2022 FlyLady and Company, Inc.