by This is a guest post from Amy Volk.
As an Organizer and Home Management Expert, one of the frequent things I get asked is
How do I organize all of my memorabilia?
This question is especially relevant right now because it’s the end of the school year and in the next few weeks your child will most likely come home with a gigantic bag of photos, art projects, certificates, tests, essays, dioramas and more!
You could rent a storage unit, or you could make the most of your memorabilia. Here’s what I recommend…
First, you need to set up some guidelines for deciding what to keep and what is not a treasure at all. Here are my rules…
- KEEP Anything that is an original creation
Not a math worksheet, not a half done coloring page, not practice spelling words. None of that unless it’s the most outstanding thing you’ve ever seen or some huge accomplishment from your little one. - KEEP awards, certificates and trophies
I love awards and people work hard to earn awards, so I say keep all the things that celebrate your amazing kid. - KEEP photos
But they can’t be blurry and you don’t need 30 photos of the very same moment. Just 1-5 good ones.
There are tons of different containers to use to preserve all the stuff above, but after doing this dozens and dozens of times, these are my favorite products.
Yes, this is a plastic storage bin from Walmart. You see them everywhere, but they’re perfect for the job. My favorite size is the 18 gallon bin. Easy to find a place for it and it won’t get too heavy.
Put your storage bin somewhere that’s easily accessible. Get one for each child and adult in your home and put a label on each one. Whenever you decide to keep something, simply open that person’s bin, slip the memory-thing in there…and you’re good to go. When the bin fills up, get another one.
Don’t forget the above criteria to judge what to keep. My twins are almost 14 and between the two of them, we only have 4 bins!
Next, is a beautiful line of archival quality products from Exposures. This is their basic memory box line, but you can check out everything on their website.
These boxes don’t hold as much as the plastic bins, but they’re more decorative and great for photos.
And finally, an app called Keepy. It lets you save all of your family’s photos, artwork, schoolwork and mementos digitally. You can record audio or a video of yourself or your child telling the story behind each memory and then invite grandparents and loved ones to be your kids’ fans so they can see and hear it too.
That’s it. I told you it was simple. The biggest mistake folks make again and again is that they think everything is a treasure and end up with too much stuff that they never look at again. Be wise in choosing what you keep so you can easily access your wonderful memories forever! Happy (almost) summer!
Author
Amy Volk is organizing Expert, Writer, Speaker, Blogger & TV contributor. Mom of teen twins. Crossfitter & Paleo addict.
