End of the School Year - All That Stuff!

End of the School Year

The end of a school year typically has children bringing home garbage bags full of treasures. Extra school supplies, pencil cases, portfolios, indoor shoes, etc. What do you do with all of that stuff?

• Go through the bag that comes home with your kids. As you are going through the bag(s), sort into piles (extra supplies, clothing, work/projects, etc.).
• Evaluate each pile. If there are felt markers that do not work - toss them. If they do work, either store them for next year of place them with your other markers to ensure they get used. If there is any clothing, toss it in the washing machine to be washed.
• School work and projects tend to be a tough pile to go through. Many parents want to keep every little piece or paper and memory (especially if your children are in the primary grades). Don't worry - that's normal. The older they get, the less they tend to bring home. For now, how do you decide on what to keep and what to toss?
• If you tend to be a 'saver', have one container for school work/projects. By having one container, you are limiting yourself to how much can go in that container. If the space is getting too full, you'll need to purge.
• For large projects that come home, take pictures of the projects instead of keeping them. If you are struggling to let go, keep the project until the next one comes home. A simple rule: one in means one out (like my closet rule).
• You can go digital. Take pictures of everything! Every project, every cute little craft that comes home. Ensure you are backing up your pictures! Once a picture has been taken you don't need to keep anything else.
• Create scrapbooks/memories. There are a ton of different ideas in creating scrap books. One is to create a traditional paper scrap book. Other ways are for you and your children to create their own digital scrapbook. Using such tools as Power Point, Prezi, iMovie, etc. you can create memories and then burn them onto a CD or DVD. Instead of boxes of memories, you'll end up having a CD library of your kids' school years.