Tips to Organize Your Children’s Paper Clutter

If you have children, you know the enormous amount of papers they bring home from school weekly! Permission slips, papers to sign, completed worksheets, art projects, tests, creative writing, and so much more.

The Professional Organizer in NYC shares some tips to create a paper management system to handle the paper load from the kids…

1. Artwork. It’s okay to display your child’s artwork with pride! Designate a small space, like a bulletin board, and display a few pieces. When they create something new, replace the older art with the new. Save the best pieces or the ones that show growth or insight, and store them in a bin or box. If you struggle with deciding what to save or what to toss, involve your child in the decision making process. Have a bin or box to collect the artwork you aren’t sure about. After a period of time has passed, sort through, and you’ll be better equipped to pick out the gems and then toss or recycle the rest. Another idea is taking pictures of special artwork and saving those in an online gallery, then throwing away the original.
2. School assignments. Your child probably brings home multiple tests and worksheets every week. Create a file or tray for each child for incoming papers and instruct your child to empty their backpacks when they come home. Though you are proud of your child’s accomplishments, it truly is not necessary to keep every single assignment your child has ever completed. It’s okay to save a few things, specifically items that show off your child’s talent like essays or projects. File those items away and recycle the rest. Any papers that are needed for future assignments or tests can be filed.
3. Informational Papers. PTA meeting reminders, field trip information, flyers for extracurricular activities – these types of informational papers come home with your child just as frequently as assignments do! Immediately get rid of papers that aren’t necessary. Add important dates and reminders to the family calendar, then you can let go of the original paper. Papers that need to be kept can be stored in a binder or in a filing system. Sort through these papers regularly and recycle items no longer needed.

The Professional Organizer in NYC urges you to not let the extra paper clutter brought home by the kids create chaos in your home. By having a system in place, you’ll be able to sort, file, display, or throw away items before they become part of the clutter.