Here are the best school memory binder organization tips so keepsakes don’t get ruined when stored for years. What paperwork should be saved and how to save large school projects too so their memories can be preserved.

School Binder Organization
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Have a TON of school papers & don’t know what to do with them. I’m all about school binder organization with 3 kids! It’s about that time of year to get things in order & decide what you really want to keep. If you are  starting this at the beginning of the school year hooray for you. If you’re years behind don’t fret. You can totally catch up and make things easier for you in the years to come. Follow my tips below on the best ways to organize school paperwork so you keep what’s important and they’ll be preserved for the future! (affiliate links are present, originally published 12/15)

School Memory Binder

I know it is overwhelming. Especially if you have more than one child you get all that paperwork coming home, crafts, and what should you keep? Once you have paired it down what do you do with all of it then? Great question and something I struggled with for quite some time until I figured it out!!

Homeschool Memory Book

It doesn’t matter whether you home school or they go to public you will still want to keep it all in one place, and one for everyone. The BEST way to this is by using this little School Years book you see here! I have one of my each child and it’s a game changer!!

  • It has a pocket for each year to keep report cards and photos.
  • The front of each year has questions your children can answer.
  • There’s a spot for their yearly photo.
School Binder Organization

The pocket at the top of each page is for the VERY important papers you should keep each year. Report cards, school pictures, a great grade from a test they took, maybe an award they received. Then there’s a spot where they can write things like who their best friend is, what they want to be when they grow up, how tall they are, the name of their teacher. The nitty gritty bit of info. they will look back on and smile.

End of Year Memory Book

Honestly, this is all I do and I didn’t start until I found this when my oldest was in 2nd grade already. I backtracked and filled out her Kindergarten and First grade year when I got it. It was so easy for me to organize her schoolwork with this that I bought 2 more for her 2 sisters.

Here are a few other ways friends have done things to keep keepsakes organized and preserved that I liked….and how my daughter’s teacher sent home her memory book that I would do if I wasn’t working full time and had more time to devote to memory keeping.

School binder organization

  • Grab a 3 inch binder and sheet protectors inexpensively & slide work from each mo. into them, making 1 binder per grade, per child.(put an extra one on the school supply list each year so you remember to do it)
    • How do you keep your school work organized and protected. If you want to keep each page pristine and lasting as long as possible, you can get a laminator and laminate each page or use self adhesive laminating pages without the machine, then punch 3 holes in it to put inside the ring binder. Use tabs for color coding a section for each year. You could use different colored post it notes for this too.

For the papers and projects that won’t quite fit just use a hole punch & add those in as pages. Great / inexpensive way to look back & organize memories if you’re not into scrapbooking! Use a sharpie & write what you wish in the corner of each sheet protector too so you don’t forget the date / etc….

organize school paperwork

School work organized online

Try the Keepy app. – You just take photos of what you want to remember and organize it all on your phone! Great space saver for those in close quarters.

  • This school memory book I was talking about. It is the number 1 school binder organization item you MUST have!!
    • It is not expensive. Seriously the best investment I have made in preserving memories to date. I HIGHLY recommend it to others.
    • I have even bought it as a baby shower gift for friends. It isn’t something someone would know existed but has made such a difference for us. It’s been a hit with others too.
  • If you’re in the younger grades you’ll surely have a few wonderfully Large art projects that you just can’t bear to part with, yet don’t know how to keep them from being ruined!
    • Here’s your thrifty answer to stay organized with those. Pizza boxes!

Next time you order a pizza or two, just ask nicely for a few empty boxes. If you explain it is to keep your Kindergarteners artwork neat they will surely part with a few. 🙂 Get one for each child, mark their name on the top & it is a great way to keep them from being smashed…..Genius!

school binder organization

DIY Kids Memory Box

  • If you like the idea of the memory book but know you will want to save more papers than what will fit in each grade (maybe 8 pieces) then I would recommend a box that has a file folder inside like this one.
    • Get one per child with hanging folders with one for each grade and so their schoolwork is organized inside. Use a paint pen to put their name on the outside and add to each file throughout the year. I do this for large projects and pictures. I have one for each child with a file folder inside each one.
    • Their extra school pictures go in the folder. Then they can make their own album when they get older if they want after High School.

Once you’ve created a school binder organization system you may want to keep going. I’ve found that cleaning checklists help me quite a bit.

I created a home organization checklist last year. It was so successful I went on and created one for each month. Then organizing it all into a monthly cleaning schedule ebook! Another fun addition to end the year is one year I would recommend ordering the All About Me book from Dr. Seuss!

It is a book full of cute questions. Asks about their favorite animal, what was the best part of their summer, and other unique questions. My middle daughter got this as a gift. We filled it out when she was in 1st grade and it is so great to read over it now. Puts a smile on our faces.

School Memory Binder
best ways to organize kids schoolwork
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Once you organize your paperwork you may want to keep going and I’ve found that checklists help me quite a bit. I created a home organization checklist last year in January and it was so successful I went on and created one for each money, then organizing it all into a monthly cleaning schedule ebook! I have ways to organize your house too.

Another fun addition to end the year is one year I would recommend ordering the All About Me book from Dr. Seuss! It is a book full of cute questions like their favorite animal, what was the best part of their summer, and other unique questions. My middle daughter got this as a gift, filled it out when she was in 1st grade and it is so great to read over it now..puts a smile on our faces.

Last but not least…..there is a new APP out now called Keepy. It allows you to take pictures of your child’s work and create a virtual book of sorts so you can keep all their things but not have a mountain of things to store away. You can make one for each child to keep their work separate too.

About The Typical Mom

Justine is the creative mind behind The Typical Mom and The Typical Family on YouTube. She began blogging about easy recipes, budget friendly activities for kids, and fun family travel destinations in September 2012.

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7 Comments

  1. It’s funny to see how they go through it all, as those differences between them show in stack sizes.

  2. I know this is an older post, but I have three kids too, and what I have done over the years includes:

    * filing cabinet: huge, overwhelming amounts of special papers, awards, pictures, grades, and then when my kids get ‘old enough’ (graduation), I make them go through it to decide what they want to keep.

    Binders? Oh, my drawer is freeing up as time proceeds. (My second child is about to graduate high school.) They can worry about organizing albums of what they deem as special. By time, my moments spent grazing weekly papers have eclipsed, one by one.

  3. Hi Justine,
    Great post and thank you so much for including the Keepy app.
    Would love to stay in touch

    Offir Gutelzon
    Keepy, CEO

  4. Nice Blog! I’m sharing this post & link on our Paseo Del Sol Community facebook page! I follow your tweets and am happy to have now found your blog and facebook page!