School is back, and so is the clutter

At the end of the school year, kids and parents alike are exhausted and ready for a break. As everyone’s attention turns to summer vacation, all of the papers, projects and artwork that were so important just weeks earlier often get stacked in a corner or stashed in a bag and tucked out of sight.

But with the first day of school approaching, it’s time to unearth last year’s papers, sort through them and store them in an organized way. It’s also time to prepare for the school year ahead.

Here are some tips to get you caught up and ready for fall:

TAKE STOCK AND CULL

First, dump everything from the past school year out on the floor. It’s easier to make decisions when you look at everything collectively.

If your kids are young, the bulk of what they brought home is probably artwork. Resolve to keep a representative collection of the most special pieces and let the rest go.

Another great thing to do as you attempt to reduce your kids’ art is to offer a few pieces to grandparents. There are also websites and apps that enable you to take photos and create books out of the artwork.

SORT AND STORE AWAY

For storing kids’ artwork, the two most popular options are portfolios and plastic under-the-bed bins. As kids get older, voluminous art projects are replaced with piles of worksheets, quizzes, workbooks and notebooks. The good news is that there probably will be fewer items to which you feel emotionally attached. And older kids can help with the process of sorting and deciding what to keep and what to toss. The bad news, though, is that there may be a lot more stuff to look through.

Once you’ve decided which papers to keep, add your child’s report cards and school photos to the collection and place everything in a clearly labelled file folder. Keep a file folder for each year inside a plastic portable filing box.

START FRESH

Now that you’ve cleared the backlog from the last school year, think about how you can efficiently manage this year’s influx of papers. Find a convenient location to place a few labelled, letter-size inboxes where you keep completed school papers for each child. At the end of each month, empty the contents and choose a few items you want to keep. If that seems too frequent, make it a goal to sort through the papers at the end of the first quarter.

The start of the school year will be hectic no matter what, but if you get ready now, it will feel more manageable. And you will be able to enjoy those last precious days of summer vacation knowing you’re prepared.