How to Declutter Kids’ School Work Without Guilt

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If you’re struggling with how to declutter kids school work without guilt, you’re not alone!

how to declutter kids school work

Hi friends,

Do you have a growing pile (or maybe, multiple piles!) of your kiddos school work and art work? No worries, you’re definitely not alone!

Trust me, I get it – every single worksheet, drawing, heck even announcements all feel like a piece of their childhood. I mean, how could you possibly throw any of it away? Reality check though real quick – it’s turning into an overwhelming pile of clutter.

Here’s the good news though, you absolutely can declutter your kiddos school work without guilt. Today we’re going to go over how to preserve those precious memories without all the clutter!

Pinky promise, you’ll feel much better after we’re done decluttering!

This post is all about how to declutter kids school work without guilt!

How to Declutter Kids’ School Work Without Guilt

1. It’s hard to let go..

Decluttering papers should be easy in theory right? I mean, it’s just paper.

But for parents every time we throw away a piece of school work, it feels like were throwing away a piece of our kids childhood.

Every doodle or worksheet can feel like a memory of who they were at that stage. I’ve often even found myself asking “what if they want to look back on this specific drawing one day?” as I struggle to let go of a stickman doodle.

Lets not even mention the risk of a kiddo finding their paper in the trash! The amount of guilt that would wash over me..

But, here’s something new to consider as we move through this post.. Are you making it harder for your future selves to really appreciate what was saved if you’re just saving everything under the sun?

The key here is learning to keep what will truly be cherished and letting go of the rest.

2. Rules for what to keep

A huge reason schoolwork starts to pile up is because we tend to get into a mindset of “lets keep this just in case” when we don’t have a clear plan in place.

The first and most important step is figuring out a storage method that’s easily accessible.

Before we even get into sorting, let’s decided on how and where to store. Here are a few popular storage methods:

  • Storage bin – Probably the most common method for storing kids school work. It’s how my parents did it, likely how yours did it too! A huge drawback to this method is its big, bulky and takes up a lot of space.
  • Expanding folder – My personal go-to method for quickly keeping school papers organized throughout the school year. It doesn’t take up too much space so it’s easy to keep accessible (but out of sight) in the kitchen.
  • Digital archive – If you’re on this post, this likely isn’t an option you’re excited for but scanning or taking photos so they can save them to their phone, Google Drive or even create a printed photo book.
  • Display at home – Temporarily display your kids most recent school work with a bulletin board, on the fridge, or in a storage frame before swapping it out when new school work comes in.

Now, let’s work on rules for deciding what stays and what goes..

✅ Keep:

  • Drawings that are more than random doodles (are thoughtfully colored in, etc).
  • Handwritten stories, essays, projects, journal entries.
  • Milestone schoolwork such as first spelling test, special projects, etc.
  • Art projects – especially anything with handprints or photos
  • Sentimental pieces like notes from friends, self portraits, shout out cards from the teacher, etc.

❌ Toss:

  • Announcements, daily assignments, random worksheets
  • Repetitive work such as letter practice sheets
  • Random doodles or half finished art
  • Graded papers of everyday work

Basically, we want to keep the highlights, not the whole story!

Knowing what can immediately get tossed is extremely helpful in not only limiting, but preventing, clutter!

3. Create a routine for decluttering

As I tell my kids, its easier to keep up than it is to catch up!

Decluttering once in a blue moon when the mess finally becomes unbearable is a choice.. Problem is, without a system in place, the clutter will just come right back!

Let’s work on creating simple and manageable routines for staying on top of school work clutter before it gets to that point!

Incoming papers

I know, the afternoon is a busy time of day! Trust me, we’re all in the same boat 😅

It’s so temping to just create a pile of school work and stack it somewhere out of sight for the time being so dinner can get started. Instead, lets do this:

  1. Immediately sort trash/keep – Going back to that list of rules, quickly decide what needs to get tossed right away
  2. Display the important – Grab anything that needs to be displayed such as weekly announcements, permission slips, new artwork, etc.
  3. Ask your kids – Call over the kiddos to quickly look through the papers and decide if there’s anything they want to toss. You might be surprised with what they’re ready to part with!

Create temporary storage

Finally, put away any other papers you’re considering keeping in a folder or small bin to be further sorted through later.

It’s important to give these papers a proper home so they don’t clutter up the kitchen counter or get lost in the shuffle of other mail, etc.

Here are a few schoolwork storage ideas that will help keep papers neatly of the way and contained until you’re ready to sort through it all..

Kids School Work Organization

popular temporary storage systems for kids school papers

Decluttering schedule

Lastly, think of a good and manageable schedule for when you will sort through papers for the last time before putting away to be stored for good.

It’s important to keep this manageable and realistic, otherwise you’ll just run into clutter all over again. Don’t wait till the end of the school year to go back and do a final sorting task, it’ll be overwhelming!

Instead, you’ll want to go through things semi-frequently. Make a plan to go through papers weekly, monthly, after each semester, during school breaks, or with the seasons.

We personally try to go through papers during school breaks. I prefer to do it this way so that the kids are available to help me sort through it all and decided what to keep or toss.

4. Clutter-free ways to keep kids school work

Let’s talk about how to keep as many memories as we can without keeping piles and piles of paper. There are quite a few creative ways to go about keeping and storing kids school work without keeping stacks of paper or giant bins.

1. Photograph or scan school work

On a real note, we’re in a digital age. Everything is digital and it doesn’t seem like that’s going to be changing any time soon!

The good thing about storing memories digitally is that you have unlimited space! You can save and save to your hearts desire.

Here are a few ways to digitally store kids school work:

  1. Google Drive – Or another online storage system like Dropbox.
  2. Keepy – Think of it as a private, family-only instagram where you can save and share school memories in a neat timeline for each kid
  3. Digital scrapbook – Scan school work and art work to use online tools like Canva to create your own digital scrapbooks

2. Make a school work memory book

Save all you want and make a school work memory book!

how to declutter kids school work

When my oldest started kindergarten I refused to throw away basically anything that had her name on it LOL I swore I’d find a way to use it all – and I did!

Creating school work memory books has to be my favorite thing ever, I love them so much. It’s the perfect way to justify saving every doodle and scrap paper.

The main reasons I like to do it this way is because it’s cute, interactive, and I don’t have to keep entire pieces of papers just for a single doodle or something that I really like.

3. Repurpose/share special school work

Instead of storing away papers in a box in the attic, turn them into something fun and practical.

Here are a few unique ideas:

  1. Let your kids create a “XYZ grade” collage at the end of the year
  2. Use old school work as wrapping paper (for small gifts for grandparents)
  3. Create a card out of them (or simply send some school work in a card out to other family members who want to display it)

We often forget that other family members such as grandparents, would love to be sent some of their school work to hang on their fridge or keep for their own memories!

5. Don’t feel guilty

The truth is, nothing can fully take out the sting out of tossing something your kid worked on, no matter how little it is. But, try to remember that letting go of papers doesn’t at all mean that you’re letting go of all their memories.

Think realistically about saved school papers.

How often you do you go back and look through your own saved papers from school? … exactly. While we’re absolutely thrilled our parents kept so much of our school work, it’s not something we think about or look through on a regular basis.

Honestly, sometimes it can even be overwhelming to parse through years of school work. The saying “less is more” is so true because it allows for the important stuff to shine through!

Letting go is often harder for us than them.

I’m often surprised when I have my daughter help me do our final sort and she’s ready to toss half of what I saved. I find myself saying “are you sure? … but you might want this later on” to her far too many times.

I mean, most (not all) kids aren’t really super attached to their old school papers. So, are you saving all of this for them.. or you?

Of course it’s totally fine to keep a few things even against their wishes but try to keep it minimal. They’ll likely appreciate a thoughtfully curated collection of their work more than a giant, overwhelming pile once they’re older.

Remember why decluttering your kids school work is good.. not sad.

If you start to feel bad when the “toss” pile starts to grow try to remember a few quick things:

  1. You’re teaching your kid important organization and decision making skills
  2. You’re curating a meaningful and thought out collection
  3. You’re being mindful of your future selves

Decluttering isn’t about getting rid of everything – it’s about making room to highlight the important and special things. By setting up realistic systems that work for you and your family, you can finally save cherished memories without feeling overwhelmed or guilty.

This post was all about how to declutter kids school work without feeling guilty!

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