This post is all about how to organize kids’ memories.
If you have been looking for ideas on how to organize kids’ memories, then you are going to love this post. During the last couple of years, I have taken the time to organize and consolidate all of my kids’ memories and I am so happy I did it.
Because in all honesty, all their memories were just shoved into boxes and stored in the garage, just taking up space. So I decided that if I was going to keep any of it I was going to take the time to get it all organized and consolidated in a way that not only would be very easy to maintain but also that we would actually be able to look at and enjoy these memories over the years.
If you are a parent, you know the struggle with figuring out what to do with all your kids’ stuff. To be honest, sometimes it seems easier to just throw it all away, but I just can’t bring myself to do that. đ
However, I also don’t want to store boxes upon boxes of clutter, then pass that on to my kids one day, and burden them with the task of having to go through it all and figure out what the heck to do with it.
So, I set up a few organizational and storage systems that have been life-changing. I am not even exaggerating. I only wish I had done this sooner, but hey, better late than never, right?
In this post, I am sharing how I organized my kids’ professional portraits, papers, milestone keepsakes, and what I do with my kids’ trophies and medals too!
Table of Contents
How to Organize Kids’ Memories | Professional Portraits
Do you have years’ worth of your kids’ photos that somehow ended up in a box somewhere collecting dust? No? Just me?
Earlier this year, I tackled organizing all my kids’ photos into a photo album. {Read the full blog post here where I share the step-by-step instructions.}
In summary, I organized all my kids’ professionally taken photos in a pretty black album using sheet protectors. I separated them with label tabs. My categories are photo studio portraits, school, and sports.
This method has made it so easy to actually enjoy the photos and it’s easy to maintain it as well. I always make sure to have sheet protectors handy so that when we get new photos, I can easily include them in the album.
How to Organize Kids’ Memories | Trophies and Medals
Are your kids’ trophies and medals taking over your home and storage space? In our home, they were! So last year, I purged my kids’ trophies and medals and donated them.
In summary, we got rid of the trophy itself and kept the plaques only. {go here for the step-by-step instructions of what I did to declutter our kids’ trophies and medals}
Why did I get rid of them? Because they had become clutter. We had a lot. Too many to enjoy. And once something becomes cluttered, the items arenât serving you anymore. And youâre not enjoying them, they’re actually adding stress to your life. We are still keeping the important part of the trophies and medals while reclaiming our storage space. As @mariekondo would say, if it doesnât spark joy, thank it and let it go. And thatâs what we did.
How to Organize Kids’ Memories | (none paper) Milestone Keepsakes Bin
I saw the content label and ziplock bag idea on lovelylittlesnippets.blogspot.com and I knew immediately that was the solution I was looking for. {read the full blog post here where I share the step-by-step instructions plus free labels.}
In summary, this keepsake bin holds all my kids’ milestone keepsakes. Items such as the outfit they came home from the hospital with, their first birthday outfit, baptism, first shoes, favorite blanket, etc. These types of keepsakes aren’t paper items and don’t fit into the file bin or the scrapbook that I will mention below. So they are stored in this bin, using ziplock bags to keep the content contained and a custom label to identify the content of each bag.
How to Organize Kids’ Memories | Milestone Keepsakes Scrapbook
In addition to the keepsake bins, I have scrapbooks for both my kids. I create a page (or a couple) of the same milestones, special moments, etc. as I keep in their keepsake bin. However, in the scrapbook, I keep the smaller keepsake items such as photos, birth hospital bands, tickets, stuff like that. (We donât print photos unless they are going into the scrapbook. All other photos are kept organized in a USB’s) So in other words, the keepsake bin and the scrapbook go hand in hand.
For example, in the scrapbook, I canât save items such as their coming home from the hospital outfit/shoes, their first Christmas outfit, their first birthday outfits, etc. So the keepsake bin holds anything that I otherwise could not add to their scrapbook. {I do not have a full blog post for this one, sorry!}
If scrapbooking is not your thing, other ideas are:
- Put EVERYTHING into the ziplock and keep it ALL in the keepsake bin, including the photos. Honestly, I probably would I have done this option had I not started a scrapbook when they were born. But I also really love the scrapbook idea so much.
- Or you can also keep everything in the keepsake bin- small or big, but for photos, you can make a @chatbooks or something similar.
How to Organize Kids’ Memories | All Their Papers
I used to ONLY keep my kids’ school papers in these bins. However, I updated the files and I am so happy I did! Because I had all these other papers, cards, art, etc., I had no clue what to do with it. But now itâs all in this one bin nicely organized! {Here is the original blog post where I only kept school papers in the paper file plus free printables} I still do the exact same thing except I added more files, not just school-related files, and updated the labels too.
Highly recommend this filing system for kids’ papers. I especially love this method for all things papers, because I can add additional files as I see the need and it is extremely easy to maintain too!
Here’s a list of the file labels I decided on for now:
- Before birth
- Birth
- Daycare
- Preschool
- Kinder
- 1st-12th grade
- My Favorite Art
- Sports
- Birthday Cards
- To: Mom From: Me
- To: Dad From: Me
- To: My Family From: Me
- Miscellaneous
Once you set it up, it is super easy to maintain! And you can add whatever labels work best for your family,
And there you have it! These are all the ways I am keeping my kids’ memories organized and stored. And about once a year I got through everything and see if there is anything I can get rid of. This way, by the time I pass these on to my kids, only the very best keepsakes will remain.
I hope this helps you and inspires you in finding the best way to organize and store your own kids’ memories. Also, if I add or change something, I will make sure to come and add any updates as needed!
This post was all about how to organize kids’ memories
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This article is a game-changer! I can totally relate to the struggle of dealing with kids’ stuff. Like you, I used to just toss it all in boxes. But now, I’m inspired to get organized. I’m curious, what was the most challenging item to organize in your kids’ memories? And how did you decide which professional portraits to keep? Can’t wait to hear more tips!
I love this! I’ve been struggling to organize my kids’ stuff too. How did you decide which professional portraits to keep? Any tips for sorting through the piles of papers? đ
This article is a game-changer! I can totally relate to the struggle of dealing with kids’ stuff. Like you, I used to just toss it all in boxes. But now, I’m inspired to get organized. I’m curious, what was the most challenging memory item to organize? And how did you decide which portraits to keep and which to let go? Can’t wait to hear more tips!
This is super helpful! I’ve been drowning in my kids’ stuff too. I love the idea of setting up systems. How did you decide which professional portraits to keep? I have so many, it’s hard to choose! đ
This is such a relatable post! I’ve been there with my kids’ stuff taking over. Love the idea of setting up organizational systems. How did you decide which portraits to keep? I’m always torn between sentiment and space!
This is such a relatable post! I’ve been there with my kids’ stuff piling up. I love how you took the time to organize it all. I’m curious, what was the most challenging item to find a perfect storage solution for? And how do you keep the kids involved in the process? đ
This article is a game-changer! I can totally relate to the struggle of dealing with kids’ stuff. Like you, I used to just toss it all in boxes. But now, I’m inspired to get organized. I’m curious, what was the most challenging item to organize in your kids’ memories? And how did you decide which professional portraits to keep and which to let go? Can’t wait to hear more tips!
This article really resonates! I’ve been in the same boat, with my kids’ stuff piling up. I love how you took the time to get it all organized. I especially like the idea of setting up storage systems. I’m curious, what was the most challenging item to organize? And how did you decide which memories were truly worth keeping? Can’t wait to hear more tips!