Kids Papers

[Cara]

I'm wondering how you all manage the paperwork that comes along with the kids - the art projects, the dittos, the permission slips. And not to mention the medical records.

What is your best advise or what is your biggest challenge?

I personally have a son that was premature. We have tons of medical records that I must keep track of. I made a binder just for him. Each tab is a doctor - neonatologist, pediatrician, therapist evals, etc. Each time I get a new piece of paperwork, I just three-hold punch it and file it. Super easy!

[beachmommy]

You already have my tried and true method of paperwork - binders!! I started binder organizing after I had our first child, and at times it seems a little overkill ... but I always know where to find everything I am looking for. Actually the preschool paintings and drawings were hard for a while, until I started three hole punching the ones not currently hung up from the bottom so that the uneven tops came out of the binder and just made sure my shelf was adjusted so there was plenty of clearance.

My favorite set of binders is my recipe set - first one is my magazine tears or printed from the internet or recipes I have been given which I haven't tried yet. Once I am successful with a recipe it goes in one of three binders - Special/Holiday Recipes, Winter Recipes, Summer Recipes. A wierd category system, I know, but I definitely have summer and winter favorites ... and always know where to find recipes. I clean the binders out once a year, and anything that wasn't used ... but could still be a good recipe goes back in the first binder behind a divider.

All I know is, all of my binders throughout the house make me happy! Now, if only binders could organize my garage!

[AmyR]

I have three kids and have an upright magazine holder type things under a kitchen cupboard labeled with each name on it. I put all the papers from their backpacks in there. At the end of the week I go through it and return anything to school that needs to be returned, throw away any homework papers that are worksheets or tests, and then add any papers that are creative work like stories they wrote or journal entries from school, letters etc. and put them in a file folder that has their name. At the end of the school year I add about half of those papers to their "treasure box". Sounds like a lot of unneccesary steps. But it actually flows really well, and I don't lose the important stuff.

[Jenni]

As far as their personal artwork/church projects, etc., I do what my mom did. I keep a magnet for each of them. If they want to hang up a new masterpiece, the old one goes in the trash.

I do save firsts or super special ones, but it's way too easy to get overwhelmed by cute pictures/notes.

[Christie]

I hate to admit it, but I only keep crafts/drawings and such for about a month or so and then throw them out. I had never experienced so much till she started preschool, I think I throw out a tree every few months (cause you can't recycle paper with glue and stickers on it). I keep some, but I did read somewhere that the Mom scanned/took a picture of the drawings and crafts, then saved them in her computer. That way she remembered each one. I thought that was a cute idea.

As far as Health records, I don't keep anything like that except her immunizations. My Doctors office has all that information, but there hasn't been anything I have really needed except to know that she is allergic to pennecillian.