I have found a solution to the many school papers which my children bring home from school each week! I’m going to show you exactly the school paperwork organization system I use! This paper system keeps everything organized according to which child it belongs, and how I avoid cluttering up my counters with papers in the process!
This School Paperwork Organization System will simplify your after-school routine and keep your counters uncluttered in the process! Plus it is so easy to do, it takes minutes to make.
Even More School Tips And Tricks
What Bins and Labels Did I Use For Paper Organizing System
Since I have three children, I bought three bins for a super great deal from Target’s Dollar Spot! These cute bins would work well, too! I knew I needed a solution for their school papers, and they were perfect!
I also picked up these cute chalkboard style labels that I labeled each bin with. These labels are The really cool part about this system is not in the bins themselves, but HOW I use them! These chalkboard labels are a perfect size.
Whenever you’re buying things online, you REALLY have to be careful about reading the description, as there are many other chalkboard labels out there, but when you read closely, they’re super small.
These particular ones are a perfect size! Whenever my children come home from school, they put their papers in their bin labeled with their name. Over the years, I have noticed there are four categories of papers which come home from school: papers to immediately sign and return, graded papers, informational papers, and papers we need to send back in the future, like photo forms.
How The School Paperwork Organization System Works
How The School Paperwork Organization System WorksFor papers which need to immediately be signed and returned the next day, I sign them, and my children know they’ll be in the bin, signed and waiting to be put back into their backpack. The bins save me so much time! For example, I don’t have to separately ask each child if they have papers (or wonder if they don’t mention anything) after school.
Sign And Return Papers
I KNOW they’ll simply put their papers in the bin, and then I can go through all at once and sign all of my children’s papers at once. Then, it is the responsibility of each child to get the signed paper and put it in their backpack for the next day at school.
Graded Papers
The second category of papers is graded papers. All schools are different, of course, but my school district sends this type of papers home each Tuesday. I always look forward to seeing what my children have been working on! I must tell you, though, it is NOT necessary to save every single thing your child brings home!!
If we did, our home would be overflowing with papers eventually! You are NOT a bad parent if you don’t save all of your child’s schoolwork! What I like to do, is go through the graded papers, projects, essays, and art.
If there is something extremely unique that my child did themselves (instead of a worksheet they filled out, for example), I will save a few each year because my children might want them someday. Otherwise, I give myself permission to recycle everything else. BUT, sometimes I snap a quick photo of the work before tossing it and keep a digital folder of those. It seems like a great compromise to me!
Informational Papers
For the informational papers which are sent home, I snap a photo with my phone, note anything on our calendar, add any relevant information to my to-do list in my Ultimate Back to School Planner for Busy Moms (which you can download here!) and then throw those papers away, too. Keeping up with everything in my planner or digitally in photo files really cuts down on the clutter in our house!!
Send Back To School Papers
The last category of papers which my kiddos bring home are ones that need to be sent back to school in the future (like picture day forms or school cheer clinic forms). So, we keep those forms in the bins until they need to go back. Each day when I check the bin, it’s a visual reminder that the form needs to go back in the future!
Stackable Back To School Paper System
Stackable Back To School Paper SystemHere’s my FAVORITE thing about this bin system: they stack! So, I don’t have three bins sitting side by side on my countertop in the kitchen or office. I keep them stacked, so whenever the children need to add their papers for the day, they unstack them, put in their papers, and then stack them again.
Even though each bin is labeled with a name, the different colors are super helpful for my children. They can immediately grab their color bin! The stackable bins are KEY to this system. Be sure that whatever bins you choose are able to be stacked together.
I love this system because when I’m cleaning, I don’t have multiple bins to move or even piles of papers to gather up. I can pick up one thing and move it one time. All of my children’s papers are both organized and held together in one place but are super accessible for both each of them and myself every day!
When you create your own School Paperwork Organization System like mine, take a photo and tag Passion for Savings on social media! You can use our hashtags, #passionforsavings and #passion4savings, too! I look forward to seeing how this works for you!!
