Artwork Binders

Now I know this is a situation that every mother deals with: what to do with your children’s artwork? For years I’ve know I wanted a way to handle it, but an idea escaped me. I do scrapbook my children’s photos (or at least I did, and still plan to catch up), but what about their masterpieces, certificates, ribbons, and other various things you just can’t throw away?

Finally, I got an idea that was so easy I was embarassed I didn’t think of it sooner: binders! Just simple 3-ring binders from WalMart and clear page protectors. I bought one binder for each child.

Then, in no certain order, I started slipping pictures and papers into the page protectors. Within an hour, I had binders filled for 3 of my 4 kids! (Baby doesn’t do anything but eat the paper at this point.)

Here is Claudia’s notebook with a 4H certificate and ribbon:

Here is a sample of Claudia’s painting from about 3 years ago:

Here is Chloe’s binder featuring a Christmas card she designed, a Chuck-E-Cheese photo, and a library reading program certificate.

Chloe’s drawings from quite a few years ago. I’m so glad I saved them!

All of these memories had been stuffed in a file folder or stacked on a shelf in my desk. Now the kids regularly look through their notebooks, and my need for order is satisfied!

For more ideas on organization, read about our Library Shelf and how we handle Hand-Me-Downs. If you like the binder idea, check out our Recipe Scrapbooks.