Secrets to keep school papers organized

Do you struggle with keeping paper clutter under control in your space? This problem only gets harder when the school year comes around with kids bringing home drawings, homework, report cards, etc. If you're like most busy moms, you probably keep all these school papers on the kitchen counter, or in a box or drawer in your home. While any of these options are fine temporary solutions, after a few days, papers end up piling up, causing clutter and difficulties finding specific things you might need. 

The good news is that there is hope to keep all these school papers organized! Here are some of my favorite tips. 

Use folders and binders

This may seem like an obvious tip to keeping paper clutter under control, but a little more goes into it than just buying a folder and hoping for the best. Simply having folders to shove papers in won't do the trick of keeping paper clutter at bay. Instead, try providing your kiddo with a different folder for each school subject or extracurricular, or assign each folder to a specific category (i.e. homework, papers needing a parent signature, artwork, etc.).

Teach your kids which folder is for which papers, and get them in the habit of properly storing away their things! This will give those cluttered school papers a home and decrease the risk of losing anything important.

Color code

Whether your kids are organizing their papers based on school subjects or based on different categories, each one should have a designated color. Color coding serves as a good visual cue for easy identification.

Now, we can certainly sit here and debate about whether Social Studies should be red or blue (blue, obviously), and if Science should be green or orange (green for sure). Regardless, having papers in different colored folders, binders, or bins will not only make organizing them easier, but it also allows you and your children to find certain assignments, projects, and forms quickly!

Sort papers regularly

In order to prevent paper overload, it's important that your kiddos are regularly sorting through the papers they bring home. One way to make this a routine is by setting a day of the week to go through all the papers from the previous week. This includes recycling any papers that aren't needed, putting papers that might've gone astray back in the right place, etc.

Digitize when possible

We live in a cool world where we can ditch the physical papers and store them digitally instead. There are a lot of different ways to digitize papers, giving you a simple solution to rid your home of paper clutter. Consider trying out scanning apps, using hard drives, or even just taking pictures of your children's artwork and other school papers! Once you do this and see the benefit, I'm willing to bet that you'll probably start digitizing your own personal papers, files, and photos more often. 

Want more tips for getting (and keeping) papers under control? Check out this mini-training in my FB group!

This blog may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.