So we just moved again after 11 years at our last house and 8 years in the one before. During this time both of our children grew up went to school and went off to college. We’ve kept almost EVERYTHING they produced – from fingerpaintings at daycare to high school projects. Photos, videos, homework. SO.MUCH.STUFF.
Now that we’re in a smaller house (with at TV room and office that double as guest rooms for the kids) we have significantly less storage than in the past. Also, since having assisted with finding a place for the clothes and personal items left behind when my mother died, I realize that nobody is going to want to sort through the boxes of raw memorabilia. In the past, people were diligent in maintaining scrap books and photo albums. Paper was too valuable to waste on throwaway art and scribbles.
Anyway, I need to sort through a whole bunch of stuff and it takes a lot of time. Some people sort through it for their children while others just pass everything along for the kids to sort out and/or throw away. My Daughter says just throw it all away. I don’t think I’ve asked my son. He’s the one with all of the digital content spread around our old computers and hard drives. I’ve removed and saved functioning hard drives from each of the computers we’ve owned over the years and hope to organize all of the content so I can brag on the good stuff and hand the rest over to my son.
So what’s your strategy for managing your child’s precious schoolwork?