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By Danica
It amazes me, the amount of paper two small children can go through every single day, most of it at school. Every weekday, somewhere in between cooking dinner and trying to get the laundry processed, my children run up to me with backpacks open, and start throwing at me, gazillions of paper notices of all sizes and colors. Read this one. Sign that one. Comment here.
Think of all the trees that could be saved by getting the school districts on Facebook. Of course, some of the school districts are working on that, and it won’t be all that successful an endeavor until the parents can all be wrangled into joining. Until then, the paper will keep rolling in, and must be dealt with.
1. School notices.
The best way to keep up with any kind of paperwork is to deal with it as it comes. If the kids don’t give it to me immediately after school, they know they are supposed to give it to me at homework time, and I force myself to deal with it then, or it doesn’t get done at all. Once it is in your hand, I read it. I read it with a pen, circling any dates or info that is relevant to our lives. Next, I transfer the circled dates to the calendar, or any other items that require action. After that, and most importantly to keep the paper from piling up to the ceiling, I put it straight into the recycle bin.
2. Kids artwork.
This one is tricky. Kids’ art is so precious, and depending on parental pack-rat tendencies, it can be a temptation to keep every single shard of painted paper they bring home. I’ve heard of some people taking photos of each miniature masterpiece, and then printing it as a book. Great idea, but what to do with it in the meantime? My solution is to have an oversized binder (you could use a file or a box) in the top of each of their bedroom closets. I just toss the art inside until I’m ready to go through it - about once a year.
3.Teaching moments.
The truth is, in the grand scheme of the universe, most of what the kids bring home from school is not crucial. This makes it a great avenue for teaching them some responsibility. My kids understand that it is their job to make sure I get the paper, and that their teacher receives what needs to be returned. Neither of them has yet missed a field trip or neglected to get their fundraising sheets in on time. We had a close call with a birthday invite once, and even though it turned out alright in the end, I would have had no qualms and no guilt if the child had missed her friends party.
As with anything the best way to deal with all that paper is to have a simple system that everyone in the house understands and is on board with. Make good habits. Avoid the pile up. And don’t forget to recycle!
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No matter how busy we are, we deal with the backpacks and paperwork right when we get home. I take care of all the paperwork that needs to be returned and have my kids put it back in their backpacks for school the next day. This year, I also put a basket on top of my refrigerator with envelopes, pens, and a little cash for school events that require money and I don’t have to go searching through the house to get the items I need to get these tasks completed.
Sharon | December 16th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
I know what you mean about kids school papers killing trees. We joked when my first was a kindergartener that she single handedly killed at least 5-6 trees that year for all their little worksheets, etc.
I finally had to come to the realization I couldn’t keep it all, and begin ruthlessly throwing stuff away. That was hard for me, but a very important first step in getting a handle on all the school papers and kids artwork.
Taylor at Household Management 101 | December 16th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
Mommy takes the girls’ papers upstairs in the evening, pulls out the few (if any) important papers, and puts the rest into the garbage when the girls aren’t looking. Although one of my daughter’s first “why” questions was “why is this in the garbage?”
I guess I’m not sentimental. I may save 2-4 “art” papers per year per kid. I’m no art critic, but early indications are, there won’t ever be an auction of early artworks by either of my kids.
I think schools use way too much paper, by the way. The volume of paperwork is ridiculous. They could use half-sheets, write on the backs, and use wipe-off boards/magna-doodles for a lot of the stuff. And the finger-paint smears (where the kids uncomfortably follow the teacher’s instruction to simply smear one color on the paper)? We could skip those all together. I especially don’t like receiving piles of stuff the teacher herself has made for each child. Effort is nice, but I’d rather she spent the time doing something with the kids or emailing with the parents. Sometimes it seems like half of my recycle bin is filled with school papers. And my kids are only 3.
SKL | December 16th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
I laughed out loud at this line: “my children run up to me with backpacks open, and start throwing at me, gazillions of paper notices…” It IS like they’re throwing it at you, isn’t it?! I’m like, let me put down the mail/baby/purse/groceries first, sheesh!
I’m ashamed that with my 2nd child (now almost two and doing “art”), I’m barely saving anything. Learned my lesson the first time. My standard answer when asked is, “Hm, I don’t know WHERE that picture could be! It must have walked off!” (i.e, it’s in the trash.)
Lee | December 16th, 2009 at 4:36 pm
Our school started putting the newsletter online; great I thought, but then I still get a paper one. Confused I see why, well it is too hard for them to figure out which parents don’t want paper copies so they just give to all.
Excuse me? Surely it can’t be that hard. I could make a database for them, so they know how many copies to send to each classroom with names of which backpacks to stuff them into!
Please, send me info via Yahoo Group, or email blast, or any other means than another piece of paper, which, quite frankly will likely end up at the bottom of a pile and the deadline missed!
Mich | December 16th, 2009 at 7:11 pm
Good call. I’ll keep these in mind for when I have to deal with that… next year -ACK!!
Elizabeth | December 18th, 2009 at 5:23 am
I’ve been amazed at the paper as well. At least 2 1/2 sheets a day. And all school notices are on colored paper.
Here’s my system:
Single-sided white paper is saved for art, draft printing and printable coupons
Single-sided white half sheets are cut in half again and saved for scratch paper
All colored paper is saved for crafts or shredded for packing materials
Special art is saved and either displayed in frames already on the wall or boxed to be shipped to the grandparents
Everything else is recycled
I could save more but I’m forcing myself to only save what I have a clearly defined purpose for.
Jenn | December 18th, 2009 at 7:35 pm