The years from kindergarten to high school graduation are filled with memories. Of course, school is where we learn languages, arts, maths, and sciences, but we also make friends and have unforgettable experiences. It’s no wonder we have so many souvenirs from our school days. However, carefully curating and organizing school memorabilia ensures it doesn’t become a meaningless jumble of papers and trinkets.

Working with a recent client, I had the privilege of helping the family declutter, organize, and preserve their children’s cherished school souvenirs. In this article, I’ll explain the BCLEAR Process I used so you can help your family members reminisce while creating an archive to share with future generations.

Bring It Together

The first step in organizing school memorabilia is to bring it together in one place. Ideally, each person should have a place for their own stuff. For example, put a large box in each child’s room to collect their items.

Categorize

I suggest categorizing by year. Before starting, make a list for each child, noting their age, grade level, and the school year (e.g., 2010-2011). This step will make it easier to sort the items into groups because some paperwork might contain only the year, others only the grade level. Listing the name(s) of the school and teacher(s) for each grade can also aid in sorting.

In the image above, I’m helping a client organize school memorabilia into bins. We used one container for each school year and had a series of bins for each child. To start, we put temporary labels on each bin.

My client wanted to use these specific bins for the children’s school-day treasures. Manufacturers often discontinue certain products, so even though the children are in primary school, we purchased enough containers for their entire school “career.”

I usually suggest that people categorize into plain, inexpensive boxes, then follow through with the Limit and Evaluate steps before they purchase storage containers in the Allocate phase of the process.

Limit

Your available storage space will limit the amount of stuff you have to store and the size of containers you use. Consider your limitations in the Evaluate step.

Evaluate

In this phase of the BCLEAR Process for organizing school memorabilia, you’ll evaluate which items you decide to keep and how to store them. I often suggest clients keep their extra-curricular activity souvenirs with their school mementos. It makes them easier to locate, and children will have a better “snapshot” of their life at that time. Below are a few ideas of what to keep.

Report cards

Most people don’t need to keep report cards after they start university. But they only take up a little space and are a good reminder of what you enjoyed (and didn’t enjoy) when you were growing up. Report cards sometimes come in handy because they show children are entitled to education in a particular language. For example, if parents/caregivers provide proof (via report cards) that they were educated in French, their children are entitled to French education in British Columbia. Likewise, Anglophones in Québec, who would like their children to be educated in English, should keep copies of their report cards.

Accolades

Often people deciding on a new career path or thinking about returning to an old hobby use their past activities to guide future endeavours. So, keeping your child’s awards, certificates, and projects they worked hard on and enjoyed could help them in the future.

Photographs

Hold on to class photos. Work with your child to identify all the children in their class. Use a photo-safe pen to write the students’ names on the back of the photo and include the year, grade level, and school. Remember to list any absent students or ones that joined later in the year. Of course, keep a few photos of your child with their close friends too.

Artwork and Creations

Children create – and create and create. It’s wonderful how they use their talents! Unfortunately, we can’t keep every project. Even if we could, they wouldn’t last. No matter the quality of their paintings, newsprint turns yellow and brittle over time and poster paint cracks and flakes. Even if your pre-schooler is a fantastic civil engineer, insects will eventually eat the marshmallows they used to build that toothpick skyscraper. And at some point, someone will accidentally crush the paper mâché dinosaur that’s the size of a small pony.

Losing these creations would be a shame, so I suggest you create a digital scrapbook. Build folders on your computer’s hard drive mimicking the physical categories (bins) you make. Then, film your child explaining their project then save the videos in folders on a computer hard drive. Alternatively, have the child write a story about the project, photograph it and the written story, and put it into a PowerPoint presentation for them to look at later. Remember to create a backup copy of your files too!

Allocate

Next, it’s time to allocate a home for your school memorabilia. Using bins like my client is a good option for people with school-age children. Graduates might keep only the original paperwork and photos in a file box. Whatever you choose, keep your souvenirs in a tightly sealed container away from sunlight and extreme variations in temperature and humidity.

Remove and Review

The last step in organizing school memorabilia is to remove the items you no longer want to keep. Check your local area to determine what materials are recyclable. Consider giving away trophies and ribbons to a community centre, daycare, or camp. Check your neighbourhood buy-nothing groups to see if anyone is interested.

Finally, set up a system to regularly review your treasures. Ideally, children should review their school mementos at the end of the school year. They can decide what special items they want to keep “forever” and spend a few hours creating their digital scrapbook if needed. Children should review all previous years’ memorabilia at the end of every education level, for example, the end of primary, middle, secondary, and post-secondary school. They may let go of items that are no longer important to them.

Note to parents and caregivers: Although challenging, please refrain from judging your child on what artwork and creations they decide to keep or let go of. Accept their decisions. If you feel nostalgic, take a photo of the item, and place it in your digital scrapbook. Then write a note to yourself so you remember why it is important. After you’re done, respect the child’s wishes and dispose of the items.

Organizing school memorabilia with your children can be a great bonding experience. As a parent/caregiver, you can also share your memories. Your children might find them inspirational, entertaining or marvel at the difference between the past and present. But most importantly, you will teach your children the value of curating their treasures so they can enjoy them and share them with future generations.

If the process seems overwhelming, feel free to contact the Out of Chaos team. We would love to take a walk down memory lane with you and your family.