In which I solve an annoying problem: what do to with those childhood keepsake papers?

One of my most obvious yet helpful commandments is “Identify the problem.”

Very often, I allow myself to be bugged by problems that I haven’t made any effort to solve, and I’ve been amazed by how easily I manage to come up with effective solutions once I take the time to articulate problems.

Several months ago, I realized that a low-grade, persistent annoyance in my life was that I didn’t know what to do with various keepsake papers associated with the Big Girl and the Little Girl. For example, I wanted them both to have a copy of their birthday party invitations, the family Valentine’s cards we send out each year, family wedding invitations, class photos, etc. Where should I store these items?

Making little piles of stuff in out-of-the-way cabinets and pinning papers to the bulletin board wasn’t a long-term solution.

A friend told me that she made scrapbooks of such items for each of her kids, but my heart sank at the thought. I just couldn’t face it. So much work.

Then I had a fantastic idea. File boxes. I decided to splurge a bit (my resolutions include “Indulge in a modest splurge” and “Spend money to further my goals” in this case, “Be a storehouse of happy memories”), and instead of buying ugly cardboard file boxes — the kind of cardboard box used to transport files — I bought a slightly fancier version from some upscale office supply store. I wish they were prettier, but they’re a lot better than cardboard.

I fitted them both out with a pack of files. I labeled the first file “Baby” and put in some baby memorabilia – birth announcement, invitation to the first birthday. Then I made a folder for each year of school. I only include a few samples of schoolwork, because I want to limit these files to special items. When the girls are older, I’ll include report cards, school programs, and the like.

I get a little thrill every time I see these boxes. They’re such a great solution to a problem: now it’s easy to put these mementos away; the boxes are very compact and organized; they’ll make great keepsakes for the girls when they’re older. How fun, when you’re fifty years old, to be able to look back at the birthday invitation you sent out when you turned seven!

So satisfying.

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In case you’ve never checked it out, Seth Godin’s very popular blog is well worth a visit. He has a marketing/business slant, but his posts -- short, snappy, and engaging -- are almost always of general interest.

Comments

[Monica Ricci]

Gretchen, those papers are a challenge for all my clients who are moms. There's just so darn MUCH of it, that it becomes overwhelming. One client and I spent time sorting her son's papers from each of his years, pre-school through third grade and put each year into an archival box, labeled it and put it way up at the top of a closet. Works for me!
~Monica

[Julsie]

The Container Store! Go! They have so many very nice looking storage boxes in so many perfect sizes. Organizing is key for those of us cramming into Manhattan apartments and they've made my life so much nicer. I went and bought a bunch of everything... what would fit in what? I didn't know. When I got home, I pulled everything out, experimented in different sizes to figure out how the puzzle would all fit together. And along the same lines as your tip to "Keep an empty shelf somewhere", I wanted to make sure they were big enough to accomodate growth in the contents. Now I have compiled a list of what I need to make it happen -- some to return and what to buy more of. I'm going back this weekend!

[katyle]

What a great idea! Wish I'd thought about it sooner. k

[Martin Polley]

Ikea has nice boxes like this too.

[Michelle Potter]

Gretchen, thanks for teaching us to "Identify the problem." I just wrote a post on my blog about how I've put this into practice:

"I'm taking some of Gretchen's advice and identifying the problem. A lot of times when someone registers for this blog, and now when an unregistered user leaves a comment, they forget to put http:// in their url, for example, leaving their url as www.happiness-project.com. If you're a person that does this, you really shouldn't -- and here's why..."

Click my link to see the rest.

[cw]

Take a digital picture of it and toss it out!
You can organize your pics however you like (use gmail to organize them into their own folders) or print and make a book.

[Inihtar]

I--and I suspect many others--worry just for the sake of worrying. We're so used to it, that we feel like something's wrong when we're NOT worrying. So we worry away, about things that we really can't--or won't--do anything about.
And the little things really are a thorn in our happiness--they're just keep niggling at us on a subconscious level and we don't even know how much they bother us. It's only with the relief that comes when they're finally taken care of that we realize what a burden they were.

[Bust Clutter]

Purge is not a 4 letter word. Scan 'em and make a photo show at the wedding.

[Polly Robertus]

You really should spring for some archival-quality boxes - acid-free ones are available at Container Store. Over time - and not very long, either, the acid in the cardboard will cause your papers to begin to disintegrate. And I would definitely scan everything I REALLY loved to the computer and save a copy.
Kids' artwork is usually done on extremely poor paper which quickly degrades. Do NOT think you can save it by laminating it - if anything, that will make it worse. Interleave the papers with acid free paper, store them in a cool dry place in an acid-free box. They'll last a lot longer. I'm SICK about the condition of my kids' best and most interesting artwork...