The plastic bins can get a little expensive so I finally just got the ones from Office Depot that were on clearance for $10. I had planned on getting them at Joann's but I was already out and didn't have my coupon. They sell the Sterilite brand which are $20 a piece but frequently put them 40% off or you can use your coupon - so check there if you aren't in a hurry. The bins I bought can be used with letter or legal size folders. I decided to go with legal size. This might be overkill but every once in a while a larger drawing comes home so it might be worth it.
If you don't want to make your own labels then click on the inspiration link and she gives you freebies. I didn't want to buy any new labels so I just used whatever size I had and printed them from Avery.com. I really love using their online design & print software - it's way more user friendly than trying to do it in Word. I just pulled a template that looked like paper and typed a title for the tab and then made a larger label for the school/teacher info. Probably not as cute but I got it done super quick.
I then added some school pictures from k-2 for this sweet girl - stuck on with washi tape and started filling the folders. One other thing that I decided to do was add some extra folders in the back for the following:
- church: dedication, baptism, etc.
- sports: recitals, certificates, etc.
- birthdays: invitations, special cards, unique decorations, etc.
- medical: our doctor gives us a sheet at every appointment with stats so we have quite a few of these, shot records, etc.
- other special: first tooth, first haircut, ear piercing certificate, etc.
Feels good to get this tackled. I will keep them in a hall closet where I can get to them pretty easy. I will say that we have set expectations pretty low at our house for what we keep. We keep very few art projects unless it is a first (first time they color, write their name, draw a picture), includes hand, feet or thumbprints or if it took extra creativity like writing a story or drawing a picture. If my child glued a cotton ball on a plate then it's not going in the box. I still need to go through the various drawers and closets in the house to find the last 7 years of papers that need filed but at least as I stumble upon them then they have a place to go.
This project cost about $100 ($75 for boxes/folders/labels, $10 for washi tape, $15 for the vinyl lettering) but I would say it was worth it for something that should last many years and should limit on desk drawer clutter.
