4Real Forums: storing used school stuff

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Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
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Topic: storing used school stuff

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LLMom
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Posted: May 17 2008 at 12:21pm \| IP Logged

What do you all do about keeping/storing used school items like lapbooks, workbooks, papers written, notebooks, etc. Do you throw some away at the end of the year and just keep a few special items or what? I have been hs for 13 years and we have accumulated way too much. We don't have a lot of storage space and so I am considering throwing some things away. I can't keep it all with 7 dc.

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Lisa
For veteran & former homeschool moms
homeschooling ideas

Paula in MN
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Posted: May 17 2008 at 1:01pm \| IP Logged

During the year, the "best" items get put into a 3-ring binder. The kids look through it all the time, and show it to Grandparents, etc. At the end of the "grade" year, we go through the binder together and decide what to keep. Then everything goes into a rubbermaid bin. I only have two homeschooling (right now, at least...) so I only need two bins.

I've been thinking that if space truly became an issue, everything could be scanned and saved to a CD.

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Paula
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Cay Gibson
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Posted: May 17 2008 at 1:23pm \| IP Logged

Did you peek inside my window this morning, Lisa.

When I'm on a cleaning binge such as today I can be merciless in throwing away thing.

Our notebooks and lapbooks are kept neatly on shelves. The children love to "relive" them. We do like Paula with their other school work; at the end of each school year their essays, arts/crafts go into each child's special rubbermaid bin which are stored up in the attic.

Other lapbooks/notebooks and things not finished but deemed satisfactory with the promise of completion goes into the file cabinet by the computer desk or stays in the school cabinet until year's end.

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Cay Gibson
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LLMom
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Posted: May 17 2008 at 1:54pm \| IP Logged

Cay and Paula,

Do you have 1 Rubbermaid tub per child per year or one big one for all of their school years at home?

I too am on a cleaning binge and need to do this before I get overly sentimental again. I just found some stuff from when my oldest (who is graduating) was only 6. She had the craziest invented spelling and it was so sweet.

I am thinking about purging baby clothes too but that may be really hard. The cold, hard facts look like I might be done. Maybe that is a good way to get pregnant. Get rid of all the baby stuff. Hmmm.

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Lisa
For veteran & former homeschool moms
homeschooling ideas

ALmom
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Posted: May 17 2008 at 5:21pm \| IP Logged

Well, I save for 5 years. Like taxes, I keep a past history in case I am ever challenged. But then the paper stuff is reviewed and most of it chunked at the end of 5 years.

I do save special projects or create a notebook or bin for each child and they choose if there is anything special they would like to hang onto. Some things we photograph and put in the computer but for something like a lap book or something with a lot of time and love investment, I save that on my shelves. My children's Written and Illustrated books are actually kept on the shelves in plastic ziplock bags for extra protection from water and other damage as these are just so special to me.

Lisa, I was like you and only started the above when my oldest graduated high school. It was hard and done in steps. First I threw out all the paper that was totally unsentimental - workbook pages, math, etc. and gradually got to the harder to part with stuff. I did have a large rubbermaid bin for storing and I do revisit it each year.

I saved some special outfits from each child to pass on to my grandchildren (I'm hopelessly sentimental) but finally gave away the vast majority of my baby clothes and toys. We are now working on parting with those riding toys for the under 5 age group. The hardest thing was deciding what to do with dh baby clothes my mil saved and passed on to us but that never fit our child and have to be ironed. My dh had no attachment but I finally kept 2 items. Aah if only I knew how to quilt - then all those stained items that were used and loved could become a wonderful gift to the children when they left home. I don't want to overwhelm them with sentimental stuff I've saved that they or their spouses then feel obligated to hold onto since it has been around so long. Neither do I want to be careless with family history.

Janet

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