How to store kids schoolwork and artwork

I get asked all the time, “How do I organize all of my kids papers??? There are SO MANY of them!”

4 kids later, I feel like I finally have a good answer to the question of how to store kids schoolwork and artwork without going crazy.

Here’s what works for us:

School boxes

I created a school box for each of my kids with a file folder for each year that they will be in school.

How to store kids schoolwork and artwork: Organization for school papers using a daily system, and a school file box. What works for us.

Now I use these boxes to store a few special memories from each school year, like their school photos, their report cards, and a few assignments or special artwork that they created.

I love this system to store kids schoolwork because it forces me to pick out just a few special pieces from each year, and prevents me from over-saving.

Make your own school boxes: Supply list

It’s super easy to make school boxes for your kids. Here’s what you’ll need:

A file box

I bought these plastic storage bins at Walmart, but you can find similar ones all over the place!

Box label

If you want to label each box with your child’s name, you can use a Cricut. (I used my Cricut Joy) to make custom labels.

If you don’t want to do that, you can also order custom labeled boxes on Etsy, although those tend to be a bit pricey.

Hanging file folders

I used 14 of these for Preschool – 12th grade, and one “baby” folder.

(Ok, ok- “baby” isn’t a school year. But adding this folder made it easy for me to add some baby mementoes to the box such as first haircuts and hospital bracelets.)

Amazon supply list

Here are the supplies you can use to create your own school box on Amazon:

Product	Price
IRIS USA File Box Plastic File Organizer…	$39.99	Buy on Amazon
Sterilite File Box, Stackable Storage…	$41.00	Buy on Amazon
Cricut Joy Machine – A Compact, Portable…	$89.99	Buy on Amazon
Smead Standard Hanging File Folders, 25…	$17.06	Buy on Amazon
Amazon Basics Hanging Folders, Pack of…	$19.52	Buy on Amazon

Our system to organize and store kids schoolwork

Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post contains affiliate links, meaning that if you choose to click through and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

1. We celebrate schoolwork and artwork every day

Each day, the kids come home from school and empty their backpacks.

All papers go in a pile on the dining room table.

Then, as we eat, we hold up each paper and talk about it. The kids get a chance to tell us about their work, and we all ooh and ah over it.

This helps them to feel like their hard work is being noticed and appreciated.

Bonus- it’s a great way to get them talking about their day at school!

2. 95% gets recycled right away

When we clear the dinner dishes, we also clear the pile of schoolwork, and immediately recycle most of it.

3. The other 5%

If there was a paper that was especially meaningful- either to us, or to our kids- we don’t immediately recycle it.

Each kid has a bulletin board, and they sometimes choose to put up a special piece of art or schoolwork. (Especially if it was something that they worked on for a long time.)

Otherwise, we put it all into a big “keep” box under our art table.