I am making note of this for middle.
I have written, many times, I think scrapbooking is setting most women up for (utter) failure. Expensive supplies and tools. Stuff gets piled. It just never gets done. It feels like failure, constantly.
Our photo albums are now three ring binders with archive safe pocket type pages. Different style pages are available to hold one full size sheet of paper (per side) down to (4 per side) 3 1/2 X 5 pictures. Maybe even smaller pictures. There are lots of options.
I think a very good practice is to designate one color (of binder) per child (black for oldest, aqua for middle, purple for youngest).
Each of our kids has 4-6 of their color binders (filled) now.
I just keep adding binders.
I stopped buying the binders from the photography places. I now just get the heavy duty ones from Office Depot.
And then using the different type pages, I put photos in the albums.
But what middle and I were talking about is putting all keepsakes in those albums. group pictures, cards, certificates, etc. Great/worth keeping artwork can be shrunk to 8 1/2 X 11, color copied, put in the albums too. (Sharla mentioned this concept of the three ring binder instead of scrapbooking to me long ago and I remembered).
So I am not talking about cutting up pictures or using all kinds of stickers and fluff. I am talking about just slipping things in pockets/sleeves and putting them in the three ring binder. Boom. Done.
Middle and I talked about keeping things in hanging files and having each kid have their own file box. And I think that is important too.
For things like social security cards, medical files, school paperwork/transcripts, bank records, etc a file box is really important. My kids had them by (I think) third grade as part of teaching them to be responsible for their own paperwork. Keeping and filing paperwork is an important learning tool. Really important.
I mentioned middle's idea of also having a medical notebook for each child too. Just to keep track of the who/what/when/where's of their medical care. So the child knows, later, what happened to them, where all the records are, etc.
Middle, as she has been getting ready to move into her apartment, has been thinking a lot about this type of stuff. Mentally picturing how she is keeping her own stuff, and how she wants to keep (her future) kids' stuff.
