Your children 'may' thank you for this one day ....

Have you forgotten to remember your children's memories? Huh? The early years of kid rearing race by and before you know it, your child says "please" and "thank you" instead of "peez" and "t-poo".  Of course, as I was watching my son get grossed out at my "cotton cheese" breakfast this morning I was thinking that some take longer than others.  

Simplify your after school routine and kid clutter by creating a memory box for each child.  As items come home in the backpack, display the really nifty one on the fridge, and recycle the rest.  When a brand new nifty one comes home, add it to the fridge, and put the previous one in the memory box.  The rest of the day-to-day artwork and projects can be recycled, or turned into oversize greeting cards for unsuspecting families members who don't have small children. If you are a 'saver', you may want to have two memory boxes per child, one for school documents and awards, and another for art work and mementos.  Less is more.  LESS IS MORE! 

(Reality check: my husband has never asked his mother for his memory box!)

What goes into a memory box? Memories of course.

• Favorite baby blanket and onesie
• Lock of hair from first haircut
• Loose photos (non-digital ones)
• School pictures
• Sports pictures
• *Special* artwork from school / church / camp - no more than 12 pieces a year
• Funny memories jotted down on scraps of paper or in a journal
• Awards from school, report cards, recognitions
• Small trophies

Undecided if something is worth keeping? Like a 4 foot stuffed panda that you won at the Del Mar Fair? Take a photo of your child holding the panda, ditch the panda, and store the memory.