We’ve all spent a lot of time with our kids this summer.  Now, tell the truth, are you happy (relieved?) that your little ones are going back to school?

Whether you send your kids off to public or private school or you home school or are on year around school this is a good time of year to get the little and big ones ready for the school year.

Before you head out to the stores and grab up the great buys they are offering this time of year take stock of what you have at home. Check to see how many supplies you have. If you haven’t designated a place in your home for paper/office supplies, do so now. This will save you a lot of time and money. Label the shelves, use containers to separate items.

Create a filing system where they can put their art work or home work they want to keep ‘forever’. Right now is the time to set ground rules on how many pieces of paper they will be allowed to save. Three pieces of paper a week will add up to 864 pieces pre-school through sixth grade.

Set up a designated place to manage everyday paperwork. Make this accessible for them and for you. Have baskets or sorting bins (metal kind that sit on a desk or the kind that hang on the wall) labeled with each child’s name on them and one for the parents.

Teach them the expectation is that when they come home from school they will unload their backpack and place their papers in their designated spot. If there is something that has to be signed by you and returned to school this goes in your slot. But don’t just rely on them putting it in the right place, check their slots also.

You could separate your slot into more specific slots such as To Do, To Pay (picture day forms, field trip fees etc) and To File.

Teach your children now that not every piece of paper that comes home has to be kept. You will be doing them a big favor.

What have you done to keep your child’s paperwork under control?