School’s out, backpack’s full. Now what?
*This post contains affiliate links. All opinions are our own!
The end of the school year means one thing: backpacks are coming home stuffed with months of… well, we’re about to find out.
Art, writing, math books, tchotchkes, empty snack wrappers…
And my personal favorite: other kids’ stuff 🤣
Here’s what I know: if we don’t set limits now, someone’s going to feel it later.
Maybe it’s us five years from now, drowning in overstuffed corners of forgotten artwork.
Or maybe it’s our kids someday, inheriting boxes we couldn’t bear to sort through.
I learned this the hard way when my Dad handed me a dozen Bed Bath & Beyond crates filled with my childhood keepsakes.
Standing in my (now cluttered) foyer with a sleeping toddler in the other room, surrounded by decades of “maybe this matters” decisions…
That’s when I realized: my memories, and my current life, were doing just fine without most of this stuff.
Sure, a few pieces made me smile… Here’s a portrait I kept of Lindsay and Nora, my best friends to this day:
But mostly? It felt like emotional clutter I hadn’t asked for. So I made a quiet promise: I’m not doing this to my girl.
Every June, when that backpack comes home, I carve out time to be thoughtful about what we keep.
Living in a NYC apartment with limited space makes this even more real - every piece of paper we hold onto is taking up literal real estate.
Of course I want my daughter to have a few “aww, look how cute” pieces someday.
But one curated box she’ll enjoy is better than twelve crates of guilt.
So the question becomes: how much space are you willing to give this?
For me? One 15x15 storage ottoman.
Each school year gets a slim portfolio case, and in a couple years? I’ll probably edit again because time gives you perspective.
Truthfully, I might even digitize it all into a photo book. If I’m up for it!
That funny story they wrote? Absolutely, keep it. Every single writing piece? You don’t need it. They don’t want it!
And when you find yourself stuck on what to keep, let your “art home” (chosen container) be your guide.
It shows you the limit.
It helps you pause and ask, “Okay, this is a lot. What can I let go of?”
Remember, this isn’t about perfection. It’s about intention, compassion, and refusing to pass the guilt down to the next generation.
So take a breath and ask yourself: How much of my home am I willing to dedicate to this? How much of my peace?
Now, I know what you’re thinking: “This all sounds great, Laura, but what’s the actual breakdown? What about 3D art? Give me the step-by-step!”
The full playbook (including what to do with those oversized masterpieces) is waiting for you in my How to Organize Your Kids Art blog series.