Using Plain Old Binders to Organize School Paperwork

Happy Labor Day! I could not think of a better day for a working mom to launch her blog! As you will see, this site, like its author, is a work in progress. But, I hope sharing my story and some of what has helped me in my crazy, chaotic life, will help other women find some peace and joy in their own. When people asked me how I would be spending my holiday weekend, I thought it would be my usual Labor Day Weekend agenda: run errands and try to pickle something (like making homemade kimchi- yes, this is typical for me). But, when the kids opened their backpacks, I realized I ‘d put off the one thing that brings sanity to my school year: school binders.

You see, the beginning of September is more than just a three-day weekend for us working moms. For many, it also marks the beginning of the traditional school calendar. And, with the start of the school year comes lots of paperwork. My kids started school last week, and we were immediately bombarded with PTA sign-up sheets, field trip forms, fundraiser packets, permission slips, and more class info sheets than anyone should have to read. Despite living in a digital age, the schools in our area still prefer handing parents paper copies of school information. As a lawyer, I get it. They want us to have it in hand and in writing.

But, the paperwork we parents receive these days can be overwhelming. What makes it less daunting for me? Getting it organized, of course! I have found that this old school (pardon the pun) written communication requires an old school organization tool: the three-ring binder. Of course, you can use any method you like. Some folks may want to scan the documents and shred the paper, but that takes more time than punching holes. Being a self-proclaimed planner girl, I tend to lean toward working with paper and organizing it with office supplies (my guilty shopping pleasure). Others might want a more sleek-looking alternative to the humble three-ring, like an arc disc binder system. But, I like to keep things on the frugal side and use items I have lying around my home office. For that, you cannot beat a three-ring binder for keeping all of those random papers in one place.

Here is what I did to set up my binders this year:

The first step in getting those papers organized is gathering supplies. Here are some basic ones I’ve used:

• Obviously, a three-ring binder (preferably one per child)
• A three-hole punch (you can use a single hand-held punch, but prepare to have a sore hand)
• Paper and pen (or computer and printer)
• Self-stick flags or divider tabs

If you want to get a bit fancier, you can also add these completely optional items to the list:

• Label maker (I’m a bit obsessed with mine)
• Three-hole punched clear page protectors
• Divider pages for three-ring binders
• Three-hole punched folders
• Hole reinforcement stickers
• Pens, colorful stickers, etc., if you plan to color code

Here is what I wound up using:

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After gathering my supplies, it was time to figure out into which categories I should organize the paperwork. I find it best to brainstorm all of the activities, classwork, and obligations my kids and I will have in a given school year. In the past, I have done this several ways, either creating broad categories to cover various types of paperwork or assigning a divider tab for every type of activity. Categories can include school and class information as well as extracurricular activities. If you carpool with other families, have outside activities, or regularly volunteer at the school, those can go in as well. You can include schedules and calendars as well (I keep a cork board and calendar for that in the kitchen). Basically, whatever makes sense to you and makes your life easier is how you should organize your categories.

Once the brainstorming was done, I created an index of what I needed to include. As you can see, this year I created broad categories and added subcategories to the index so I know where I’m generally keeping things. I included everything from class information to non-school activities. I am not a fan of my own handwriting, so I decided to print out my indexes on colored paper and placed them in page protectors, but that’s optional. The index is page one of each binder.

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The next step was to set up my category dividers according to how they appear in the index. Again, avoiding my own handwriting, I printed out pages with the category names and used my label maker to print out the same and stuck them on my divider tabs. I then stuck the tabs to the page protectors and slipped in the paper with the category name.

I also reserved two empty page protectors. One is for report cards and grades and the other is for receipts (to make sure I keep track of things like field trip payments and donations to fundraisers). I added labels with my trusty label-maker. Of course, you can insert folders to hold these types of things or just hole-punch the documents and place them behind their own dividers.

Once I finished setting up the binders, I three-hold punched all of the paperwork, including little half-slips of paper, and added them behind their proper dividers. All told, I think it took me about half an hour to do the first binder and a little less for the second once I got in the zone.

The most important step is keeping up with my binders.

Since I did most of the hard work up front, this isn’t too hard. But, if I don’t update it throughout the school year, I usually forget about some school event or deadline. This only takes me few minutes a week, but the peace of mind it brings when I am hunting for school info is priceless.

How do you organize and manage school paperwork?