Scrap SMART- Step 6: Organize your Memorabilia!
Sorting all that paper MEMORABILIA:
You are going to come across some memorabilia as you start sorting. It may be programs, awards, ticket stubs, hospital id bracelets, money from foreign countries…what to do with all of that? You will want to sort it, just like you did with your photos. “A” is album worthy- these pieces tell a story and highlight personality, “B” pieces of memorabilia may be fun to add in if there is room, and “C” pieces of memorabilia can be tossed.
If you have a child at home that is producing art, put lots of it on the fridge and have him stand next to it and take a photo of it together. You will be able to see what he made at that particular age. Then toss it! If you have some artwork that really speaks to you, then you have a few choices. You can put it in a 12x12 or 8.5x11inch top loading sleeve in your album. They also offer smaller sleeves for little pieces like money. You might consider reducing it and making a color copy to put in your album or take a photo of it, and place that in the album to save space.
To store those pieces of memorabilia, you need a sturdy container of some sort and a way to separate it by year. An easy way is to use the plastic sleeves that are listed under SHOP by Favorite things at the top of this page, and take a piece of cardstock and label it by year. Put one in each sleeve and stand them up in your container chronologically. Having everything in a sleeve helps to keep little pieces like ticket stubs from getting lost in the shuffle. If you took a trip, you can label each piece of cardstock Day 1, Day 2, etc. to separate what you did each day of your trip. I found some sturdy white cardstock with different designs on it and rounded the corners and labeled each sheet with a different year in the top right hand corner.
I use the Storage and Display totes from Creative Memories. They are sturdy and have a zipped off top, so that they can be stacked easily for storage and when I am done with sorting memorabilia they can be repurposed and used for storing albums and refills and tools very easily. They have a nice divider inside so that when you take a few pieces out of the container, everything does not slide forward. There is a slot in the front to label and carry handles on the side. If I needed to transport projects to a workshop elsewhere, it is easy to load and use. You can purchase the Storage and Display tote here.
I use a post it note on my photo or write down on the divider in my Power Sort box that I have a piece of memorabilia I want to include in my album. This way you don’t forget as you start creating pages. I ordered my sleeves from AMAZON right here. It is a great feeling to have things sorted and have a “home” for everything before you start. Actually adhering things in your album goes quite quickly and you don’t have to worry you are missing something important. You have done your sorting and planning ahead of time. If you do come upon an extra photo or piece of memorabilia you just need to add in, there is a trick for that too-peekaboo pockets-so don’t worry, we have you covered!
I saved just about every art paper for my twins because life was CRAZY and I just put it in a pile to sort later. Yep, that never really happened, right? That pile grew and grew! Some memorabilia is fun and shares your child’s personality- just don’t let it take over your life! BE SELECTIVE. You will thank me later. It has to speak to your heart!
NOTE: Creative Memories has two sizes of top loading pocket pages for memorabilia, 8.5 x 11 and 12x12 inches. Consider that as you sort. When you are putting your memorabilia in your book, you can layer a few pieces in each of the pocket pages. They are not adhered to anything, so you can reach in and take them out to read them if you choose. This is great for graduation programs, musicals, letters where you want to read the front and back of something. You decide if you want to adhere something (like a great report card) to the page or slip it in a pocket page top loading sleeve. (If you want to learn more about this, watch my video on my Facebook page about memorabilia and sorting digital images for your album project. Just click on the Facebook icon on this page and it will take you there! Check out the VIDEOS section for more information about creating a scrapbook in Ten Easy Steps!)
