Your child is about to begin school and soon your fridge, your cork board, or whatever your  designated display area is for your children’s school work will soon begin to fill up. Like presents under the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve, soon you may no longer have room to put even one more drawing or school project anywhere. I mean you really have to put limits on pasting stuff to the dog’s bed or putting Timmy’s version of the solar system hanging from the dining-room chandelier!

The solution: A bin of treasures. You don’t have to feel guilty for throwing anything out. You and your child together can choose what is displayed and what goes into the treasure bin. The best part: Each year, you can pick out at least two things that were just outstanding or your favorite or your child’s favorite. It could be something that had emotional value or just something that had a funny story attached to it. Take those two things, write down the story and create a separate: “Treasures from your Treasure Bin”. Decorate a box or bin beautifully and tie it with a bow. On graduation day, put your gift inside this box, along with all their past treasures. It will be a gift your child will never forget. If money is an issue at graduation – no worries – the treasure box of memories will be more than enough.