Going Blind Doing Paperwork...

...okay parents, a little help here. How in the name of all that is holy do other families handle the reams of paper sent home from school with their kids every week? We are being buried in flyers, newsletters, Scholastic book order forms, PTA propaganda pages, drawings, art projects, homework, daily work...it is getting to the point where our kitchen counters and tables are unusable due to the stacks of paper. We have tried folders, binders, trays, bins...it always gets away from us. Add in the mail, junk mail, advertisements and catalogs and things get even sportier.

We have come to grips with the notion that every single drawing the kids complete is not a precious memory that needs to be kept forever. Otherwise, we'd be talking to the producers of 'Hoarders' to help in wrangling this situation and not hammering out a blog post three people might read...but I'm hoping one of you three have stared the dead tree monster in the face and slayed it. Do we just need to be quicker in determining what stays and what goes? We've tried that as well and guess what...we wind up with piles of papers in the 'Keep' pile!

The steps I have taken amount to changing over to paperless billing, cutting down subscriptions, and taking weekly ads to the recycling bin almost immediately. That has helped stem the tide of mail, but the paper tsunami from school is unrelenting.

I'd appreciate any tips you may have when it comes to papers from school management. We are at a loss...