K.I.S.S.: Step Four of Four

We will take a rain check on Whack on the Side of the Head Wednesday.  von Oech will understand.

This is the last day of classes for the Claudia Beeny School of Keep-Saking and we have final details that need to be wrapped up.  Today I will introduce Step #4 and then, one last time, walk through how the system works together.  Posts today and Friday can be used to pose questions or seek clarification.

While I started with the big picture on Monday, I could very easily have started with today's step.  Today's step, after all, is the cornerstone to the system.  The fourth and final item you will need for this system is a calendar - not a blank journal - a calendar!  I'm so excited to share this part, I'm not even sure where to begin....

Here it is... Instead of focusing on filling scrapbooks with pictures, we fill a calendar with words that create pictures!  Basically take scrap booking and turn it on its head!  For the purposes of today, we'll call it Scrap Journaling.

Again... the focus of my approach is short, one or two lines sentences in a calendar describing notable events... ON THE DAY THEY OCCURRED.   Occasional pictures or scraps of paper can be glued inside help supplement the words.  This is an inversion of the typical scrap book which is filled with lots of pictures but very little narration (which in the end is probably what your kids care more about).  It is, in a sense, the difference between saying to your children... 

"Look, at this scrap book.  This is what you used to LOOK like." and 

"Look at this scrap journal.  This is what you used to BE like."

I don't know about you, but the older I get (and especially now that I have kids), I wonder more and more about what I was like as a kid (and by the way... so do my kids!  They love hearing stories about me when I was little).  I would LOVE to have an annual calendar I could flip through that told me things such as: my favorites - foods, colors, toys, t.v. shows, etc...; the names of my friends; stats on things like height and weight; how I spent my time; funny things I said; what I shared as my dreams and goals for the future; names of boyfriends and all the silly antics that go along with that; important current events; the cost of my favorite possessions, and the list goes on and on.  Pictures are good (and we have them built into our system), but they only tell a fraction of the story!   

I want to feel you feeling the coolness-factor of Scrap Journaling, so let me insert a couple of examples from Matthew's...

This was last October, while still living in Louisville.  Notice the short entries, with lines and arrows pointing from one thing to another.  Neatness is not important when Scrap-Journaling.  I find it is actually more fun to read when you have to hunt for the information.  Pictures and "scrap" items are added for the fun of it.  P.S. To better understand "Fun in a Box Friday" see February, 29

Pages at the back or between months can be used to hold items that wouldn't fit on a normal day.  The foot print and the leaf are art projects made at school that I want to keep (he might like to see the size of his foot at 3 years old).  Also, notice on the right page a picture of Matthew standing below the sign at his old preschool.  I can see him calling the number one day just to see if the school is still in business.

Other points of interest.  Bottom left page.  Sometimes I just note the temperature (82 degrees on Halloween!).  Middle of the page... a small drawing he made.  Bottom right page.  Black marker.  I let them color and scribble in the book.  Remember, neatness does not count.  He will get far more pleasure out of seeing his own handwriting than a perfectly pristine book.  Bottom right... a picture of Matthew helping to move things into our Texas home.  Also, bottom right page... a clipping from the newspaper informing us to "fall back," for day light savings time.  Clippings from newspapers are a GREAT way to remind them of what society and American culture was like when they were younger.

In the interest of time we'll keep on moving, though know I could do this with you all day.  A couple of final thoughts regarding Scrap Journaling...

• A dear friend of mine has three children with the hope there might be another three sometime in the future.  Obviously six journals would be impossible to keep up with.  Instead how about one journal with a different color ink for each child?  Will they fight over it later in life?  Maybe, but better to bicker over who keeps the Annual Scrap Journals than to have no Scrap Journals at all.  That's just me.
• Nothing of note to write?  So what!  I have whole weeks with nothing written.  It's o.k. Out of 6,750 potential days to Scrap-Journal, who cares if you miss weeks, even months, at a time.  Imagine how much fun it will be to look back on even just 10-12 entries a year!  That's 10-12 more than you would have had.
  
• Sometimes I walk around the house taking pictures of their favorite toys or I bring it to school and take pictures of friends they talk about (or his favorite things on the playground).  Those pictures do not get one of the 60 coveted spots in a photo album.  Instead they are cut out and put into his Scrap-Journal (again, commemorating a particular point in time!).

Now a quick review of the whole system... only this time we'll talk about the items in reverse.

• Step #1, Scrap-Journal:  The purpose of the Scrap-Journal is to capture fun facts and things your children talk about ON THE DAY THEY OCCUR.  No pressure to be neat.  Draw arrows.  Let them write in it and add pictures, mementos, and newspaper clippings to your heart's desire.  The key here is that a calendar only allows for a few sentences at best.
  
• Step #2, Photo Album: Unlike the Scrap-Journal where we might include close up pictures of favorite toys, hiding spots, items of clothing, daily routines, etc..., our photo album is reserved for photos of your child and his siblings or friends.  I include pictures such as: first day of school, summer camp, each holiday, me and Richard, their brothers, cousins, and grandparents.  In the end they will have 18 albums to look through and to compare pictures from one year to the next.  That's over one thousand pictures.  How many do you have from your childhood? 
  
• Step #3, Plastic Folder: At the end of the year (August to August), the photo album and Scrap Journal go in the folder, along with any other items you've decided to keep.  Examples of what we might store in a folder are things such as: pictures they've drawn; a letter to Santa; special cards they've received in the mail; class pictures; or a tooth that fell out... to name a few.  As Ricky has gotten older I've been able to include papers he's written; love notes he's received (found in pockets while doing laundry); certificates he's earned; DVDs of him running track; and his school agendas.
  
• Step #4, Plastic Tub a.k.a. Treasure Box:  Once labeled with the year, the plastic folder is neatly tucked away in the plastic tub (referred to in our house as a Treasure Box).  My boxes get stored in the top of my closet until next year when I take them down to put in the next year's folders.

A final thought...  Where do I keep the folders, photo albums, and Scrap Journals during the year?  The key is easy access.  It must be easy for you to get your hands on them at the time of day when you are most apt to make an entry or store a photo.  For me, that's night time... right before I got to bed.  I have a dresser with four drawers....

• Top Drawer: Pens, glue, and stickers, (the only real way to embellish your journal), and photo labels.
  
• Drawer #2: Ricky's folder, photo album, and Scrap Journal
  
• Drawer #3: Matthew's folder, photo album, and Scrap Journal
  
• Drawer #4: Jack's folder, photo album, and Scrap Journal
  

This is important, because I can't always put things away immediately.  Each child has his own drawer, so I just stick the keepsakes in their respective drawers and go back to it when I have time.  No stacks.  Stacks are the kiss of death. 

That's it.  That's the process.  Hopefully you'll find it as useful and as stress-free as I have over the years.  We'll open the posts for comments or questions.  If you are currently using the system - or a part of it, as some of you are - please feel free to post your enhancements to the system.  I know of at least a few.

Signing off until tomorrow... 

K.I.S.S: Step Three of Four

Announcements at the end.  Important... especially if you are from, live near, or have enough frequent flier miles to get yourself to Pennsylvania.

So little to talk about, so much time.  That's the way it goes with a keep sake system as easy as mine.  I'd talk about equipment, but there isn't any.  No fancy quilling paper ($5.49 per package); paper cutters ($48.99); paper punch sets ($26.99); storage systems ($24.99); stencils and templates ($2.99 each); or scrap booking organizers (129.99).  So... other than the plastic storage box from target ($6.99), the plastic folder ($.59 cents), and a couple other items, there's no equipment to speak of.

Got any good jokes?  We've got some time to kill.  Here's one...

A bear walks into a bar and says, "I want a bourbon and................. coke."

The bartender asks "what's with the huge pause?"

The bear says, "I've had them all my life."

It's my delivery.  It's off.  I'll stick with preserving keepsakes for the time being.  

A quick review of yesterday.  To begin the Claudia Beeny approach to "keepsaking" you'll need one plastic container and one plastic envelope for each year you intend to collect items.  That is Step #1 and Step #2.  This system, by the way, works not just for your kids.  It also works for grand kids, newly married couples, or individuals who are committed to leaving behind a modest, yet organized, paper trail (which your family will undoubtedly appreciate!).

Today we address the issue of photographs.  Let me preface this by saying I know there are avid picture-takers in the audience.  Naturally there's a continuum of how people deal with photographs - with one end of the extreme being my neighbor who has over 40,000 photographs on her computer (and backed up in multiple locations) and others who can barely scrape together the two childhood photos with crinkled edges, found stuck at the bottom of a cigar box in your family's guest room.  I fall somewhere in the middle.

Just to earn a little bit of credibility, let me share that my nickname during college was "Captain Kodak" AND.... when I came home from college, no matter the holiday, I would spend hours at my kitchen table cutting and pasting them into photo albums.  Now that you know, I am not a cold, heartless, thoughtless person, with no sense of sentimentality... I'll keep going. 

To complete Step #3 you will need a $1.00 photo album typically containing enough sleeves to hold 60 pictures.  Don't be an over achiever and think if a $1.00 album holding 60 pictures is good, then a $10.00 album holding 200 pictures must be even better.  False.  The $1.00 album is what you need.  It will hold plenty of pictures for our purposes and it will fit nicely (even when chock full of 60 pictures) in your .59 cent plastic folder.... which in turn will go in your $6.99 plastic tub.

Here's the trick.  Twelve months... 365 days... 60 picture sleeves.  That, my friends, is an average of a picture every 6.1 days.  That's plenty.  Really.  I know you think you need 47 pictures of your child in last year's Halloween costume, but really, ten years from now... heck, even three years from now, you will be perfectly satisfied with the one or two CHOICE pictures you decided to keep.  This is the beauty of a digital camera.  Embrace it.  I have a good friend and valued colleague who once made this very wise comment.  He said, "The average person takes far too few pictures, but keeps far too many pictures."  Darn.  I wish it was I who said that, because it is SO true.  We might like - and feel secure - with the 78 pictures we took of Christmas morning, but in the end it is really three or four of those pictures that perfectly encapsulates that year's festivities.

So here's what I do.  One 60 sleeve photo album per child, each with a label bearing his name and year on the cover.  I take pictures regularly.  Once a week I print the pictures I want and they go immediately into the boys' $1.00 albums.  Example... I take a picture of the three boys wrestling on the living room floor.  I think, "oohh, that's cute.  They'll like having that when they're older."  Print three copies.  One for each album.  Take a picture of Jack getting his first hair cut.  While Matthew and Ricky love him, they don't want or need that picture.  Print one copy.  In it goes to Jack's album.  No, not two copies... one for Jack and one for me 'cause, "I might want it one day."  One copy.  If I really want to see it, I'll visit his $1.00 album. 

When I find a picture I really like, I calculate in my head... one for each of the boy's albums; one for Grandma and Grandpa New York; one for Grandma and Grandpa Beeny; one for Dawn who I haven't written in a while; and on the list goes.  I only print pictures when I know EXACTLY where they are going to go (a family member, a frame, or the $1.00 album).  Few to no exceptions.  This eliminates those stacks of random pictures we consider too sacrilege to throw away, but for which we have no real need or plan.   

A few final notes.  I keep small white mailing labels in my drawer.  Before I put the photos in their $1.00 albums, I try to jot a note or two including date, names of people in the pic, etc....  That way, when the boys look at the pictures years from now, they will know who all the kids were huddled around their birthday cake ready to pounce.  Second.  I'm archaic.  To get prints of my pictures, I still take my digital card, get in the car, drive to Cosco, walk up to the machine, put my card in, select my pictures, and then do my shopping while they are being developed (ALWAYS in less than an hour).  There are readers looming the site at this very moment who use a much more streamlined and efficient process.  I will let them share their methods in the comment section.

This is doable.... even if your child is nine years old and you're thinking... "too late for me."  Wrong.  When it comes to preserving childhood memories... ANYTHING IS BETTER THAN NOTHING.  Start now.  Do it until he or she is 18 and still you're presenting them with nine well organized years!  What a priceless gift.

Two announcements:  

• Taste of USA:  Cheryl and I are trying to begin making plans.  In order to do so, we need those of you trying to attend to weigh in on a few things.  First, we cannot hold the event on Saturday, September 20.  Instead we are looking at September 6, or September 13.  Ideally the 6th.  Please let us know which weekend works best for you.  Second item related to our Taste of USA trip.  Viewers from THIRTY-FOUR cities have frequented the site in the last month, coming from all over the state.  We are considering trying to decide between a central PA location (ie. Lewisburg) or a major city (ie. Philly).  Tell us what you think.
  
• Highlowaha Projects:  As you may know from last week... two sets of people volunteered to coordinate the projects suggested by our readers (I LOVE the emergent leadership!).  Here's what you need to know.  Book Club: Julie and Melanie will coordinate our Book Club.  In upcoming days/weeks they will communicate with the readers via the comment section to get an idea of what kind of book viewers might like to read... and other details.  Holiday Service Project: Sue, Maureen, and Brian will work on this.  Sue will serve as the primary coordinator (meaning we will communicate back and forth).  In the next few weeks you will hear more from them as they seek feedback from you and lay out a time line.
  

Enough.  Signing off until tomorrow...

K.I.S.S. - Keep it Simple... System

Good Monday Morning.  Announcements at the end... with the exception of one quick shout-out to Shannon B - an old friend and new reader.  It should be our goal to get this vibrant, funny, and smart woman to participate in our community by posting.  She will feel like an instant friend.  

Now, today's creative thought...

I've tried.  I've put this topic off for weeks thinking, wracking my brain, working 'til wee hours of the morning, trying desperately to think of how I could embellish my idea.  Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday are dedicated to the topic and the truth is... I don't know how I'll even fill a paragraph.  The process is so simple, it can't be made complicated... no matter how I try.

My son is fifteen years old and like most of us has accumulated LOTS of keepsakes over the years... art; photos; love notes from girls in school; old papers he's written; fun facts about his first steps, getting braces, losing teeth, making the Varsity swim team; old letters to Santa, ribbons and medals won from cross country meets and sleep away camp; old stitches from an accident during gym class; and countless other irreplaceable keepsakes from his life.  Yes, preserving our family's keepsakes is important.  It is the only way that Ricky, in this case, can look back on his childhood and, in turn, share it with his future family.  Without it he... we... lose appreciation for the context and interconnectedness responsible for so much of who we are.   

For the first part of the week, we'll take a look at my un-scrapbooking, no fuss-no muss, four-piece approach to preserving memories.  There are a few of you out there who know my system (and maybe even use it - or use a part of it).  You know who you are and you know that I am trying to start a "movement."  Help me.  Chime in, but don't reference one of the four components before I formally introduce it on the assigned day.  There's method to my madness (...or so I think).

We will begin with the end in mind.  How do we keep keepsakes without allowing them to overrun our house or our countertops?  Here it is... Fifteen years of keepsakes tucked neatly away in the box pictured below.  Find out who, what, where, when, why, and most importantly, HOW as the week progresses.

Ricky's "treasure" box, holding one folder for each year of his life

Announcements:

• Richard, Ricky, Ray, Random (acts of kindness), Rocky Road.... yes, I love the letter "R."  Kat, you are the lucky winner of a set of two luggage tags from Nan.  OR... cash in your luggage tags for what's behind Door #2.  The choice is yours.
  
• To whomever "Anonymous" is responsible for starting the string of items that Cheryl and I could bring back from our trip...if I could, I would hire you on the spot.  Thanks for sharing not only your creativity, but also your initiative.
• There's a saying... "Sometimes things have to get worse before they get better."  Living proof... 
  
  
  

Signing off until tomorrow...