The End Of The School Year: Chaos, Clutter and Why You Shouldn't Wait 'Til Next Term

Ah, the end of the school year. A time when lunchboxes start smelling suspiciously like a science experiment, and your kids bring home approximately 4,000 pieces of "artwork," half a rainforest worth of worksheets, and a mysterious half-used glue stick stuck to a sock.

Before you toss everything into a corner with a promise to "deal with it later" (spoiler: you won’t), let’s talk about how to close out the school year intentionally. Because January you is already busy enough without finding a pile of crusty uniforms and unidentifiable projects labeled "Term 2 diorama."

Here’s how you can tackle the school clutter now—before Christmas chaos fully takes over. Bonus: Your future self will thank you.

Step 1: The Great School Bag Purge

If you’ve got kids, you know that school bags are black holes. Forget scientific mysteries—what’s really baffling is how a bag that left your house with a packed lunch and a pencil case now only contains rocks, half a toilet roll, and someone's random shoe.

Dump everything out (preferably outdoors to avoid the smell) and divide it into piles:

Keep: Awards, special projects, and actually usable stationery.

Toss: The half-chewed pencils and gum wrappers.. School workbooks and notebooks (check first - but no child of mine has ever referred back to prior year work, particularly now so much is online!). I do tear out the spare paper and keep that for my office scribbles though. 

Donate: If your child has outgrown their bag, now’s a great time to pass it on.

Step 2: Create a School Memory Box

Let’s be honest: You don’t need to keep every scribble and macaroni-covered masterpiece your child ever made. (Sorry, but I can’t keep a cereal box castle forever.)

Instead, create a school memory box. A simple plastic tub with a lid works wonders. But even better is a file n store box like this one . Set your boundary by adding one file per school year.  If you have a little Picasso in your family you may want to keep one or two of their bigger artworks (it's preferable to take photos and chuck the originals, you could even create a photobook) but if you really want to keep them,  an A2/3 pocket file like this one  works well - just don't keep everything and end up with 24 of these!

Sit with your child and go through their year’s projects together.

Ask:
“What are you proud of?”
“What makes you smile?”
Keep only the items that genuinely mean something.

Bonus: This gives you an excuse to hear all the hilarious stories behind the artwork.
Label the box with the year and add their class photo. Now you’ve got a tidy way to keep memories without drowning in paper clutter.

Step 3: Out with the Old Uniforms
Unless you’re hoping to keep an archive of every jumper your child ever spilled paint on, it’s time to cull the wardrobe.

Here’s how:

Check for fit: If they’re halfway to outgrowing it or it’s worn to the point of transparency, it’s gotta go.
Hand-me-downs: Pass decent items to younger siblings or donate them to your school’s uniform shop.
Repurpose: Turn old T-shirts into cleaning rags or crafting material.

No one wants to start next term with a frantic morning where you realise none of the uniforms fit, and the only clean shirt has a spaghetti stain shaped like Australia.

Step 4: Declutter the Kids’ Rooms
This one’s a game-changer, especially with Christmas around the corner. With new toys and gifts on the horizon, now’s the perfect time to help your kids sort through their rooms.

Make it fun:

Play some music.
Set a timer for 20 minutes and turn it into a race.
Use the "three box method":
1. Keep: Items they love and use regularly.
2. Donate: Toys and clothes they’ve outgrown or lost interest in. nb. it can be tempting to encourage them to keep stuff that you want them to - don't - allowing them to make their own choices helps foster a sense of independence and control over their own space. 
3. Discard: Broken, beyond-repair items (RIP to that glitter-covered slinky).

Step 5: Organise the Essentials for Next Year
While you’re in school mode, take 10 minutes to get ahead for next year:

Check what stationery is reusable. Make a list of what's missing. 
Create a small stash of “school essentials” (labels, hats, socks) so you’re not panic-buying the night before term starts.

Step 6: Celebrate the Year
After all that decluttering, reward yourselves! End-of-school decluttering doesn’t have to feel like a punishment. Celebrate the wins:

Frame one piece of art or display it in their room.
Write a little note about what they achieved this year and pop it in the memory box.
Have a mini pizza party or movie night to toast surviving another year of homework chaos.

Clearing out the school year clutter isn’t just about making space for next term; it’s about closing the chapter with intention. By tackling the chaos now, you’ll create breathing room for the holidays and start January feeling like a semi-organised superstar.

So grab a bin bag and a sense of humour—you’ve got this. And remember: every diorama you recycle is one less thing to trip over in the new year.