As the school year draws to a close, both my children and I breathe a sigh of relief. We’re all tired. They’re tired of being nagged, and I’m tired of doing the nagging. But before we start counting down the days until they leave for summer camp, I clean out their backpacks and all other vestiges of the academic year we’ve just left behind. So, here are some tips for delving into those backpacks while hoping not to discover anything too scary…(last week’s lunch?)

1. Throw out every sticky, gooey, extra large art project. The good news is, now that I have teenagers, these art projects and diaramas are a thing of the past!
2. Sort through homework and graded papers. Unless an assignments may help a younger brother or sister, these papers can be tossed.
3. Save creative writing, either in a specially labeled folder or an online folder.
4. Trash old school supplies that are dog-eared or doodled on. Reusable items like calculators and hole punchers should be saved.
5. Recycle notebooks, lined paper, pens and pencils that haven’t been used or are in good condition.
6. Determine the likelihood of your child using his/her backpack for another year. Chances are, you’ll be buying a new one in the fall, so if this is the case, don’t save it.
7. Rejoice at all the lost things you find inside the backpack: earrings, money, your child’s retainer, and more!