One of my main end-of-the-school-year complaints has always been the incredible amount of STUFF that gets sent home as the year comes to a close. I know that teachers try to spread the export out over the last week or so and it is definitely NOT entirely their fault. They can not be blamed for all the coats, bags, hats, scarves and other items my children have taken to school and left over the past 9 months. But, it always seems like not only do I have to adjust to having all these bodies back in my house every day, but there are also boxes and bags of stuff to distribute and deal with at the start of June too!
Papers, projects, books, art supplies—all of these come home in droves at the end of the school year. There are broken art projects and half-empty boxes of crayons, not to mention all those overdue library books and books of my own home book shelves that find their way back in June. For the teenage set, emptying out those lockers yields all sorts of clothes, shoes, jewelry, make-up, movies, and who knows what else that haven’t been seen in eons. I usually have a hearty two loads of dirty laundry that come home with my kids during the last week of school! One of my daughter’s could really keep a small village warm during the winter months with all of the sweaters and outer-wear that end up in her locker during the school year.
One of these years I’m going to get organized (let’s see—I only have three years until my last child is due to graduate from high school, though) and rent a small dumpster to put in my driveway. That way, as the kids file home that last week of school, they can just stop outside the door and deposit all the STUFF that’s been collecting for the past nine months. I’d even be willing to share my dumpster with the other families with school children in my neighborhood. Hey, maybe we could have a neighborhood tag sale and give all the money to charity!
See Also: What About NEXT School Year?
Staying Focused For The End of The School Year