I organize all the letters in photos in binders--I currently have 6 binders, 3 for girls and 3 for boys. The binders are then organized by age. On the cover of each binder, I list the children who's letters are contained there. And I use dividers to organize!
Each child has a section with his or her name on the front.
And then the next pages I use for putting all the photos that Compassion sends routinely!
Next to the photos, I keep a copy of the updated online profile for each child. (Did you know that whenever your child receives a photo update, his or her profile is also updated online? Sometimes I find that family information has changed or hobbies or chores…of course, I also include these changes in my bios.)
Next, I have sheet protectors where I store the pages of Compassion's new welcome book that you receive when you sponsor a child. These booklets are kind of thick to include by themselves, so I take them apart and put the pages I want in sheet protectors.
Finally, I include child letters, extra photos and pastor's letters by date!
I love having these binders and looking back over older letters. It's fun to watch my kids grow! These binders are also a great resource when talking to sponsors or potential sponsors--it's a great hands on way for people to see Compassion's ministry at work over the years!
Do you have a method for organizing your Compassion letters? I'd love to hear about it! I'm all for new ideas and fresh inspiration.
This looks like a great system!
ReplyDeleteI've found it really helpful :)
DeleteWhat a wonderful system. I also scan my children's letters and save their photos to DROPBOX so I can access from any computer, tablet and phone device
ReplyDeleteThanks! I love your idea of scanning the letters and saving them where you can access them from anywhere!! I may have to borrow that idea in the future! Thanks for sharing.
DeleteI have a similar binder, but I need to buy another - the two I have are full! : )
ReplyDeleteThat's so fun that you already filled up 2 binders!!
DeleteCool! I love how you organized it all :) I have all my kiddos things in baggies. I should do a post about it soon....I've been thinking about it but hadn't gotten there yet. :)
ReplyDeleteYes! I'd love to see what you do! When you get a chance :)
DeleteI have binders, too. Currently I have them organized by country or region (so all my kids in India are in a binder, my kids in African countries are in a binder, etc).
ReplyDeleteI have so many letters from the past almost 20 years, though, that I'm wanting a better system. I would love to have them stored digitally, to free up space in my closet, but haven't started in on that project. And when it came down to it, I'm not sure I could get rid of the physical copy of the letter.
Maybe I could keep a few letters as "highlights" and examples of sponsorship. Then I could have ONE binder highlighting my whole Compassion family. Right now I have so many that it's overwhelming and I don't really go through them and look at them anymore. I could even keep a tally somewhere of how many letters each child has written me.
I think I've found a project for the month of April....
I can imagine that you have tons of letters!! You'll have to let me know what you end up deciding on…as I'll eventually reach the point of an overwhelming number of binders. I like the idea of storing them digitally, but I also agree that I'm not sure that I could get rid of other letters!! Maybe you could keep them all but narrow highlights down into one binder to share with others… I look forward to seeing what you come up with!
DeleteI love keeping all of the letters, and I try to take a copy of the letters I mail also. This helps me remember what I have written to the kids and what I have mailed to them. Aren't binders wonderful? :)
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea to save a copy of the letters that you send! Then you know you aren't repeating info! I have a file on my computer where I write notes of what I wrote about in each letter…but I hadn't thought of actually copying the letter! And yes, binders are wonderful!!
DeleteI am currently putting all my children and the information I have so far in a binder (They all fit in one binder for most-- I just have 11 kids, and not many letters from most) Mostly I keep the letters I write online (Google Drive). But I'm wondering if you still use the binder system or if this blog has become your Binder? I'm considering doing something similar on my long unused blog. But I'm afraid that keeping it up would be difficult!
ReplyDeleteYes and yes! I still have my letters in the binder and update date it a few times a year, but this blog is my main binder now. Ever since Compassion switched to emailing letters and providing so many resources with the online letter writing tools, I've been relying on this blog as a binder.
DeleteI also have one document on my laptop with a page for each child where I put important info from each letter (it is very similar to each child's page on this blog, but I can put private info also, such as health problems, family problems, etc.).
If you are feeling short on time, I would recommend one document that you can easily update when you receive letters :)