Easy DIY Memory Boxes To Organize Keepsakes

Is your home overflowing with all the precious artworks, school pictures and everyday items that come along with having kids? If so, then you are not alone. These DIY memory box tips are great ways to start cherishing those memories!

I know how overwhelming it can be to keep everything organized and neat. As I talk about organizing these keepsake boxes, the rest of my house is becoming completely unorganized.

Now that we have a few children, it is more important than ever to start creating these DIY memory boxes for each child.

This is totally the drawer in my awesome DIY teal desk, that I have been throwing all of my son’s art projects, report cards, T-ball pictures (you get the unorganized idea) into.

Since it was the start of the new year and organizing was on everyone’s mind, I decided to finally start a DIY memory keepsake box that I knew would help me stay organized for the next 18 or so years!

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Finding The Right File Cabinet Container

My husband originally just wanted me to use an old, refurbished file cabinet we have in the basement. However, I wanted something that I could physically give my kids when they were older.

Setting these memory boxes up the right way now, will only make it easy to add important keepsakes as things come home.

Before placing things in these bins, you may be interested to find other ways and tips to display artworks before they permanently find their home in the keepsake box.

I am always a DIY girl, but in order for these to be stored nicely, I could not just repurpose cardboard boxes. I found these plastic filing bins that I knew would be perfect for our keepsake boxes!

How To Decorate

I wanted to keep the outside of my keepsake boxes pretty neat. The memory box design may change over time. For now, simply adding my child’s name was all that this needed.

How To Hand Draw Name Easily

You can use my easy letter transfer technique to place each of my kids’ names on their keepsake boxes. If you are a Circuit user then that would also be a great way to make a name decal.

Below you can see how great the letters transferred to the black plastic of this file container.

Step 1: Print out their name in a font and size you like.

Step 2: Scribble with a pencil on the back of the printout where the words are.

Step 3: Neatly tape the printout on the box and use a pencil or pen to trace the design.

Step 4: Take the tape off to see the graphite you transferred.

Step 5: Use a paint marker to fill in the lettering.

Create File Folders By Age

On the outside of each age file, I plan on putting a small school picture. I can’t wait to see how those pictures change over the years and I always have a few of those wallet-sized pictures left.

Create Labels

Write out labels and with labeling each folder by the grade/school year. When attaching the plastic label holders, I also found that attaching the next label two slots over creates a nice look in the box. This allowed us to see each age when the hanging folders were in the keepsake boxes.

I also may put a few notes about my child’s interests at the time. As my children get older, I may change these questions, but right now I think the questions might be:

On the front of each folder, you can add their school picture or your favorite picture at that age. We also added a baby photo book in the beginning since we started our memory box at age 3.

Will I ever get tired of looking at my children as babies?? You will need to make sure to purchase enough hanging folders for each grade or age you want.

What do you add to a child’s keepsake box?

There are so many different things to add to a memory box. Involve your child to help you pick which items they want to save.

It is fun to see your child’s memories organized!

I was able to fill my son’s 3-year-old with everything that I had saved from the previous year in my teal desk drawer. It really was fun and heartwarming to look at the school projects, report cards, and drawings. It truly did bring back so many memories.

I can only imagine how I will feel looking back on this priceless memory box in future years.

Finally, I now know that I did the hard work in getting organized now. I just plan on filling my drawer and periodically through the year filing keepsakes in my children’s memory boxes for years to come!

What is your favorite way to store your children’s keepsakes? I would love to hear any tips and organizational ideas that could go along with making these DIY memory boxes!

If you love this idea and are looking for a more professional way to display photos or memories, check out our DIY gallery wall. I love being able to see our memories every day.

I love my DIY memory boxes and hopefully, we inspired you to organize your precious keepsakes forever!