The key to keeping the kid's souvenirs organized is to not become a hoarder. As your child grows, throw some of your favorite things into their "keepsake box" but set a limit for yourself. Remember, your child will probably spend at least 18 years living in your house, not to mention if you want to keep college papers, graduation photos, etc. in his keepsake box. I do not include photos in this category - there really shouldn't be a limit on photos, if you ask me, because they can all be stored electronically.
If you're starting from scratch (have really young children), here is my advice to you: Find a large cardboard box or purchase a very large clear plastic tub (I say clear for a reason) for each child you have. This will become his keepsake box. Label the box/decorate it/have the kid decorate it - whatever - it just needs to be identifiable by you and housed in an easily accessible spot. Once you've got your box, you're set. The challenging part now is deciding what makes the keepsake box cut and what goes in the trash. Yes, I said it, I'm giving you permission to throw your children's memories away. As your child progresses you'll probably be tempted to throw everything he does into his keepsake box. Be picky - only the best should make the cut. Regularly go through the box and keep it orderly - again, only the best should make the cut, limiting this to no more than five items per year.
For those of you who already have children and have been saving keepsakes like it's your job, my question to you is: why? What are you saving them for? I wholeheartedly support saving a few really great things - that first book that Hannah read at age 5, Tucker's first division test, Grayson's report cards, Madison's SAT scores and Evan's self-portrait drawing at age 16. If you have gotten too carried away and are running out of room but your kid is only 5, there is a problem. Take everything out of your box or bin or whatever you have been using to store things in and go through it all, limiting the contents to fewer than five objects per year per child. I will allot you one box per child per life. No negotiations.
If you're having trouble getting rid of stuff, ask yourself why you're saving it. If the answer is something along the lines of, "so my kid can see his progress" or "so my kid can save his mementos" or "so when my kid grows up he can look back on all of his old artwork," I understand. However, your child doesn't need to be able to go back to every cherished drawing he did or stuffed animal he has. If you can't bring yourself to throw away the 3,219,084,398 paintings and drawings your child will do prior to 4th grade, consider giving them to a family member or brightening a senior citizen's nursing home room/child's hospital room by giving them a painting. As for saving your children's old toys, there are so many children who can benefit from your toy donation, I seriously don't think your 18-year-old child will care if you save his Thomas the Tank Engine whistle train -- give it away.
Photos from your children's lives can take up an entire storage room by themselves. I love the idea of chronicling each year or so in its own photo book. If you must have a second copy printed of each photo I would highly recommend you stock up on photo boxes. Most shoe boxes work very well, too. Arrange the photos in their boxes chronologically with labels. Here's what I would do: upload my pictures online, print off one copy of the great one's for the photo book and leave the rest online. The kids each have their own photo book for each year and everyone has access to the photos online, assumedly forever. My favorite online photo storage site is: www.snapfish.com - 9 cent prints can't be beat!
Other creative and wonderful ways to cherish your kid's artwork outside the box: frame it and hang it as you would a fine piece of art (seriously!); post pictures/paintings in their bedroom, playroom, closet or family room; display proudly around the house (if it's not a painting/picture - use a clay bowl for change, a wire sculpture as an accent piece); give it to Grandma (or aunts/uncles/other family members/close family friends) - she'll never throw it away; hang it on the refrigerator for a period of time; create an ArtBook for each child (bind several pieces of artwork together into a book); scan it onto your computer and upload it onto your blog/picture website/kid's website and enjoy forever; take a picture of your child with the piece of art and put it in his photo book/online.
Lastly, if you are a very sentimental family, consider doing this together. Get the kids involved with starting and maintaining their keepsake box and ask their opinions about what they want to keep forever and what they can live without.
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