Make this: Daily memory box

I had pinned this a few months ago on Pinterest (you can see the pin here) and once I finally clicked through to the original post, I realized that it was from Seattle-based Modern Parents Messy Kids, a site that I love.

Keeping track of those little moments, when you’re a family, is priceless and although I’ve tried many, many, MANY methods in the past, I’ve never found one that stuck. I love this box because it literally takes less than a minute to scribble down a memory, a funny quote or an exciting announcement from our day on the card. Having the predated cards keeps me accountable to not skip a day and I keep the box with the cards on my dresser, where I see it before I go to bed each night as a reminder to jot something down.

Lastly, I love that this moves from year-to-year with our family. I can’t wait to get a full-year into writing down these daily memories and look back to see what we were doing last year as a family.

To make my modified version, here’s what I bought:

1 Pack of 4×6-inch lined index cards from Target
A few more rolls of washi tape from Target. In Bellingham, they’re along the side wall, by the stationary. You can get by with just one roll, if you’re on a budget.
1 Ultra fine-tipped Sharpie. I live by these and it works well to write on the washi tape. I bought a pack of four at Target, but you just need one.
1 4×6 plain wood box from Micheal’s. These were in the far back left-hand corner of the store. This one cost about $5.

The total cost was less than $15.

Once you have everything you need, assembly is pretty quick.

Here’s how I made my Daily Memory Box:
As inspired by the DIY Memory Box from Modern Parents Messy Kids

One: Apply the washi tape to the index cards.
There is a bit of a learning curve with the application, but once you get going, it won’t take long. I rotated through my different washis, putting a strip that was long enough on each card for me to write the date. I also tried hard to get the washi on the same spot on the card. (True confessions: I have crafting OCD. I can’t help it.)

Two: Write the dates on the cards.
This is where that heavenly Sharpie comes in handy. It doesn’t matter that you’re not starting at the beginning of the year, because you’ll build on the memories as the years go by. Remember: Only write the date, not the year, on your washi. For example: Write March 20, not March 20, 2014.

Three: Decorate the box.
I used the same washi tapes that I used on the cards to decorate mine and I chose not to decorate the whole thing… yet. I think it will be fun to add a bit each year. You could also easily paint your box or have your kids paint or decorate it. Go crazy!

Four: Get the cards in the box.
I have today’s card on the front of the stack, then I’ll rotate it to the back of the box after I write today’s memory. The inside of the box is a bit rough and I may eventually paint the interior to make it smoother… and cuter.

Five: Start making and writing down those memories.
So far, the memories I’m writing on the cards are all over the place. Some are funny things that the kids have said (Meg: “It’s snowing! I think we should get donuts to celebrate!”). Some are exciting memories for our family that I want to remember, for the future (Janie’s first day of soccer practice). But, most are just little notes about what we did that day (Went to the movies with some of our fave neighbors) or tiny snippets about life in our family (Snow day… again.) Once you get going, you’ll get in your own groove for what works for your own memory-keeping style.

As you can see on the post from Modern Parents Messy Kids, they also incorporated daily pictures, which they printed on that super cool printer (hello. i want that thing!) and stuck them on the back of each card. That’s so smart! As an alternative, I’m going to print some small sticker photos from Printstagram, which uses your Instagram photos. At $10 for 252 photo stickers, it’s a budget-friendly option, although it the tricky part will be figuring out which photos go with which dates!