The Art of Documenting: safeguarding those important papers

I have always been (or at least I try to be) an efficient organizer. I want clothes to be folded properly in the closet. I make sure things are in their proper places most of the times (it's difficult when you have 2 boys at home). And most importantly, I try to keep all important (and sometimes the not-so-important but sentimental) papers/documents. You can say I got the habit that from my mother.

I remember this one time when I participated in a competition when I was in primary school (can't remember which one though). My mother was so nervous (she always was every time I compete) that she didn't go to school to watch (she usually doesn't). After the competition my teacher/coach sent her a note. She was a bit hesitant to open the note, but anxious to read what's written in there. When she finally got the courage to do so, this was what greeted her:

My mom had kept this paper as a souvenir of that special day (and many others). And I have brought it here to Singapore with me, together with other important documents like diplomas, certificates, report cards, etc from when I was in preschool up to uni years. Yes, my mother has kept all of them in order in a file so she could hand it over to me when I move on to another chapter in my life (in short, when I got married and became a mom like her). 

I believe that this is a very effective way of documentation. We don't really know when we will be needing these papers, and which papers will be useful. But it's a good practice to save them for future reference/use. Better safe than sorry :) 

I'm not saying that we should keep all papers/documents that come our way. I guess as I parent, somehow, we have an idea as to which documents would be valuable in the future (whether to us or to other parties). We have the instinct to hold on to those papers (the memories), and it pays off.

I know when the PSLE results come out, I will be keeping a copy of it and saving it the way my mother has kept, saved and passed on to me ALL the important and memorable pieces of papers throughout my childhood/teenage days. I have been doing it for the past 12 years as a mother to my children - from their first scribbles to progress reports to school awards to report books. My mother has trained me well :)