My Memory Keeping System as a Mom of Three

A sustainable approach to documenting memories

I feel like this has been such a popular topic lately, but honestly, I think us millennial moms just want our kids to have something they can actually hold and look back on one day. There are so many different ways to save memories, but these are the things that have worked best for me and fit within my capacity.

01. The Short Years Baby Book

I’ve used this book for all three of my kids, and it’s by far the easiest memory keeping system I’ve found. Each month, you complete simple prompts, either in the app or on your computer, from the newborn stage through 12 months. Once a chapter is finished, the printed pages are mailed to you to add to your binder.

I primarily use it to document my babies’ first year, but you can continue using it through the toddler years as well. You can also customize it with photo spreads, QR codes that link to videos, and additional milestone pages, making it a meaningful keepsake that’s easy to keep up with.

02. Yearly Photo Books

I’ve made three yearly photo books with Mixbook, and I’m completely obsessed with them. It’s such an easy way to gather photos from your phone or camera and turn them into a book that’s fully customized to your style.

I organize each book by month and add captions about what we did, special milestones, and memorable moments from that time. They sit on our bookshelf, and my kids love pulling them down to flip through and look back on all the memories from each year. It’s become one of my favorite ways to preserve our family’s story.

03. Birthday Scrapbooks

I recently started doing this and have created a scrapbook for each of my kids. Every year, I add birthday spreads that include photos, invitations, decorations, and our wishes for the year ahead. Throughout the year, I also include holiday memories, special crafts they’ve made, milestone photos, and other meaningful keepsakes so everything is preserved in one place. My hope is to continue adding to them over the years and gift each scrapbook to my children on their 18th birthday.

04. Prints You Can Easily Change

I am a little obsessed with gallery walls, so I love swapping out our photos to keep everything updated. I use Mpix to print my pictures and store the older ones in a memory box. It's so special to sit down with the kids and look through it together, letting them actually hold and feel the photos while we revisit those memories.

And just a reminder, you do not have to do it all. It’s okay if you’re behind, it’s okay if you skip things, and it’s okay if your memory books aren’t perfectly up to date. I’m definitely talking to myself here because I haven’t even started this year’s yearly book yet. I hope this gives you some ideas and inspires you to get those photos off your phone and computer and into something your family can enjoy for years to come!