Life Story Binder

I was cleaning out our computer room closet today (that's a whole other story in itself) and came across a few things from Chris's college days.  They had been stuffed in a box and thrown in the closet with the rest of our junk, abandoned and forgotten.  I've come across a lot of his stuff lately, and have been stashing it in different places in the house until I thought of a way to organize it for him.  

We've been talking about how we need to clean out our garage (a project for this Sunday) and I just know that we'll find a lot of special memorabilia from his past when we do.  The first time we cleaned out that space I found a ton of stuff, but I wasn't too big on organizing then so it just got put back into boxes and was stored.  I'm excited to go through all of it again and try to sneak stuff back into the house so I can make him a present out of it all.      

Today I found his college transcripts from Embry Riddle and the University of Southern CA.  There were also a few things from when he worked for Boeing, some pictures from High School, and notes he'd written while in class to his friends.  Without me going through all of our his stuff, those papers probably never would've seen the light of day again.  

So, I put my crafty brain to work and tried to think of a good way to put all of these things together for him.  

I had come across something on Pinterest a long time ago called a Life Story Binder.  I loved the idea but didn't look into it any further because I just didn't think it was for me.  But as I was looking at Chris's papers, I realized that might be just the thing I want to use to organize them! 

What is a Life Story Binder?
"It's a place to gather and organize documents, photos and/or journaling that pertain to your life or the life of a family member." (source)

What do you need to get started?

• 3 ring binder (starting out bigger (like a 2" ring size) is always better so you have room to add on as needed)
• sheet protectors (80-100)
• Life Story Binder suggestion list (Kim from all things simple has already put together a list for you!)
• Return Address Labels (optional)

I probably won't have this ready for Chris's birthday in October (I have a feeling it will take a while) but I'm hoping to have it ready for Christmas.  I think this will be a fun project to do and I'll also get to find out a little bit more about his past (fun for me!  Not for him.)

Now for the best part.  I'd like to ask a favor from my readers (well, those who knew Chris and grew up with him).  If you have any pictures of him (with the story to go with it), would you mind sending me the digital copy of it?  The pictures/stories can be funny, serious, or any kind in between.  I think it would be fun to put a section in that is from those who love him and know him best.

After looking at Kim's suggestion list I've come up with what I want for my book (plus or minus a few things).  You can also see what I have and don't have here (the don't have is in black) .

If you don't have a picture but want to share a funny story you can leave it in the comment section or contact me through my e-mail.  You can find that on the side of my blog.  

Thank you!