Here are some easy organization tips and ideas for how to store kids’ artwork and the crafts they bring home from school.
I’m sure you love your children’s craft projects. Seeing what your little ones have created—sometimes specially for you—touches your heart.
Of course, you want to celebrate your little Picasso and show them that you are proud of their work. However, when their crafts start to take over your home, it becomes a problem. You can easily feel overwhelmed by the flood of drawings or paintings that they bring home from school.
Let’s be honest, some of those projects (secretly) end up in the trash because you can’t realistically keep all of them. But, what do you do with the art projects you do want to save? Here are some helpful tips for how to store your kids’ artwork.
How To Store Kids’ Artwork
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Display
Keep a box or folder close to the door or in whatever part of the house your children store their school supplies. Place all of the new artwork in this box or folder. Pick one item to display—maybe on the refrigerator or in their room—for a determined length of time e.g. one week.
At the end of the week, take it down and replace it with something else out of the box. Your children will be happy to see that you cherish their art enough to display it and that each piece is being shown off.
Sort
After each piece of art has had its time in the limelight, determine whether it will be kept, mailed or discarded.
Yep, that’s right. Some of these works of art are going in to the trash. But of course, do it tactfully and not in front of your children. Also, don’t put it in the trash where they will easily see it. You may just have a meltdown on your hands if their little eyes see their hard work in the recycle bin.
If your children are not quite so attached to their art, let them help you with this whole process. That way you don’t have to hide when you throw stuff away.
Mail one or two of your kids’ art projects to grandparents, close family or even their babysitter. Whoever you think would appreciate a few handcrafted items. You can even make it more personal by letting your children sign their name on each piece.
Ideas for Saving Children’s Artwork
There are lots of ideas for storing kids’ artwork. Choose one or a combination of methods that suit you.
Kids’ Artwork Storage Box
Use airtight bins or storage boxes to house your child’s craft projects. Stack them up and store them out-of-the-way.
Filing System
Create a filing system for storing your kids’ artwork by year using either a file box or a filing cabinet. There are all types of styles and nice finishes of filing cabinets to match the decor in your home, if you prefer to go that route.
You can use this same system to store important documents along with the art. This type of storage method is easy to keep up and you can find items quickly.
Binders
Use binders and page protectors to store the projects. You and your child can easily flip through the pages and reminisce and the plastic will protect the contents.
Frames
If there are any special pieces, like those created at specific milestones, frame them and hang them up. This tells your children that you really appreciate what they have done and can do wonders to boost their self-esteem. I particularly like these ones because you can easily swap out the contents.
Digital Scrapbook
The only problem with the above-mentioned children’s artwork storage options are they can take up quite a bit of room. One way to avoid this, especially if you have a small home, is to use a scanner and create a digital version of the art.
Doing this cuts down on the amount of space required. You can keep a digital version of pretty much everything your child makes and still sort the files by year. Simply create folders and place all of the art in the corresponding one.
Your kids’ artwork should be treasured. They should be proudly displayed. But they should NOT take over your home. Hopefully these simple tips will help you figure out how to store your children’s artwork and avoid a cluttered mess at home.
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