Day 20
I have an organizing nemesis! I know I am not alone, because I work with many moms who have the same problem. Children’s art is one of the hardest things I find to organize! Isn’t it so hard to throw away something your child made? Especially when the art has “I Love You Mommy” written on it!
I had an Ah Ha Moment (thank you Oprah for coining this phrase) one day when I was looking at my hall closet. This is where I had been hiding my problem. Every time my kids would bring home their arts and crafts, I would leave it on the kitchen counter for a few days and then move it into the hall closet. I just couldn’t figure out how to deal with it. The arts and crafts come in all different shapes and sizes. Not only are they different in size and shape, but the volume of what comes home is so overwhelming! I couldn’t come up with how to deal with it all.
My Ah Ha Moment came from my need to face my problem. I couldn’t be an organizer and have this clutter problem hiding in my closet! I couldn’t believe I didn’t know what to do. I knew I would run into a client who would need help with this as well, so I thought long and hard about how to fix the hidden clutter. As I have stated before, boundaries and limits are vital in organizing. I needed to set the boundaries of what I was to keep and what I was going to let go. Here are the guidelines I set as the boundaries to what art I keep and how I could keep it:
What to Save:
- Art that is art. This is the work they spent a long time on. They worked on this with passion and vision. This is not the quick squiggle on a page or blob of paint on paper.
- Art, crafts or schoolwork that show progression. This is the type work that shows they advanced. Like the first time they draw a picture of a person where they have no neck or hands and then one that shows a body with details.
- Art, crafts or schoolwork that is about them and/or their family. These are pictures or essays of summer vacations, what they want to be when they grow up, pictures of the family doing a favorite activity…
- Their first. Their first spelling test, their first self portrait, their first book report…
What Not To Save:
- Art with food attached. The glued on Cheerios, the painted pasta noodles, the food coloring dyed rice…You are only asking for bugs and rodents!
- Any thing with glitter on it. That is unless you want everything you own to have glitter on it, because it will only attach itself to everything in your home.
- Any bulky or over sized arts and crafts. Seriously, how much room do you have to store your children’s art? These are too hard to store!
I have found another way to help decide what I will part with. I have an art gallery for my children’s work. No, I haven’t rented a store front and opened up shop. I have a place in my office (where I spend a lot of time) where we display the kids art and school work. Each child has their own magnetic write on wipe off board. I purchased wooden letters (their initials) at Michael’s Craft Store and spray painted the letters black to match the board. Then I glued magnets to the backs of the letters and placed them at the top of the board. They each have a large display space but with boundaries.
Once their board is full of art and they bring home more, I ask the children what they want to take down to put up the new art. The children are usually most proud of their recent accomplishments, so they want to take things down to put their new work up. I am always surprised to see what they are “over” and what they still love. Involving them is a great way to take the pressure off of what they value!
The board I use works for me, but this is not to say you have to follow what I did. Here are a few suggestions for displaying your children’s work:
- Magnetic, Cork or Fabric Boards.
- Moulding to create a large frame on the wall.
- A designated area on a wall (be careful how you attach to the wall!)
*I don’t recommend the refrigerator for displaying children’s art. Your kitchen will seem cluttered. If this is the only place to put it, don’t layer! Keep it to a contained limit of how much can go up!
So now you have items that you have decided to keep. First decided what you are keeping for you and what you are keeping for each child. We need to look at what we are keeping and why. We don’t want to pass on a bunch of “stuff” to our kids! Think about the stuff and what their reaction will be when you pass on a bunch of needless stuff.
I think the hardest part for me in this whole process is how to save it. I had a pretty good idea of what we were going to keep, but then how it was supposed to be stored stumped me. I have found I am not a scrapbooker. All the things I liked seemed to be more like scrap booking type solutions and I knew I wouldn’t keep them up. Finding the right storage solution was vital for me in my maintenance. If it is a struggle, I won’t keep it up.
Storage Solutions
- Scrapbook. Bless you if you are gifted in this craft. This is something I have tried and failed at. But if this is your idea of fun, use the larger books for the odd size art work. If you want to keep over sized art work, you may have to fold the paper.
- Notebooks and page protectors. You can easily slip papers into the page protectors, but again you may have to fold larger art work.
- Storage bins. You can use these like a file drawer. Stand the art work up and create dividers by age or grade.
If you are can break the sentimental bond to the actual artwork or crafts, I love the idea of taking a photo of the project and creating photo books. You will still need to set boundaries and limits, but the volume is cut down significantly when you take a photo! Also creating a photo book of your kids art is quick and simple when you use the numerous services out there.
- www.Kodakgallery.com
- www.snapfish.com
- www.shutterfly.com
- www.inkubook.com
- For Mac users, iPhoto
There are also companies that will scan your children’s art work and create books for you!
- www.souvenartbooks.com
- www.forkeepsbook.com
- www.artimusart.com
There are so many ways you can gain control over the art. Do you have any tips and tricks to share? Are you ready to face the art monster? Share with us!
Related Post:
Budding Artists-Taming Your Children’s Art Clutter
About Gail Gray
