Storage Solutions For Children’s Artwork

I’ve had quite the children’s artwork collection going on for a while now. I mentioned in an earlier post that something about the artwork created by a child can bring tears to my eyes. I was the last from my group of friends to get married and I can vividly remember going to their homes to visit and seeing masterpieces created by tiny hands. I always prayed that one day I would have a home filled with these pieces of paper that have so much meaning. Today I do. I am so blessed and thank God every single day for the gift of my children.

Crafting is something my children and I have done for a very long time. I remember how much joy I felt when they were finally able to participate in these projects. I love putting on relaxing music and sitting with my kids at the kitchen table. I love watching their expressions as they are creating and I love seeing the joy on their faces when they finish a project. They are so proud and maybe that is what is so tear-jerking. Children find joy in the simplest of things and I think that is such a huge life-lesson.

Now that my daughter is in Kindergarten, she brings home so many amazing things. I love perusing through her folder, not knowing what I will find. I love the surprise of it all, it is so neat! Let’s be honest though. All of the ‘work’ accumulates so fast! I had some stored in folders, some in binders, some in baskets and canvas totes. Those were filling up and the work was beginning to pile on top of things. It was beginning to make my head spin because if I see clutter, I cannot think. I am not kidding. That is how my mind has always been wired. I long for simplicity. I wanted to find a way to organize all of it. Some I would have to part with (because I can’t keep it all, right? Not sure I’d have the room.) and some I would want to keep.

I didn’t keep any worksheets, with the exception of work done on actual ‘writing paper’ so writing progression could be documented for letters and numbers. Let’s take a look at the organization process and I’ll show you in detail what I kept.

As you can see, my pile grew and grew.

I kept any projects that were done with a grandparent.

I kept all notes from friends and teachers, school and party invitations, recital brochures and any notes/artwork received from friends. I organized all of these items in one folder.

I kept anything that made my heart flutter.

I kept any free-hand artwork.

I kept anything that included a handprint; love having them for documentation.

I kept anything that stopped me dead in my tracks.

I kept Olaf, well because it’s Olaf. We made these over Thanksgiving break and my children really enjoyed the process.

I kept notes from grandparents and family. Seeing all of these actually brought tears to my eyes. We don’t live near any family, so we go days/weeks/months without seeing each other. I’ve never doubted their love for a second, but seeing all of the notes to my children showed me how often we are being thought of, which is simply amazing! I stored all of the cards in a little felt bag.

I gathered all of the smaller, bulkier items and stored them in a plastic storage bag.

After everything was organized, I placed all of it in a canvas “under the bed” storage tote. Each of my children will have their own. This one is for my daughter.

Some of the smaller papers were organized in folders. Some of the larger items do not fit in folders, so the size of this tote is perfect.

As you can see, there is still plenty of room to add more. Now that I kind of have the organization process down, it will be easy to know right away what to pitch and what to keep. This will prevent piles from collecting around my house.

I like that I can zip up the tote to keep everything clean, but I can still see through it.

Everything is now packed away neatly and being stored under my daughter’s bed. Project Artwork Organization is complete!

I found the Underbed Storage Organizer at Target. I believe it was $8.99. It was a little flimsier than I had hoped, but it gets the job done and that is all that matters to me.