We’ve all been there. We end up overstimulated and overwhelmed with all the kid’s crafts not sure what to do with all of it. The paper playboat or kite that came home from a group or school or *gasp* something we may have even initiated. Now it’s a boat, a car, 12 learning activities, and 9 holidays later and we are overloaded with crafts. If you are like me I can guarantee that you need help finding a home for your child’s arts and crafts too!
Here are some things we purchased to help cut the clutter, and some ways we have organized the arts and crafts in our home:
Organize it seasonally
As best as you can try to pack things you want to keep and reuse each year away by season. Valentine’s items are gone by the end of February. Christmas and Easter…the staples. But look for a few extra things that can be packed away or cycled with another holiday or season. Early summer and spring life cycles art can make an appearance by Memorial Day and find itself packed up by the 4th of July.
Scan the arts and crafts
I actually didn’t love this at first, but it’s growing on me. Take photos or scan your child’s artwork to display it in a specific digital frame (or two if you’d like to let your child select what they want in their room). Try to put what you can’t part with aside and say goodbye to the rest. You can even print from the scans but make it tiny. Clip tiny bits of artwork on ribbon boards or strings throughout your home.
Do projects that you can give away
Kindness rocks are a great example of a fun paint project that goes right into the community! Many towns have specific places for building larger art displays of these rocks but churches, senior centers, and even coffee shops love them!
Use chalk and dry-erase boards
Okay, this seems obvious, but I’m telling you this is an ingenious add-on to any children’s easel to add hours of wipe-away fun. Seriously we’ve owned our easel for an entire month and we’ve yet to pull up the paper roll. Let them draw away, erase, and draw again. Sidewalk chalk is another great add-on item to use outside.
Bath paints
These are so much easier than bath crayons to clean up for me. Look for brands that are soap-based. This is a medium that seems a million times scarier than it is.
Get abstract and keep reusing
Think outside of the box when coming up with arts and crafts. Spray bottles loaded with paints, sponge art, and dropper art are great examples. Make cards. Search craft stores for wooden frames with hearts or other shape cutouts to frame these pieces up in a smaller way for yourself or your family gifts.
Many companies make children’s artwork frames filled with layers of interchangeable artwork. They come in handy when we’ve got to keep it but the fridge is full. If I’m being honest, we are softies and invested in two of these for our living room. Even with only one child, I can see us perhaps getting another for our office and one for her room someday to display her artwork.
What are some things you have done to find a home for your child’s arts and crafts? Let us know in the comments.
