How to store Children's artwork from school (and be ok with getting rid of some)
- Kat Lord
- Jul 6
- 2 min read
You are about to be inundated with folders, artworks, pieces of paper with random lines on it (labelled penguin) and I get it, it's your babies precious artwork.
But after having three children, and keeping everything, that stuff adds up, and before you know it, you have a cupboard lot of paper, and let's be honest, you don't really know whose is whose.
The paper has tainted and some of the pasta has fallen off as the glue has dried up. Delicious, for a sneaky mouse looking for a snack.
So how do we sort it? Where to we store it? and how do we release some from taking up our space and causing a headache?
Deal with it straight away
Adding it to a back and on the to-do list for a random day in the future usually only means you then have several bags to deal with and the task gets even bigger. Sit down with your child and celebrate their wonderful work straight away.
Choose the 'firsts' to be displayed
You can end up in a cycle where you put everything on the fridge and then it gets overwhelmed with clutter (which apparently makes is eat badly, but that's a whole other psychological hole to delve into) Instead, be more mindful and display on purpose. I recommend the frames where you can add several on top of each other, making it easy (but then plan to go through them and depart with some after a while)
Take a photo of the others
Not of every single piece. But if there is a toilet roll palace, perhaps giving it a longer life in digital is the solution. If they really love it, offer them the chance to make another one in the future, as their skills improve, they can make it even better. Maybe they can write instructions on how to make it again for the future creating purposeful writing opportunity.
Protect it
If you don't want to display it, but you still want to keep it, protect them from water and sun damage. But don't let it rot in a cupboard until they graduate. Plan a time yearly to look back and celebrate their creativity, as well as seeing how much they have improved. Rather than keeping buying more and more storage, decide on an amount you are happy with for each year group. Is it 10 pieces a year? Is it one box a year? Remember this multiplies per child.
And for everything else, recycle.
If you need support organising with your children in mind, book a free 45 minute consultation to discuss which rooms and routines cause you the most stress.
I am an Amazon Affiliate so will get a small percentage if you purchase some solutions.
Comments