ARTWORK ORGANIZATION BY…THE GRINCH!

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Do you struggle with endless piles of artwork? In your child’s eye every artwork piece is a masterpiece. Every picture that is colored, painted, or drawn must deserve a spot on the fridge, but what about the one that was there before? To be sure, that masterpiece can’t just be chucked into the trash. Imagine the horror on little Cindy Lou Who’s face. 

I no longer struggle with the mountains of arts and crafts and you won’t have to struggle with your kids’ art storage after today either. The system takes little effort to implement and we also find inspiration from Dr. Seuss’ character, The Grinch! I know this works because it’s how I do it and I’m a homeschooling momma. As a result, I receive artwork and crafts daily.

Why you need a system for your kids’ art storage.

Every child down in craft-ville liked artwork a lot…But the Momma who lived just north of craft-ville did NOT! Just kidding, I do love my kids’ artwork and love that they have a passion for creating. I find the same enjoyment when making something with my hands too. But the problem is when it starts to take over the house or causes me undue brain space to keep track of it.

By implementing a method for your kids’ art storage you’ll be able to keep what is really special and discard the rest with no stress. This system works well for both you and your child too. This is because, you’ll never have to worry about little Cindy Lou finding her picture of scribbles in the trash. Also, if you’re a sentimental momma, you’ll have a two-step system to determine whether or not that piece of artwork is worth saving. 

If you homeschool this is also an excellent way for maintaining portfolios. Before using this system the artwork pieces I actually thought were worth keeping went straight into the binder. Consequently, I wouldn’t lose it but we were never able to enjoy it either. Currently, I display artwork proudly and then it finds its place into the kids’ art storage binder.

The kids’ art storage system that works.

The display options.

Firstly, you must establish a location where artwork is displayed. There are many options for displaying and what will qualify a piece to be on display or not. Consider how many children you have, the amount of artwork you receive from them, the space you have, and your own personal preference. 

If you do not have the space to display a lot of pieces or you prefer to keep it simple, then you can use something like a gallery wall of picture frames. There are two options. First, thrift picture frames, paint them one cohesive color, and hang on the wall. Or buy frames specifically for this purpose. These usually look like shadow boxes for multiple pieces. Here is an example, Kids’ Art Frames.

On the other hand, if you have the space or simply receive a lot of artwork then consider a rope gallery. In our home is a long hallway leading to our boy’s room. Rope is strung between wall hook pegs, allowing me plenty of space to hang the boy’s art. 

The fridge.

To clarify, not all pieces end up here. Some go straight into the “goodbye tray” – more on that in a minute. And a very, very select few make it onto the fridge. I have one magnet for each boy that allows each of them to display one piece of artwork front and center in our kitchen.

I hand made our magnets with clips that were given to me from family. Luckily, they get them from work for free. Getting creative and using a lot of elbow grease, I used a magic eraser to take off the company’s message. Then I spray painted the top yellow to match my kitchen. I did find similar colorful ones online you can check out here, magnetic fridge clips.

The goodbye tray.

As promised, let’s talk about the goodbye tray. You might have noticed a hierarchy process that the kids’ art storage filters through. And I know it sounds way more complicated than it actually is. If a piece is worthy it makes it onto the fridge. When a new, worthy piece goes up the old comes down. The rope gallery becomes it’s new home or it goes straight into the portfolio binder.

But what happens if a piece isn’t even good enough for the rope gallery? It obviously isn’t going to make it to the fridge. So what do we do with it? That is where the goodbye tray comes in. I do not call it the goodbye tray in front of my boys. The art tray is it’s code name.

Where to place the goodbye tray.

The goodbye tray is a phenomenal addition to any home’s space because you can sit it near the entryway door. Then, you can toss any arts and crafts brought home from church or extracurricular activities in it. Additionally, I can safely toss a craft in the goodbye tray and if my child asks for it a few days later. Guess what! I can hand it back. Similarly, you can toss junk mail in there – win, win! But as a quick disclaimer, let your goodbye tray figure out where it needs to go. You’ll pretty quickly know where you want it after a week or so.

For instance, I realize that I am handed a lot of artwork in the kitchen. Probably because I spend a lot of time in there. Luckily, my kitchen and main entryway door are near each other. Naturally, the goodbye tray has landed in-between the two spaces and is easily accessible from each. And so when all these pieces, that aren’t worth my time to hang, are given to me, I “ooh” and “aah” over them. But then I toss it into the goodbye tray. If my child wants it hung up I will, but they do not always request that. 

Inspiration from the Grinch.

Time passes and artwork after artwork has accumulated. So far you have stuck to your kids’ art storage plan. It either finds its home on the rope gallery, into the goodbye tray or that coveted spot on the fridge. But now the rope gallery is overflowing and so is the goodbye tray. What do we do? Most importantly is that we take a little inspiration from the Grinch.

Firstly, I make sure that my kiddos are sleeping, distracted by television, or out of the house with Daddy. “‘This is stop number one,’ the old Grinchy Claus hissed and he climbed to the roof, empty bags in his fist.” Secondly, stop number one is the trash bags. With my empty bag in my fist I approach the goodbye tray and stuff the tree up! Oh no, sorry, wrong story. I stuff all the artwork into the trash bag with glee. 

Clear off the rope gallery strategically.

“Then he did the same thing to the other whos’ houses.” It’s true, your next stop is by the rope gallery wall. Not all pieces will go into the trash bag however. Are there any pieces you’re struggling to get rid of just yet? If so, take these down and place them in the goodbye tray. You want to keep several pieces of artwork for the goodbye tray anyways. Not too many but enough. The rest get stuffed into the trash bag and a select few go into your child’s homeschool portfolio.

“Up the side of Mt. Crumpit, he rode with his load to the tiptop to dump it!” Now it’s time to journey to Mt. Crumpit…I mean the garbage bin. That artwork is not going to be found in the kitchen trash can or sitting around anywhere. The Grinch knew he needed to take it far away and dispose of it. And so we shall too. Take it straight out to the garbage bin and throw it out. 

Since we’re talking art, let me paint the scene for you.

The rope gallery wall is empty, the goodbye tray has several pieces in it, and all the evidence has been successfully dumped off Mt. Crumpit. What happens when they come home and notice that the rope gallery is empty? Chances are they won’t, my kiddos never have. But maybe yours do. Without making a big fuss, tell them (don’t show them) that the rope gallery was overflowing so you placed the beautiful masterpieces into the art tray (remember we don’t want to call it the goodbye tray, they may catch on). Let them know that you would love some new artwork to hang up though.

Chances are your child will not go out and look in the goodbye tray. Instead they will probably get to work making new pieces. And don’t worry, if you made your rope gallery large enough then their sudden burst of creativity will be used up well before it fills up. Also, since the goodbye tray still has some pieces in it they won’t notice that the pile size has significantly decreased. At least my kiddos never have.

Why this kids’ art storage system works. 

Why I love this system for homeschooling.

As a child completes each artwork piece, individually it looks like they have demonstrated a new skill. Such as, their first attempt to draw a face with creepy hollow eyes, protruding teeth, or hair that stands up straight. Individually we think each one deserves a place in the portfolio binder. But that quickly adds up.

When we allow artwork to accumulate on the rope gallery we can then assess several pieces completed over the course of a month and choose just one or maybe two that are actually worthy to be kept. 

Why this kids’ art storage solution works even if you don’t homeschool.

All the arts and crafts that come home from extra-curriculars and church would quickly take over our home if I didn’t use this kids’ art storage solution. And yes planned time to haul it all out to Mt. Crumpit to dumpit! I’m sure you have the same problem with artwork or even worksheets that come home from school. There is simply no reason that all these extra arts and crafts and papers should be draining. Instead whip your kids’ art storage into shape with this system.

Implement this kids’ art storage system today and say goodbye to stress.

Overall, you don’t have to worry about little Cindy Lou Who finding her artwork in the trash can and you have designated spaces for the artwork to accumulate. I used to struggle with the mountains of arts and crafts piling up in on random counters in our home or being strewn about the floor. And that was from just one kiddo. When my second came along and now I had two kiddos handing me 8 masterpieces in the span of 30 minutes I knew I needed to figure this kids’ art storage thing out. My kiddos will even put their artwork straight into the tray now, none the wiser what it’s actual destination is if placed there.

I realize that my Grinch analogy falls short when we come to the end of the story. Since he has a change of heart. But don’t let yourself have a change of heart. Instead think about the decluttered space and organized space you’ll have. Remember you’ve implemented a kids’ art storage hierarchy system that will fit your space. Don’t let that all be for naught. Take a little inspiration from north of who-ville. And with an empty bag in your fist throw the artwork out strategically into the garbage bin. Overall, by implementing this kids’ art storage solution you’ll be allowing more creativity to flow for your child and yourself.