By Vicki Little
In a world that’s becoming more and more digital every day, our kids sure do bring home a lot of artwork and papers from school! As important as their creations may seem, there’s simply no room to keep all of it. After my oldest child finished Kindergarten, I quickly learned that saving every scrap of paper is just not feasible. I will never have enough storage to hold all of it until he gets married and has kids of his own (you know, at age 50!). I found a system that works well for both me and my kids, who don’t like to see their papers in the trash either.
When they first get home, I separate papers into art, important, and file. Art is anything I want to hang (and if I don’t really want to hang it, I put it in the file pile). Important is anything that needs to be returned to school or has key information. This usually goes on the fridge or in my organizer. Finally, the file pile gets put into storage bins that I have in the hall closet. Then once a month, I gather up the paperwork, take a picture of all of it for a photo book I will make at the end of the year. I save the special pieces, and I recycle the rest. Every time I take a piece of art off display, it goes right into the bin as well (be sure to write the date on it).
Suggestions for displaying your child’s artwork:
- Hang a long piece of yarn horizontally on a wall. Use clothespins to hang the artwork. You also can use wire and binder clips to do this.
- Display art instead of photographs in “room divider” photo frames
- Paint a piece of wood with magnetic paint and hang in a playroom or bedroom.
- Use picture frames to display artwork down the hallway.
- Check out these 21 suggestions on how to display your child’s artwork!
Vicki Little is a work-at-home mom with two young kids. A Colorado native, she is the Publisher and Editor of Macaroni Kid Aurora and Downtown Denver. When she isn’t writing or trying to keep up with her kids she can be found volunteering, reading, or enjoying a bottle of wine with friends.
Want more from The Mother List? Sign up here!
~