Every afternoon, my children come home from school with backpacks full of artwork and papers. I love to see their schoolwork, I really do. But to keep every single drawing, painting, and project is impossible. I would need a storage space the size of the Vatican to hold it all. I want my children to know I appreciate all the artwork they bring home but what does a mama do with all of those papers? Here are three simple techniques I use for sorting and storing my children’s artwork.
Step 1. Sort
As soon as my kids get home from school, I empty their backpacks and sort all their papers into three piles.
- To Keep – This pile is for important or meaningful papers, like report cards or special projects and assignments.
- To Display – This pile is for papers that you or your child have great pride in and want to be shown off. Think high scoring tests, a beautiful detailed drawing, or a well written paper.
- To Toss – This last pile is for all the other papers and schoolwork your child has completed but has ZERO significance to them or you.
Step 2. Display
I categorize how I display my children’s artwork into two groups; temporary and permanent.
Temporary – This category includes, but is not limited to, miscellaneous awards, papers with good grades, and fun sketches or pictures. I pin all of these to a large bulletin board in our playroom. If a new paper is to be pinned up, another one must be removed and put in the aforementioned “to keep” or “to toss” pile.
Permanent – To me, a permanent piece of artwork is a special piece that truly captures my child at that moment. Maybe it is a poem about a recent sports game, or sketch they did of themselves on summer vacation, or the first time they wrote their name on a piece of paper. I put this artwork in 8 x 10 picture frames that are also displayed in the playroom.
Step 3. Storage
Sturdy hanging file folder bins are great for children’s artwork storage. They are portable and come in a variety of different styles and sizes. This is where I put all the memorable artwork that I want to keep for long term. Each file is assigned a grade level so it is easy to organize and find items again if needed,
These three simple tips have worked wonders in sorting and storing my children’s artwork. I also use this system to help me with my own personal papers and documents. It has helped me to be a role model to my children teaching organization, prioritizing, and that it is alright to throw things away.
