Ideas to help manage your children’s artwork.
Your children’s drawings can be a lovely gift to receive, but when managing them starts to overwhelm you, it’s time to take action.
I want to help you find a manageable solution, that fits in with your life and preserves what brings you joy.
In the ideas below, find the ones that sound like something you can realistically do and don’t fill you with dread.
Firstly, put the date or your child’s age on the back.
- Photograph their drawings so that you have the picture, without storing it physically.
- Buy a large frame e.g. A0/A1 and make a collage of your favourites. You could do a different frame for each child.
- Frame individual pieces that you enjoy and display them. Consider choosing a painting that co-ordinates with your room, such as a beach picture for your bathroom.
- Have a revolving display in their bedroom or your kitchen. A frame or a pin board, where the drawings can be rotated as you or your child desire.
- A Ring binder with clear plastic wallets and a tab with the school year/age on it.
- Scan or photograph it and make it into a photo book, physical or digital. If you want a photo book, you could consider thumbnails of the artwork on one page, with a photo at the age they created it on the other.
- A scrapbook. This has the benefit of being an easy, instant way to store the artwork. Simply glue it in.
- Thumbnails in a frame. Scan (or photograph) the artwork, compile it with several pieces to make a poster and frame! This is a lovely space saving way to display their artwork.
- Pass the artwork onto friends and family who would appreciate it. But let them know they can recycle it whenever they wish!
For large pieces, you could consider storing them in an artist’s portfolio folder.
One of the best things about your child’s artwork is that it is unique, priceless and you get to curate it for free.
Keep the special ones and let go of all the rest!
Here is what I personally do:
- I have a few pieces framed around our home that I love and go with the room.
- A few pieces a year go into a special box, which contains sentimental items.
- The rest of their creations are given a week to be displayed in the home and then they are recycled.
I hope this gives you some inspiration.
Let me know what you do with your child’s creations at kate@declutteringdr.com.
