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Artwork
Storage Solutions
by Debbie Williams
School starts this month for most of our
children, but the kids bring home more than just brighter minds and
recent knowledge – they also fill up your homes with more paper! Short
of allowing your home to be wallpapered with the artwork of your young
Picasso, what’s an organized parent to do?
Don’t start looking for a bigger house
just yet - I have a couple of quick solutions to solve your display
dilemmas. Both take up very little space and if done routinely, take up
little time as well.
Portfolio
Create a simple art portfolio using two
pieces of poster board taped together on three sides. Leave the third side,
or top, open for dropping in artwork as it is received. You can use this
same principle for other schoolwork as well.
Each day, or week, when your daughter or
son brings home her treasured work, write the date on the back in pencil (or
use a date stamp to save time). Drop it into the portfolio for safekeeping.
Or, date it, then replace the "display of the week" with the new
one, and file the old one away.
At the end of the semester or quarter, it
will be time to purge your portfolio. Begin by sorting by type of art:
paintings, drawings, collage, mosaic, seasonal, writing samples, tests,
awards, etc. Then choose a sampling from each category, perhaps several
scattered throughout the school year.
File the keepsakes, and get rid of the
rest. If you can't bear to throw them away, recycle them by giving them to
relatives. Mail in a cardboard tube, or shipped flat between two pieces of
cardboard. Or scan the artwork, email it to relatives, and throw away the
original. You can turn that scanned graphic into note cards, stationary, or
greeting cards.
If your child can't bear the thought of you
tossing any of her artistic samples away, delegate this task to her. Move
the storage into her room with her things, and let her be in charge of
sorting, dating, stashing, and even purging. Amazing how they will decide
they can actually bear to part with things when their closet is filling up
faster than they can find storage containers!
Storage Chest
Purchase a stackable cardboard storage
chest from your favorite organizing company, such as Lillian Vernon or The
Container Store. These sturdy units have removable drawers to fill with
archived treasures, then stack vertically to conserve space.
Use them as your sole art storage system,
or for "keepers" only with the portfolio system I described above.
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
If storage is really a concern, take
photographs of your daughter's artwork and discard the original. Either take
individual pictures, or line them up for a group shot. A disposable camera
kept on hand is a perfect solution for this task, or you can use a Polaroid
camera and take them individually.
Dedicate a special photo album or box for
these treasures to be shared and enjoyed.
In Summary
Encourage your child’s creativity, and
eliminate the dread you once felt as you saw them dragging an oversized
self-portrait out of their backpack. Create a home in which these
masterpieces can safely and securely reside for years to come. Share them
with friends and family, preserve them, and relish the creativity of your
blooming Rembrandt. And save the wallpapering job for another day.
---Debbie Williams is an organizing strategist and parent educator who offers tools
and training to help you put your house in order. She is the author of Put Your House In
Order. Learn more at http://www.organizedtimes.com
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