Day Four: 40 Bags in 40 Days Decluttering Challenge

It is day four of the 40 Bags in 40 Days Decluttering Challenge.  Are you keeping on track?  Is it surprising how much longer some areas take than others?

I am excited to share one of our participant’s accomplishments.  On the first day she sent me photos of her kids craft supply cupboard.  It was two shelves but what an impact cleaning out the area had.  Everything is so much more accessible.

I too have a cabinet in my kitchen dedicated to coloring supplies and paper my two young kids can access quickly for some entertainment.  It can quickly become a nightmare if not maintained regularly.  Here are some quick tips for getting kids art areas organized:

1.Use small containers, like pencil boxes, to separate out markers and crayons.

2. Use a magazine holder on a shelf to organize scrap paper, card stock or construction paper.  Because it forces vertical filing it will be easier to grab different papers without having them in piles.

3.Using a similar concept to that above, I like to make sure all of my coloring books, sticker packs etc, are placed on the shelf vertically, instead of stacked, because it is easier to grab the one you want with out disrupting a whole pile.

4. Frequently cull pictures and artwork that has been created.  Our organizers are big fans of an app called Artkive (https://www.artkiveapp.com/#home), which you can take photos of your child’s artwork and easily catalog and create picture books.  You can also take pictures on your own and upload the artwork once a year to a photo program of your choice to create a quick memory book.  It makes it easier to not hold on to every piece.

5.  Use containers to put like items like Playdoh and Playdoh accessories or Perler Beads and components in kit.  When your kids want to do that activity you can grab the bin and everything will be in one place.  When it is clean-up time it is much easier for them to dump it all back in one container and put it back on a shelf.

Kids craft’s take maintenance.  I try to revisit the craft storage monthly because their fast little hands are constantly shifting.  However, the more structured you have the area where the crafts are kept, the easier it will be for all of you to put everything away.

Happy Organizing,

Kristin

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