Is ART another name for “creative chaos” in your home? It’s a tricky one, and for some of us it’s no doubt a love-hate relationship. We love the creativity in our kids but hate the clean up.
If that’s you, I get it: I really do.
I’m going to be straight-up with you and say that we’ve had seasons in our home of avoiding art. The messy kind, especially. So if that’s you: please know that it’s ok, and your kids will be fine! You don’t have to do everything, all of the time. And I can testify to the fact that, in spite of some challenging seasons in my life (such as years of debilitating chronic pain), my kids have turned out pretty arty, so trust me when I say that they’ll always find a way!
The big question though, is HOW do you store those supplies, encourage that creativity, extend your kids and STILL feel sane at the end of it?
Here’s a couple of tried & true tricks from my home to yours:
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TIP #1 HANDY STORAGE : LESS IS MORE
Whether you love art or avoid it, storing the supplies for it is half the battle, I reckon! We literally can’t fit all of ours in one place. So I’ve had to get creative. Which basically means that you’ll find art stuff in all sorts of nooks and crannies of our home.
No matter where it’s all stored though, one thing that has worked really well for us, is having a trolley or small shelf that holds what we currently use the most (or plan to use for a given term). It’s tucked in a corner beside our kitchen table. Believe me when I say it’s a super tight for space there though: I recommend sucking your breath in before you sit in the dining chair nearest it! But where there’s a will, there’s a way.
At the moment you’ll see various pencils and markers at the top (colouring and hand lettering are current favourite activities for us). There are a bunch of watercolour sets in the middle, and a range of paper types, along with a tablecloth, in the bottom layer. Along with some scattered stationery that we always seem to need, like scissors, tape, pencils and so on.
These are all in easy-to-grab jars and baskets that encourage us to pop them on the table beside us as we work. Super easy, and by making sure there isn’t too much there at the same time (less IS more, after all), it’s even easier to tell where to put it back away again. Definitely a win: I’m sure you’ll agree!
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TIP #2 LABELS ARE YOUR FRIENDS
Because we have art supplies in various parts of our house, I’ve had to label them really clearly so that I can train my kids to know how to find them, and how to return them to their homes. The goal being that the clean up will continue to get easier as a result – and I’m glad to say, it’s working! (Although there are still days when they can’t see what’s straight in front of them, but we all have days like that at times, right?!)
For us, a broom cupboard in the hallway contains drawers full of craft supplies. And yes, our vacuum cleaner got displaced to make them fit! Our (very little) laundry room has a dedicated tall, skinny shelf for paints/clay/brushes and more, all in labeled boxes (that was my job last lockdown). There’s not much room at all in there, but it’s adjacent to the kitchen with a tiled floor, so squeezing it in was the only was to save us from getting paint drips over our carpet. You can see in the photo that the displaced vacuum cleaner has found a home beside it. And… there are still more supplies in our garage.
What can I say: I love art!
The goal of labels? For our kids to be able to use and enjoy art supplies, and be able to put them away where they belong.
They mean that my kids are welcome to locate and use any art supplies that they like, provided they return them when they’re done (or following the completion of a project, if it’s a longer one).
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Do you already do this? Is there something else that works really well for you? Please let us know in the comments! Everyone’s home is unique to them, and YOU just might have the perfect idea that will solve another family’s frustration.
‘Til next time. And in the meantime, keep being awesome!
Kristy x
