If you are a parent, you know the daily “after-school avalanche.” It starts with a single finger painting and quickly turns into a mountain of glitter, construction paper, and macaroni masterpieces piled up all over the house. You want to cherish the memories, and your kids certainly hate it when they spot their hard work in the recycling bin!
The struggle is real: how do you honor their creativity without living in a paper warehouse? To solve this, we developed an innovative “Holding Tank System” and partnered with ArtKive to help you seamlessly process, store, and eventually digitize your children’s portfolio.
Here is our foolproof, 9-step guide for storing kids’ artwork and keeping your counters clear.
What To Do With Kids’ Art: The Step-by-Step System
- Get plastic stackable drawers to hold the artwork. We recommend these from The Container Store. These act as your “Holding Tank.”
- Label them with each child’s name. We love these labels! Clear labeling ensures every masterpiece has a specific destination from day one.
- When art comes home, “OOH and AAH.” Post it on the fridge or a designated “gallery wall” for a short time. Show your kids how much you love their art and them!
- Rotate your display. As new masterpieces arrive, rotate the older pieces out of the “spotlight” and move them directly into the appropriate plastic drawer.
- Maintain the order. Continue to add pieces on top so the art stays in reverse-chronological order. This makes it easy to see their artistic growth over the school year too.
- Order a box from Artkive. We love partnering with Arkive for preserving kid’s artwork. They provide the box and the shipping; you just provide the talent.
- The Summer Purge. While the kids are at camp or parked in front of the TV this summer, pull out the best pieces from your drawers. Put them in the Artkive box, affix the pre-paid shipping label, and ship. Your drawers are now empty and ready for next year!
- Digital Transformation. Artkive will professionally scan the art and create a beautiful, high-quality hard-bound keepsake book.
- Enjoy the memories. When you receive your books, enjoy them with your kids!
Why This System Works
The reason most organization attempts fail is that they require too much daily effort. By using the “Holding Tank” method, you aren’t making “keep or toss” decisions every single afternoon when you’re tired. You are simply deferring those decisions to a once-a-year event.
This system respects your child’s hard work, clears your visual clutter, and results in a library of books that fit perfectly on a coffee table or bookshelf. You save the memories, keep the house clean, and, most importantly, keep the peace with your little Picassos.
Want help setting the system up and preparing your Artkive? Our team partners with Artkive to make the process easy. Get in touch today to book your session!
