Happy New Year!

The start of the new year is a time for resolutions. Exercise more, lose weight, eat healthier, get organized, save money, start a new hobby. The new year is a good time to start fresh and work toward a personal goal.

One of my goals this year is to be better organized. I’ve resolved to get organized many times and I do pretty well, until it comes to the kids’ artwork. I have such a hard time throwing away their prized masterpieces! Handprint/footprint art is the hardest. My momma’s heart just can’t stand to put those sweet prints in the trash.

With four young artists in my house, we have a ton of artwork. I display artwork everywhere—walls, refrigerator, bookshelves, top of dressers, mantel, bulletin board, in frames—literally everywhere. I’m constantly rotating out old pieces for new pieces, but what to do with the old pieces? Since I can’t stand to just chuck them in the trash, I’ve had to find creative ways to save the art, but lose the clutter.

If you’re like me and would like to declutter while preserving your child’s art, here are five space saving options for storing artwork.

• Use an art storage app such as Keepy or ArtKive. Art storage apps are great for preserving and sharing your child’s artwork while eliminating clutter.
• Take photos of the art and create a digital photo album. This is a fantastic way to take a huge pile of artwork and condense it into book that will fit neatly on your bookshelf. Make an extra copy and you have a nice gift for grandma!
• Purchase a bound art portfolio and fill it with your child’s best pieces. This is a good option for those special pieces that you just can’t bring yourself to throw away.
• Create a DIY art portfolio using posterboard and duct tape. Allow your little artist to decorate the posterboard. Then, fold the posterboard in half and tape the sides closed with duct tape creating a large folder. These slide neatly under the bed and hold a large amount of artwork.
• Designate a large container for art storage. Let’s face it. Photographing each piece of artwork and creating a digital photo album or downloading to an art storage app takes time. Most days there just isn’t enough time. An underbed storage container for each child, labeled with each child’s name and the year, can be a good interim storage option. Take time periodically to clean out the boxes, preserving special pieces in one of the above mentioned ways.