Should You Glue or Sew?

Keeping Your Kids’ Crafting Space Clean

After an afternoon of crafting with the kids, nobody wants to be the one cleaning up the glitter and the glue. Helping your children to organize their activity space can spare everyone a headache later on, making cleanup easier and more efficient. Whether it’s a homework assignment or an afterschool project, here are a couple of quick and affordable tips that you can use to help your kids keep their craft space presentable.

Toilet Paper Rolls

Cut in half and turned upright, a toilet paper roll can make just as good a pencil holder as anything you buy in the office goods section of your local store. You can turn any drawer into a multi-compartmental art case by reusing toilet paper rolls as a brush holder, a pencil case, or a storage bin. Better yet, your kids can decorate each roll however they like using paint and markers.

Colored Buckets

If you want to go for something a little hardier than toilet paper rolls, you can find cheap plastic buckets at your local dollar store or gardening supply center. They come in all sorts of colors and make a great storage container that will last for years. If you don’t have a drawer handy to store art supplies, you can drill holes into the base of your plastic bucket to hang as an attractive wall holster, or choose to use hooks.

Shoe Organizers

It’s easy to use shoe organizers for much more than storing footwear. You can hang one in the closet or on the back of your craft room door for access to convenient compartments that are large enough to hold pencils, rulers, and even notepads. Hanging shoe organizers also give you storage spaces that your kids can’t easily reach, allowing you to store art supplies that require supervision safely.

Recycled Containers

Whether you’re getting organized with mason jars, plastic cups, or old Tupperware, you can recycle just about anything into a storage space. Recycled containers can help you to keep everything sorted in your home office without spending a dime. If you have kids who are learning to read, you can also add labels to clear plastic or glass containers to help them connect the object to the word.

Photo Cubbies

Another great way to encourage reading skills is by separating art supplies into cubbies labeled with photographs. Not only does this help to teach young kids organizational skills, but it can also streamline the language learning process. Pictures and sticky labels make it easier for toddlers and children to pick up and use words as you cultivate their sense of creativity.