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Need advice re: craft/art supply organization (kinda long)

418 views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  mangopassion 
#1 ·


Hi all! A little over a year ago we moved to a house where we could no longer have a designated classroom. Since we moved here I've been trying to figure out a good way to organize/arrange all of our school "stuff". We have tried several different arrangements and I think I like our current situation the most. I just have one problem: we have a lot of art supplies.

Currently, most of our supplies, except for our living books, are in my craft room. Our dining room is our "class room". We don't always do our work in there, but this is where our calendar is hung, where our white board is hung, and where the kiddos do the majority of their projects.

We have three shelves hung up on the wall that I'd like to use for some school stuff. If I need to, I also have a small end table type thing with three shelves and also a small low end table type table. On this wall is also the kids computer desk. (Currently we have our bill paying stuff there, too, but I'm thinking about moving it.)

I thought it would be just so lovely to have the kids' art pencils, paints, glue, scissors, buttons, googly eyes, etc. displayed on the shelves that are hung on the wall. I already have them in cute buckets, handmade pottery, baskets, glass jars, etc. But as I was setting all these up, I realized that they would need all the papers to go with these supplies. And the shelves are too narrow for me to put the paper supplies on. So I could either move all the other supplies into the craft room so it could be all together in one place. Or I could move more storage devices into the dining room for the paper and the art supplies could be stored out here.

I was thinking that if I decide to move the art supplies into the craft room, then maybe I can come up with a cute way to display our math manipulatives in the dining room.

I'm afraid that if I move more furniture to house paper supplies out here it will be too cluttered. But I'm also afraid that if I move all the art supplies into the craft room, then it will become an out-of-sight-out-of-mind situation. And I'm also worried that I shouldn't just put half their art supplies out here (pencils, paints, etc.) and the other half (papers) in the craft room as it won't be conducive that way.

I'm stuck... any advice?

(Sorry this is so long!)


P.S. I can take pictures of the area if it would help.
 
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#2 ·
If it were me I'd leave the scissors/paints etc where they are and just bring in the paper as we needed it.

It's no big deal to grab a stack of paper, but it IS a big deal to tote around all the other stuff. It sounds like you have a creative and practical way to display everything other than the paper.

Is there a cupboard or closet nearby where you can stack paper? I have a classroom, but DD like to do projects on the dining room table still so I have stacks of all kinds of paper on one shelf in my pantry so I can grab it when she needs it. Then the scissors/glue/ etc are hidden in baskets in the dining room.
 
#3 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by mangopassion View Post


Hi all! A little over a year ago we moved to a house where we could no longer have a designated classroom. Since we moved here I've been trying to figure out a good way to organize/arrange all of our school "stuff". We have tried several different arrangements and I think I like our current situation the most. I just have one problem: we have a lot of art supplies.

Currently, most of our supplies, except for our living books, are in my craft room. Our dining room is our "class room". We don't always do our work in there, but this is where our calendar is hung, where our white board is hung, and where the kiddos do the majority of their projects.

We have three shelves hung up on the wall that I'd like to use for some school stuff. If I need to, I also have a small end table type thing with three shelves and also a small low end table type table. On this wall is also the kids computer desk. (Currently we have our bill paying stuff there, too, but I'm thinking about moving it.)

I thought it would be just so lovely to have the kids' art pencils, paints, glue, scissors, buttons, googly eyes, etc. displayed on the shelves that are hung on the wall. I already have them in cute buckets, handmade pottery, baskets, glass jars, etc. But as I was setting all these up, I realized that they would need all the papers to go with these supplies. And the shelves are too narrow for me to put the paper supplies on. So I could either move all the other supplies into the craft room so it could be all together in one place. Or I could move more storage devices into the dining room for the paper and the art supplies could be stored out here.

I was thinking that if I decide to move the art supplies into the craft room, then maybe I can come up with a cute way to display our math manipulatives in the dining room.

I'm afraid that if I move more furniture to house paper supplies out here it will be too cluttered. But I'm also afraid that if I move all the art supplies into the craft room, then it will become an out-of-sight-out-of-mind situation. And I'm also worried that I shouldn't just put half their art supplies out here (pencils, paints, etc.) and the other half (papers) in the craft room as it won't be conducive that way.

I'm stuck... any advice?

(Sorry this is so long!)


P.S. I can take pictures of the area if it would help.

one idea:

target / walmart / office store sell hanging "files" -- plastic boxes that you can put file folders in alone or in seats of 3. could you hang something like THAT by the shelves of art supplies if the shelves are too narrow for teh paper and then put paper THERE? Maybe one of construction paper, one of plain white paper and whatever ??

I agree it is too much of a PITB to put them in the otehr room and have to reloacte stuff (stuff like that tends not to get put away correctly here).

I will search out a link and post it if you dpn't know what i mean
 
#4 ·
Thanks so much for the ideas!

Momma Aimee, I do know what you mean about those plastic file boxes.
Unfortunately, most of our paper isn't just stacks of paper. I have 12 x 18 sheets of construction paper, tissue paper, several sizes of drawing pads (including 24 x 36), paper scraps from my leftover scrapbooking paper, etc. Not really the types of things I could put in hanging file folders. However, that is an excellent idea for all of our different colored computer paper.
I've thought of that before, actually. But right now they are stacked in paper trays similar to these, and they're OK there. I was mostly just stuck on all of the other paper products we have. Thanks so much!

Karemore, I don't have a cabinet or closet that is close to the dining room that I would be able to use. However, my craft room, where everything currently is, is not that far away from the dining room. So maybe I'll just leave the paper stuff in there and keep all of the other supplies out and displayed for inspiration. I just hope that it's still conducive to creativity even though the supplies are split into two different rooms.


Thanks again!
 
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