I Finally Gained Control Over My Kids' School and Artwork Overflow — Here's How

Published on 6/20/2019 at 11:35 AM

POPSUGAR Photography | Levi Mandel

When you have kids, paper is everywhere. I mean, literally everywhere. From homework to artwork, the inevitably-messy piles are enough to drive a neat freak like me completely insane. And I have four children, so the daily influx of permission slips, reminders, homework, and mini-masterpieces was recently on the verge of overtaking the house. It was basically Marie Kondo's worst nightmare. So, I decided I had to gain control over the paper explosion.

To that end, I employed a three-part strategy, consisting of storage, organization, and artwork display solutions anyone can pull off, maybe without ever leaving the house or spending any money. The result of my efforts is that I'm feeling less overwhelmed, can easily locate a permission slip, and can fully enjoy the adorable creations my little ones are so darn proud of.

Here's how I did it:

I created a space where they could save their favorite things.

I took big clear plastic tubs that fit under my kids' beds, and told them they could store anythings they want in there (within reason!). Tests that have spent their day in the spotlight (aka on the refrigerator), but are too important to toss, are now stored in tubs I was formerly using for the storage of clothes the kids had outgrown. A trip to Goodwill later, the kids can fill the bins with assignments, reports, notes from friends, treasured coloring book pages, or whatever it is that I don't want to display, but is special enough that they don't want to part with it. The bins slide out from under each of their beds, so the kids can access the contents any time, but it's all out of sight, so their mom doesn't lose her mind!

I displayed their artwork on our playroom walls with double-sided tape.

The piles formerly known as "where you could find my kids' artwork" are now displayed on the walls of the room they spend all their time playing in. What they love most about their new art gallery is that when their friends come over, they get to share their projects. I love how the tape doesn't take paint off the walls, but more than that, how displaying their artwork has made the space more personal and special.

I utilized a cubby system to organize the school paper onslaught.

Each of my four kids get a cubby, and that's where they store papers we need to keep on hand, like permission slips, school assignments in progress, and anything I need to sign, or they have to turn in. I used to try to keep all that stuff on the refrigerator, but it just got lost among the clutter. Ditto with the designated pile of papers to go through, I just ended up moving from one spot to another on the kitchen counter. Now, cubbies keep papers organized by child, so we know exactly where to look for any given reminder, study guide, notice, or form.