If left untamed, art supplies (your children’s or your own) can take on a life of their own. Even if you have a designated cabinet or closet, they still seem to creep, crawl, scatter and sprawl all over the place. But, you can get organized and you can do it for FREE! Look no further than your own recycle bin to get started.
Clean up your art closet and find new tools using recyclables
Paint pots:
- single-serve yogurt cups
- jar lids
- soda bottle cap
- mini Play Doh containers
- egg cartons
Paint brush water pots:
- single-serve yogurt cups
- large Play Doh containers
- tin cans (be sure there are no sharp edges)
Paint brushes:
- store wet brushes with an altered yogurt tub
- store dry brushes in an old silverware tray
Markers, crayons, colored pencils:
- plastic fruit containers (clamshells)
- shoe boxes
Coloring books and magazines:
- turn a cereal box into a book and magazine holder
Paper:
- for a paper tray, cut out the front and one end piece of a cereal box
- to make a storage tray system, cut off only one end of several cereal boxes and stack them
Scraps:
- plastic fruit containers (clamshells)
- shoe boxes
Bits and bobs (beads, googley eyes, etc.):
- spice jars (please only use plastic spice jars for younger kids),
- baby food jars or baby food plastic containers (again, only plastic for the kiddos)
- old or unused tool box or tackle box
Finished artwork:
- line dry artwork with a hung piece of string and binder clips
- create a custom art clip rack
- store completed artwork on a clip board
- roll up finished art and store it in a cardboard tube (from paper towel or wrapping paper)
To protect surfaces:
- an old shower curtain or curtain liner
- a vinyl placemat
- newspapers or grocery store circulars
- an old t-shirt or men’s button down dress shirt works well as a smock
If you’re organizing for children, keep in mind not to over-organize. The fewer containers there are to put things away, the easier it is for them to clean up… and therefore, the more likely it is that they will clean up [hopefully].
Photo by kissyface.
Excellent post! We took an art class awhile back and the instructor gave us a list of the items we would need. It was long, expensive and not exactly earth friendly. Using items one finds around the house, both for organizing art supplies as well as for the art itself, is inexpensive and earth friendly.
Thank you for sharing your ideas with us!
BTW … I hope you’ll be celebrating Earth Hour 2009.
Small Footprints
http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com
Hi this blog is great I will be recommending it to friends.
I love the idea of using a silverware tray for paint brushes and the shower curtain for protection! so smart.
I keep most of my kids art supplies high in a closet and rotate them out to my kids table. I keep several of them in little canvas totes. I posted a pic recently: http://giverslog.com/?p=743
What type of look do you want to accomplish and how much money are you willing to invest in this project?
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