Parents only! I have 3 lil girls 4,5,6 year olds.since they where tots,we've made arts and crafts together.

Question

They always draw something beautiful for me,or the oldest writes something sweet.I can't seem to throw any of it away.i have it in a big plastic box,yes i go through it,and keep the best ones.but i still have many more then 300.help?what should i do.and by the way i'm not a dirty person that keeps everything.i a neat freak to be honest.i just can't seen to throw their art away.please help!

Answer 1

I was/am the same way. My kids made me beautiful pictures and some had sweet endearments written on them.
And now I am raising a grand daughter who is now six and I have had custody since she was born.

What I did was.......I went out and bought 3 footlockers, one for each child's accomplishments. In the foot lockers are "their firsts) such as clothes they came home from the hospital in, first brush/comb, first rattle, first pictures, everything is in these foot lockers. Including copies of birth certificates, social security cards, and shot records.

And this keeps them safe as well as having plenty of room for all of their accomplishments through life.
And everyone in the family has been told in case of a fire to grab the foot lockers first....lol

Answer 2

Here is a suggestion, scan them into your computer and put them in disks. Save only very very special ones of the originals and use the rest for wall decorations in your kids rooms, make sure you don't frame them....why? if you do they will never get ruined, you want them to rip with time, and then you won't feel so bad throwing them away. This way you get to show them off for a while and your kids see that you appreciate the hard work. Now a tip to make the wall decorations look good, pick a wall space, make a cute tittle, for example "Samantha's drawings" or "Jay's Art" and under that place all the drawings. Remember you will have these on disks. Good luck.

Answer 3

Well I have the same problem. I have 2 kids 7,5. Let me share what I am planning. Some of the drawings I am going to frame it and hang on the walls and my office. Some small soft toys kind of craft Items I am gonna convert into keyrings and attach keys to them or hang them form my kiddo's bags. And some I'll glue magnets on the back and stick it to my refrigerators. So the Idea here is now is the Time for you to be creative enough and see what you can do with them.

But some will surely be thrown out ( but with heavy heart). And I feel this may make them even do something more better then the previous one.

Hope this helps you, Njoy.

Answer 4

That's a really tough one and since they're so young, it'll eventually take over your house. You could try having them help pick out their favorites and make a scrapbook or a collage in one of those big poster frames. Then take pictures of the rest, with the child who made it and add that to the scrapbook. I would say definitely get them out of the box because they're taking up space and how often do you look at them anyway. Also you could frame some of them and use them around your house, they'll tell you when it's time to throw them out! How about sending some to grandparents or other relatives for special occasions? Hope this helped and good luck!

Answer 5

You need to get a digital camera and take photos of all the art work. Put the photos of each child's art on a CD marked with that child's name. This will preserve it forever. You can even put some of your favorites in the computer in a folder so it does a slide show of their assorted art work. This is much better than refrigerator art. There's only so much room on there! If you have a storage box that each child has for things they keep from childhood, let them choose their very favorite one each year to keep in the keepsake box. It is safe to "let the other work go" once you've preserved it on a disk. The kids should be fine with this. Kids today are children of the computer. They will understand that once you have put it in there, it will always be viewable at the click of a mouse. That's much more than OUR mother's could have done for us.

Answer 6

I know the feeling. I have four kids 19, 8, 4, and 3. And I keep everything they do. with their drawings, which can be several a day, I make a book with them at the end of the month.. Nothing Fancy because I don't have time.. But I take construction paper and make a front and back cover, write their names on the front, the month, and year, then with a hole puncher make the holes and I use yarn to hold it together. Their other things just get a decorative box and store them in there with your kids name on it.
The things us mom's just can't seem to throw away! lol
Next to my kids their projects and drawings and pictures are one of the most precious things to me!!

Answer 7

Go through it with the six-year-old. Look over the things she's done, and if she decides she's embarrassed about something, or doesn't think somethings worth keeping, then let her throw it. Next year, when the next one turns 6, it's her turn. Every two years, on every even numbered birthday, each kid can go through your birthday cleaning ritual with you. Six may be a bit early, but she's definitely old enough to have an opinion of her own, see what she says about her artwork.

Don't tell them anything about throwing any of it out, let them come up with the idea on their own. If they think something is just taking up space, then by all means, throw it out.

Of course, certain things will mean too much to you to throw. Set them aside beforehand.

Answer 8

lol I find that funny because I do the same, glad to jbiw U an bit alone... I always think when they are 18 and going out on their own I will show it to them... I always try to keep their firsts of everything... but as time goes on I go through my tote and get rid of some.. not all but just a few to collect more.. or I keep ones like a picture of a dog they drew over a splash of paint or I keep a page where she wrote something cute and mispelled it over something with just one or 2 letters on it etc.. I try to keep the most precious to me..the most dear ones you cannot make yourself throw away... another idea that might help is to take some pics of them and then toss them, that way you always have the memories perserved with a picture to show them when they were older... I always see myself needing to rent a space just for the things they make at school or for me... :op

Enjoy it!

Answer 9

Well I'm a child expert and i say you should not fell guilty for throwing art away,you should keep it in memory.Therefor I always tell parents to keep the art in you heart not in a box.So if you feel you need to throw things away do as you please,and after all the child has probably forgotten about the art,so throw it.

Sincerely,
ProfessorJeffress

Answer 10

Get a plastic file box from Wal Mart, or a big plastic tub and keep eeryone of the items. Always have them date the back. Keep all of them and don't worry about it. It makes a great gift when they get older and become parents too. Also can be used as decorations during graduations etc. Why throw them away........they are gifts of love.