Updated - How do you organize art supplies?

[elbenn]

Update:

I made a trip to Ikea to get organized and bought a couple of Alex cabinets. Love them. I also bought the Raskog kitchen cart in turquoise and put art supplies in clear plastic containers and jars and put those on the cart. I like the cart because it is easily moveable to wherever you are doing an art project.

Link to Raskog kitchen cart: http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30216536/


How do you organize your children's art and craft supplies? I currently have art supplies in cabinets but it is a pain to get them out. I was thinking about getting a small bookcase and some Container Store sweater boxes to organize the art supplies. Please share any good ideas you have for how you organize your arts and crafts supplies!

[sarahsthreads]

(Since I'm pretty sure "shove them all into a bookcase that overflows everywhere and spills onto the floor if you look at it cross-eyed" is not a good organizational scheme.)

Seriously, though, we do have two giant bookcases in our dining room (which is not used as a dining room) for games, puzzles & art supplies, and I would love to get a better handle on ours as well. Right now crayons, stickers & markers are in clip-top bins, but the overwhelming number of papers and coloring books, random things like google eyes and glue sticks and whatnot are just completely disorganized.

Sarah

[jam224]

I'm starting to research a solution for our art supplies too. My very favorite idea uses the Alex drawers from IKEA:
http://theorderobsessed.blogspot.com...iece-alex.html
But that's super pricey at $119. Wop wop.

Here's a blog post of a mom that did shoe boxes on shelves, like you're interested in doing:
http://reallifemotherhoodof4.blogspo...-supplies.html

If you have a nearby door that you can hang a shoe organizer on, I really like something like this:
http://sunlitspaces.com/wp-content/u...1/DSC_0102.jpg

My goal, though, is to try to do something like an art supply "cart," because I have a tiny space in the kitchen/dining room area which perfectly fits this amazing laundry cart from the Container Store:
http://www.containerstore.com/shop?productId=10027609&N
I'm still working on how best to organize it, so we'll see if my idea is a success or a flop!

[hillview]

we got this based on a bbb recommendation. It holds a lot and keeps paper flat. http://www.containerstore.com/shop/c...b-97c3b8d21e99

I also have a drawer in the kitchen for markers, crayons, scissors, tape and colored pencils and some coloring books (easy access as we use that stuff a lot).

[bostonsmama]

I got a bunch of Container Store's shoe boxes (clear w/ lids) and put DD's various markers, crayons, chalks, etc in those. We have separate boxes for tape & glue, scissors, and we're working on getting file boxes for coloring and her Kumon work books to go spine-up. DH is designing a homeschool, Montessori-style work/playroom in our unused formal living room to bring all the elements together, since some are above her desk in her room, some are in the office, and some are in the kitchen. I want something with doors that I can eventually close, b/c my mind likes clean lines to a room, and when I see bins and containers of toys/supplies, it makes me feel stressed. I was thinking of shopping Craigslist for an old armoire to stack these useful CS bins we've been using.

[elbenn]

Some great ideas! I like the paper cart Hillview linked to and also the Ikea Alex piece. In doing some searches on organizing art, I found this pic that uses clear plastic jars from Oriental Trading (they are about $7 for a dozen).

http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/55...6f7f6f37a0.jpg

Also, for organizing small items, I bought some of these accessory boxes from The Container Store. I haven't used them yet, though, because I haven't organized my art supplies yet, but they seem like a useful size for beads, paper clips, etc.

http://www.containerstore.com/shop/s...g&sku=10008758

[larig]

I'm starting to research a solution for our art supplies too. My very favorite idea uses the Alex drawers from IKEA:
http://theorderobsessed.blogspot.com...iece-alex.html
But that's super pricey at $119. Wop wop.

Here's a blog post of a mom that did shoe boxes on shelves, like you're interested in doing:
http://reallifemotherhoodof4.blogspo...-supplies.html

If you have a nearby door that you can hang a shoe organizer on, I really like something like this:
http://sunlitspaces.com/wp-content/u...1/DSC_0102.jpg

My goal, though, is to try to do something like an art supply "cart," because I have a tiny space in the kitchen/dining room area which perfectly fits this amazing laundry cart from the Container Store:
http://www.containerstore.com/shop?productId=10027609&N
I'm still working on how best to organize it, so we'll see if my idea is a success or a flop!

I may have to have those alex drawers.

[Ceepa]

This thread is so timely. I pulled out all of the art supplies but now they're in a pile on the floor with no next step for storage.

[lhafer]

I have a large rolling art bin I got from The Container Store on a sale. You can make it as big or small as you want, but the larger size fit a space we had for it nicely. It has since moved to the front room (aka formal-dining-room-turned-arts/crafts-room). You can see pictures of it in post #15. Love it. Love that it's on wheels and I can roll it around my house if need be (sometimes we do arts and crafts at the kitchen table if the girl scout troop is over). Love that it's big enough to fit construction paper. The girls know where everything is, and it's super handy.

The Container Store also has several other types of carts that would work well for art bins, depending on your space.

http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/sho...d.php?t=454728

[mom2khj]

Coloring books/papers are in a box like this, from WalMart:



I have one of these, from Target. Top has crayons, middle has markers and bottom has pencils, scissors, erasers and glue sticks: