How do you store your young kids' craft supplies?

[SKL]

Miss E loves to do little crafts.  She pulls out the materials (whether pre-boxed or from her generic stash), spreads them around, does her thing, and then moves on to the next thing.  Needless to say, it doesn't take long for her to trash a room.  I can ask her to clean it up, but being a six-year-old who is not wired for organization, her method of putting stuff away isn't very efficient.  I am trying to think of a way to get her organized so she can turn her crafting on and off in a reasonably neat and sustainable fashion.  Does anyone have any ideas?

 

I am not a neatness nazi.  The girls have a play area and I am not opposed to having it usually look like it's been played in.  What bugs me is that these crafts leave hundreds of little pieces of (often re-useable) materials in piles here and there.  Before long there are piles on top of piles.  At that point it is difficult to get things back in order quickly when I need to.

[Petrichor]

I like ikea trofast bins for storage. I have my bins labeled with contents (laminated business card stock with velcro circles on the backs of cards and on bins) for toys and craft materials. I use the biggest size bins for things like egg cartons and scraps. Since I don't like all of my DS's toys and craft materials to be available to him at the same time, I keep some of the boxes in storage, and if he really feels like he needs x(toy that has been put in storage) he is allowed to trade in a bin for the other bin he wants. It helps keep things out to a minimum which in turn keeps down the amount of mess able to be created. And a major plus is that he knows exactly where each thing belongs.

 

ETA: I even take things out of boxes that they came in and put them in their own little storage box. This makes things uniform, and makes cleanup so much easier than having to fiddle with different types of containers and boxes. If she has a small amount of something small, like beads that wont even come close to filling up the smallest bin, maybe get some tupperware containers to separate those into?

[Spryte]

I like ikea trofast bins for storage. I have my bins labeled with contents (laminated business card stock with velcro circles on the backs of cards and on bins) for toys and craft materials. I use the biggest size bins for things like egg cartons and scraps. Since I don't like all of my DS's toys and craft materials to be available to him at the same time, I keep some of the boxes in storage, and if he really feels like he needs x(toy that has been put in storage) he is allowed to trade in a bin for the other bin he wants. It helps keep things out to a minimum which in turn keeps down the amount of mess able to be created. And a major plus is that he knows exactly where each thing belongs.

 

ETA: I even take things out of boxes that they came in and put them in their own little storage box. This makes things uniform, and makes cleanup so much easier than having to fiddle with different types of containers and boxes. If she has a small amount of something small, like beads that wont even come close to filling up the smallest bin, maybe get some tupperware containers to separate those into?

 

We do the same here.  

 

We also keep a trofast bin for unfinished work.  The small size is good for paper sized projects, the big deep size for 3D projects.  I like being able to sweep the unfinished projects into a hiding place when needed.

[Khselee]

I loved the Trofast system, but it didn't work exactly as I wanted it to. Instead I have a rack with bins, and I store everything in there, with labels on the front. A rack like this: http://www.diapers.com/p/honey-can-do-12-bin-kids-toy-storage-organizer-natural-91676?site=CA&utm_source=Google&utm_medium=cpc_D&utm_term=HCD-002&utm_campaign=GooglePLA&CAWELAID=1338696633&utm_content=pla&ca_sku=HCD-002&ca_gpa=pla&ca_kw={keyword}

[Jackie]

I use a shelving unit from Target, some Snapware containers (they stack well and their lids are easy for DD to work, stackable paper trays, and a couple random other things. You can see a picture of the chaos here: http://everchangingchild.blogspot.com/2013/10/homeschool-room-aka-playroom.html

 

I try not to over-organize her crafting stuff, because I know she won't keep it organized and it's not a battle I want to fight.

 

In our last house, which had more wall space, I used a hanging shoe organizer with clear pockets and hung it on the wall. Then I put the supplies in the pockets, with the "adult supervision" things in the top pockets. It worked awesome and I wish I still had the space for it!

[6wildhorses]

We keep paper in plastic file boxes and markers, scissors, etc. in drawers. Craft supplies are kept in a kitchen cupboard, a dresser, and a hutch (similar to this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001KW0BPQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?qid=1382059387&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70). Seasonal crafts are boxed up by season and only come out when they're in season. I'm like you. I don't mind the mess that comes with creative children, but there is a limit to the madness. :) I especially like having the dresser for loose items, such as popsicle sticks, scraps of paper, oversized paper, beads, pipe cleaners, pom-poms, etc.