Family hack: how to store your kid’s drawings in a lovely, simple way
15.6.2023
Translation: Julia Graham
Are you also awash with drawings from your up-and-coming little artists? My advice? Bin them. But the nicest, more emotionally loaded works, on the other hand, deserve a special place.
They’re sweet, I’ll admit it. And there’s so much heart and soul in children’s drawings. Each work has the value of a Picasso – in the eyes of the maker, at least.
But the problem is one of quantity. Supply clearly exceeds demand.
As parents, we can’t keep up with our kids’ output to marvel at it, let alone store it in a meaningful way. You’ll have tonnes of drawings at home, with new ones joining them every day. And each year, just before the end of the school term, there’s a peak when the kids unload bags of paintings and handicrafts. Meanwhile, their teacher is rubbing their hands together, having reclaimed space in their classroom. You throw your own hands in the air because you have no idea where to put all these bits of paper.
Sound familiar? Hand on heart, there’s only really one solution: do away with your guilty conscience along with the drawings. The majority of them at least. We regularly have clear-outs at home to whittle it down to a few pieces so we don’t end up overwhelmed with masterpieces by the time they reach 16. But drawings that are particularly beautiful, elaborate and loved don’t belong in the bin. Save your darlings.
Pride of place for the greatest treasures
Darlings deserve special treatment. Here are two storage solutions we’ve found successful:
1. Small idea, big effect: poster strips
What you don’t throw away, stick to the wall. At least some of it, anyway. There are two advantages of turning art into posters. For one thing, it’s quick and easy to clamp drawings between two strips. And we can always replace them when we want to. It keeps the art wall at home fresh.
Source: Katja Fischer
These poster strips are magnetic. Put a nail in the wall, clamp the drawing between the strips and that’s it ready to hang:
2. Drawing folder instead of a banana box
Drawings are also mementos. At least, that’s the ideal scenario. Who knows if my kids and I will ever reminisce while looking through them. Just in case we want a trip down memory lane, we file them in a portfolio instead of letting them gather dust in a soulless banana box in the basement.
Source: Katja Fischer
What’s handy is you can label these folders with your child’s name and the year(s) they were made.
Bonus tip: get rid of the rest of the drawings secretly – and at the right time
Nevertheless, you probably won’t be able to chuck out their sketches as easily. The majority of the drawings end up in our paper recycling bin. But secretly. Because our two artists are understandably attached to every single piece. It doesn’t matter if they spent three minutes or three days on it. The good thing is they hardly ever notice one is missing, given there are so many.
Assuming you don’t make the same rookie mistake we did and choose the wrong moment to dispose of them. No amount of secrecy will help if your child discovers their beloved drawings in the waste paper pile the next day. Only put them in the recycling just before the bins are collected. And don’t put them on top of the pile. To shield them from view, shove them in the middle. That way you won’t break any little artists’ heart.
Header image: Katja Fischer
Katja Fischer
Senior Editor
Katja.Fischer@digitecgalaxus.chMom of Anna and Elsa, aperitif expert, group fitness fanatic, aspiring dancer and gossip lover. Often a multitasker and a person who wants it all, sometimes a chocolate chef and queen of the couch.
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