Those with little ones in preschool....

MommyToAshley wrote: What do you do with all the art projects your little ones come home with? The outside of our refrig is full, and Ashley comes home with something every day. The older ones we take down off the refrig, and we are starting to put in a storage box. I can see the house becoming very cluttered and consumed with Ashley's art, but I can't bring myself to throw anything away... it's all so cute and made personally by her!

PrairieMom replied: We aren't at that point yet, but I have heard of people that use it as wrapping paper for gifts for grandparents, or making it into cards for family members. So far I divy it up as it comes in and give it to family members to enjoy.

ediep replied: I am making a preschool scrapbook with all the really special art and the others I keep in a folder....I can't throw any out either

kit_kats_mom replied: I put the best of the week on the fridge.
Anything "great" gets scanned in and saved by date
Everything goes into an accordian file and I send stuff off to the grandparents every few months. I use some of it for cards and other art projects.

coasterqueen replied: So far I put some on the fridge, some on her cork boards in her playroom and the rest after awhile go in a keepsake box. I'm on my second box just for artwork. A lot of things like holiday decorations go in the according box and we bring them out every year to help decorate with. Like last year she made a Rudolph reindeer out of a cone and this year she used it as her tree topper on her tree in her bedroom.

jcc64 replied: Bad bad unsentimental mommy here. With the first kid, I used to save EVERYTHING, and I mean, everything. But as the artwork, kids, and the years accumulated, I started to become more discriminating. Every few years, when the closets get cleaned out, I come across boxes and bags of stuff, and I will further "edit" down to a manageable pile. Now, something has to be pretty special to escape a sneaky deposit at the bottom of the trash can after a few days in the spotlight. A few well chosen pieces will elicit the same fond memories as a gigantic towering pile of newsprint. The scanning thing sounds like a good solution, Cary, I'm just not that evolved or organized- working on that!

3_call_me_mama replied: Actually Cameron doesn't come home with that much stuff. His school is more of a process rather than product I guess. Maybe once a week he comes home with stuff. But his dyas are short (2 1/2 hours and only twice a week) but the things that he does bring home get saved. into a big tote. A coupel pieces I've framed and put in or home office. Most of the stuf he makes at home gets saved adn used for grandparent gifts form him (They like to get mail) and the rest hits the circular file I can't save everything and kathleen is starting her own little masterpieces so that' a second pile starting

zdk753 replied: Another unsentimental mother here. When Zach was in preschool I saved everything he made. But now that Dylan is in preschool I found I just don't have the room for it so now their art work sits on the fridge for a wk & then it goes in the trash. The only thing I keep now is their x-mas ornaments they make b/c I can use them for the tree. They don't seem to mind that their stuff gets thrown away, but in a way I feel bad b/c I remember finding stuff that I made when I was in preschool & it was neat to see how you wrote & drew back then.

TANNER'S MOM replied: I keep the really great stuff..and toss the rest. Unless it is something that can be used immediatley for gifts or others. Important things do get scanned in and saved that way.

After 4 kids I would have to move for all the artwork~

jacobsmama replied: I don't have this problem yet...But I would think I would want to keep everything too but that is a problem what to do with it? I think the file thing is good idea to keep everything and scan thing too. Maybe just scrapbooking it? I"m not sure but your ideas are great.

ammommy replied: Thankfully, Alec only brings home one or two items per week. Some get saved in a memory box and some get "sent" to grandparents I just warn them about it so that they can be prepared if he asks about it. The little coloring pages get put up on the frige for a week, then we use the backs for more coloring, then they go out in the trash.

MamaJAM replied: We hang everything on hooks I put up on one wall in the livingroom/diningroom area. At the end of the month (or whenever it's full) - I take a picture of everything together - then only keep the favorites out of the bunch (as the years...and number of children in our house) increase - I'm more and more selective of what I keep.
We now have 3 kids in school....I really only do the picture thing for Pre-K and Kindergarten -- when much of the stuff is actual art work not writing and math papers. For older kids - I do now put selective stuff for each child on the wall - I move things around for the monthly pictures.
Since I have the pictures (which I make sure to date before I forget when they were from) - I don't feel as badly about tossing the actual works of art.

HTH

coasterqueen replied:
Oh I'm sure I'll be that way too. If not I will have to rent a storage facility for their stuff. Dh won't let me go that far, I'm sure.

amynicole21 replied: We have one wall in our kitchen that is filled with art. When a new one makes the cut and goes on the wall, an old one comes down. Sometimes, that one will go in the art box, but most times the old one goes in the "circular file."