I am organizing my home and I need ideas on how to organize pics of the kids in addition to a tub full of items they have made for me in the past. I have already "downsized" and gotten rid of all projects I could live without.....but where am I going to put this remaining tub of items?! Any good cheap suggestions? I work full time and have a busy life so I don't have time for scrapbooking and the like. I am open to all suggestions!
ETA: I don't necessarily want to display these items - most are just for me to keep and look at later down the road. But I would also like suggestions for handing kid photos on the walls - I never quite know what room they should go in and how to display them!
I bought a decorative box for each of my children, and put their little keepsakes in there. I call it a memory box. One day, I'll give it back to them. They'll love going through all that stuff, esp when they have kids of their own.
Take photos of them and keep them that way... either in an album or online. We do a ton of art in my daycare and the coolest thing I've seen is a parent having her child's art put onto a coffee mug for Christmas presents. It turned out so great.
As for the art displaying, there are a few pieces that my kids have done that I LOVE. I put all my stuff on the walls in black frames and that pulls them together... and I mix photos and art on the walls in a display together.
I have taken pictures of my kids projects and really, that works just as good as the real thing. Get their pic with the object while it's still fresh!
Put pics on hall walls. Get nice frames or just clipboards to put their changeable art work and hang it up. Look on pintrest for more ideas.
My kids are seniors in college and HS. Those milk crates get bulky when you have 24 of them!
I bought one of those milk crate file folders. I have a folder for each school year. I put the projects, school pics, report cards,etc. in the appropriate year. Most items fit. A few things are folded (they came home folded so I am not heartbroken) and a few items were rolled up. We're only in first grade, but so far it's working great. Things are organized and relatively compact.
I have one of these for each kid: http://www.creativememories.com/Content/Shop/Product.aspx...
Granted, I'm an avid scrapbooker, but there are always things that don't end up in the scrapbooks, but yet I don't want to throw them out. So I know where you're coming from! :) Anyway, all the Creative Memories storage items are totally safe for your kids' beautiful artwork (acid-free, so the pages won't yellow over time), and what I have done is to have one divider for each year of the child's life. It keeps all of the "stuff" contained in one place, and it's organized by year so if I ever want to go back and pull something out, it's easy to do that.
I use under-the-bed storage tubs. :)
Target has these flat plastic bins over by the tubs. I have one for each of the kids and at the end of the year their special items get saved in there.
I take pictures of my kids stuff too. I have saved a few things, but really only a few. My idea was to take pictures and eventually turn them into a photo book, but I'm not sure anymore. I probably will, but then I worry if that is just creating another (albeit more compact) thing that takes up space and isn't going to be wanted. I don't know. Either way, I have them on the computer so I can always decide later! I did make a file for each of my kids and copy the pictures into them so it's easier to look at.
Instead of pitching some of the old ones we always ask Grandma(s) if they would like some to hang at work or around the house first. I always hate to throw away projects. You should see my basement I just keep stacking tote on top of tote. LOL. Some day I will let my kiddos go through what they want to keep and pitch.
