Kids can generate a lot of artwork. Mountains of it. Just give them a drawing instrument and some paper and off they go creating their next masterpiece. Once they reach preschool and beyond, more art projects continue to come home. After the art has spent an appropriate amount of time hanging on the wall or attached to the refrigerator, what do you do with it?

Here are a few ideas to help you deal with the artwork piles that buildup…

(1) If the artwork highlights the accomplishment of a new skill, it may be one that you assign to the memory book or box. Date the piece and write a brief note about what it was and why it’s important. It may be obvious now and yet years from now what was their first “rocket ship” looks more like scribble lines.

(2) Designate a zone for the artwork to be displayed. Choose an area that allows for a few pieces to be shown. This has three benefits… it honors the child’s work, corrals it into one place, and sets a physical boundary of how much can be kept.

(3) Involve the child in what stays and what goes. With the boundary identified in #2 above, let the child help choose what should be displayed and what should be recycled.

(4) Consider going through a parent sweep every so often. Depending on the age of the child, you may need to make some decisions independently in order to keep the artwork clutter at bay.