What Do I Do with All My Kids Projects?

Take a digital photo of each and then make albums online (I like shutterfly). Just keep it simple and have each piece fill a page. Then you can pitch the originals and have a wonderful art collection. Put them in chronological order separated by child and then take the photos so they are already organized for you to upload and put in to an album per child.

Luckily now that my kids are in 3rd, 4th and 7th, the projects and artwork are few and far between. But for a few years there, we were getting so many our house started looking like the backroom at the Smithsonian. So I chose 3 or 4 truly excellent pieces, framed them and hung them on my walls, took digital pics of the rest, stuck them in a file on my computer called "Kids' Artwork" and tossed them in the trash. There's just not enough space in my house to keep ALL that stuff. Let go of your guilt - keep a few really good pieces that demonstrate your child's artistic talent and chuck the rest.

Updated

Luckily now that my kids are in 3rd, 4th and 7th, the projects and artwork are few and far between. But for a few years there, we were getting so many our house started looking like the backroom at the Smithsonian. So I chose 3 or 4 truly excellent pieces, framed them and hung them on my walls, took digital pics of the rest, stuck them in a file on my computer called "Kids' Artwork" and tossed them in the trash. There's just not enough space in my house to keep ALL that stuff. Let go of your guilt - keep a few really good pieces that demonstrate your child's artistic talent and chuck the rest.

When we were kids, my mom would have us periodically go through our "memory box" and "purge" things that weren't as cute & special as we originally thought!

I don't know where I saw this idea, but have stolen it (maybe from one of you?), but take a digital picture or scan the project and save them to a folder on the computer. The REALLY cute ones... keep the original. I use the pictures of my son's projects as my rotating screen savers!

Wee keep all the present years stuff in a box... and at the end of the year, we go through and pick out our top 3 favorite projects... and toss the rest. We get to reminisce once a year on all the projects, and then throw them away, keeping only a few of our favorites, and we write a little note with it about why it was our favorite so when we go back through them someday we can read the notes and remember.

My daughter brings home, on average, about 7-8 masterpieces each day from preschool. There's no way on earth that I could keep all of it. I look through it each day to see if there are any special projects to put on the fridge or if she's mastered a new skill (writing her name, drawing a rainbow, etc.) and if so then I date it and keep it, otherwise, it gets trashed or recycled. I do make sure that it's hidden in the trash or the recycle bin though. :) A few weeks ago hubby decided to get rid of some of her artwork and she found a big pile of it in the trash and she was so devestated. I really don't know what he was thinking but I bet he'll never do that again!

I've also heard of people scanning their kids' artwork or taking pictures of it and then getting rid of the originals. Another neat thing I've heard of is taping the pictures together and using it as gift wrap on gifts for grandparents.

I write a blog with organizing ideas for moms and wrote something on how to save your kids artwork. You can find it here: http://www.yummymummyclub.ca/save_kids_artwork

I keep a few things here and there but guess what???? Please don't be horrified LOL! But most of the projects thus far have ended up in the recycling bin or circular file a.k.a. garbage...Yikes...I do keep some meaningful things here and there and date it...All in a box right now for the eventual memory/scrapbooking project :)

We frame and update some on the walls, especially in kids rooms. For the rest I keep in the art tube, mark the date on the back. You can store them in their closets or under their bed. I also take camera pics of them and make art books at the end of the year books made out of pics on shutterfly with the date etc. My parents saved few of mine arts and framed it and gave them to me for my college graduation ( art school) it was the greatest and most thoughtful gift ever.

I bought see-through containers from Target. Blue for the boys, pink for my daughter. Everything that isn't big goes in those, one year at a time.
I've also seen people say they use things like pizza boxes that their kids decorate. But that didn't seem deep enough to me. I don't keep EVERYTHING, (like weekly name writing practice) but most of it fits :)

I keep the ones I absolutely love. They get framed and hung up. Seasonal things get stored with the season and pulled out and displayed at the right time (Christmas, Valentines, etc.)

The other stuff I have scanned on the computer. I plan on having a book printed up of the creations he makes throughout the year. That way I have it and can enjoy it, but I don't have boxes of papers stored around the house. I figured the books would make fun coffee table books. And a few books are definitely MUCH easier to store.

Keep what you can in a box, etc. About every 2 yrs, have your kids help you with it-they will tell you what they were proudest of and what to get rid of.

I've saved only the pre-school/daycare projects with their hand or footprints or pictures of them. Now that my son is in Kindergarten, I'm seeing tons more stuff that he doesn't want me to throw away. I'm going to videotape him at the end of the year showing me each project and telling me about them. Then out they go.

At some point you are going to have tooooo much stuff. I have a box for each child I keep the best/ cutest stuff and the rest I throw away Deep in the trash so they don't see! lol.
if I'm really good I send to grandparents,Or my sisters kids but I don't do that as often.

Mine are still very young, but my mom bought a big plastic bin with a lid for my sister and myself. All our school projects and sentimental things went in our own bins, and they are still in my parents garage. I think its really cool that we can look back on our cute elementary things :) I plan to do the same with my kiddos stuff!