Are the Kids' Arts and Crafts Supplies Taking Over Your Home?

It all started with a small, clear storage container that I kept on a table in my kitchen. I had a modest collection of art and craft supplies for my young daughters, and I thought that I was the model of organization. Everything I needed for craft time or art projects fit neatly inside my little container, and when the lid snapped closed, it was all put away and out of the reach of the tiny rogue artists that roamed my house in search of errant markers or crayons.

Well, that was then. My little container soon had piles of craft related goodies next to it, under it, and stacked on top of it. It was a giant, ever-growing heap on my kitchen table, and even worse, my little Picassos were easily supplying themselves with the crayons that they needed to express themselves upon my furniture and walls. I needed a better system. I needed organization. I needed a bigger container.

My next move was to purchase an inexpensive three-drawer storage tower on wheels at my local big box store. It was small enough to tuck away in the corner of my family room, and the wheels allowed me to roll it over to the kitchen table for craft time. I used the top drawer for crayons, markers and paints, each organized in their own individual plastic containers. (My kids were very young, so the containers were hard for them to open without my help - a very important quality.) The second drawer stored other craft items, such as sewing boards, coloring and activity books and miscellaneous items. I used the bottom drawer for paper organization.