2150: What To Do With Children’s Artwork When You Can’t Keep It All by Antonia Collins of Balance Through Simplicity

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Relationships Daily, Episode 2150, What to Do with Children's Artwork When You

[00:00:06] Can't Keep It All, by Antonia Collins of BalanceThroughSimplicity.com

[00:00:12] Hello everybody and thank you so much for joining yet another parenting post here on ORD.

[00:00:17] My name is Greg Audino, I'm your host and narrator and today's article is pretty niche

[00:00:22] but God knows it covers a sector of parenting that just about all parents have gone through

[00:00:26] or will go through. What to do with all those precious pieces of art from your child?

[00:00:31] Let's find out as we optimize your life.

[00:00:38] What to do with Children's Artwork When You Can't Keep It All, by Antonia Collins of BalanceThroughSimplicity.com

[00:00:47] My children love creating artwork anything from drawings and paintings

[00:00:51] to junk modeling with cardboard boxes and endless Lego constructions. I love them all

[00:00:57] and would like to keep everything but it's just not realistic. Instead check out this

[00:01:03] article for ideas on what to do with your children's artwork when you can't keep it all. First,

[00:01:09] keep a box for your children to put their finished artwork in when they hand it to you.

[00:01:13] Be sure to admire it first. Number two, sort through it regularly. Take some time each

[00:01:20] week or month to go through the box with your children. Separate the artwork into three separate

[00:01:25] piles. How often you go through it will depend on how many pieces of art your children create.

[00:01:31] At first it might be difficult to know where to begin but hang in there as it gets easier

[00:01:35] with practice. These piles will be keep, find a way to either display or do something creative

[00:01:42] with your favorite pieces and listen on for some ideas. Throw away, recycle the

[00:01:49] cardboard and paper, dismantle the Lego, throw away the rest and save a copy. Take good quality

[00:01:57] well-lit photos of the rest and save the image files on your computer.

[00:02:02] Number three, get your children on board and involved. Explain to your children depending

[00:02:08] on their age and understanding that it's just not possible to keep everything they make

[00:02:13] however much you love it all. Let them know that if you kept everything there would be

[00:02:18] no place to store it so that it won't get damaged over time. By keeping everything their favorite pieces

[00:02:24] will get buried under everything else so you won't be able to find, see or appreciate them.

[00:02:30] For many children it's the process of creation that's the fun and most important part.

[00:02:35] At first of course they might not understand and just feel you're getting rid of things they

[00:02:40] spent time making but once they see why you're doing it and that you're not throwing away

[00:02:45] anything they're not happy for you to get rid of then they'll begin to understand and it will

[00:02:50] become routine. My kids often ask if they can take a picture of something before they dismantle it or

[00:02:55] throw it away. They even scroll through the pictures of their artwork on my phone or computer

[00:03:01] too and pick out things they'd forgotten they'd made. Number four, make the whole process as

[00:03:07] fun as possible. Point out the pieces that you really love and explain why you love them.

[00:03:13] Ask them which are their favorites and why. Make your kids feel special about what they've made

[00:03:18] and that their artwork is valued. That being said you might need to be a bit ruthless when it comes

[00:03:24] to the ones you actually want to keep otherwise you'll end up keeping a lot. Maybe sort everything

[00:03:29] into the three piles I mentioned and then go through the keep pile again, resorting that

[00:03:34] into three piles. It just depends on how much creating your kids do. One a week is much

[00:03:40] easier than a whole coloring book. And number five, deal with the piles. Make sure that you throw away

[00:03:47] or recycle the things that you don't want straight away otherwise you or your kids might be tempted

[00:03:53] to dig through and sneakily put something back into the keep pile. Take photos of all the artwork

[00:03:58] that you want to keep a record of but not the actual piece itself. You can take photos of

[00:04:03] everything not just those on paper. For example, drawings, paintings, play dough, beads, Lego,

[00:04:13] building blocks, junk modeling, basically anything that you can take a photo of. I've been asked to

[00:04:19] take photos of bug houses, flower gardens, arrangements of cuddly toys and probably

[00:04:24] more things that I can't even recall. For the keepers. For the ones that you want to keep

[00:04:31] make sure you put them in a frame or find a place for them on the shelf straight away.

[00:04:36] Otherwise they will end up in a pile of jobs waiting to be done but you never get around to.

[00:04:41] When it comes to Legos and junk modeling, sometimes if they've put a lot of effort into it

[00:04:46] we'll leave it on the side for a few days in a prominent place so all can see. When there's too

[00:04:52] much of a build up and we've no longer got any space left on that shelf then they'll choose

[00:04:56] their favorite two or three and get rid of or dismantle or take photos of the others. That way

[00:05:02] there's no build up, I can still dust around everything but they can also see that their

[00:05:07] hard work has been valued. I really like to show them how proud they should be of what they've

[00:05:12] created so I have a gallery wall for some of their favorite pieces and I switch it around

[00:05:17] from time to time. It's got pride of place in the hall and is a talking point for visitors

[00:05:22] when they come in. The girls love it when they're asked about their drawings and paintings.

[00:05:27] Another trick might be that if there's something special you want to keep but just don't have

[00:05:31] space for at the moment then why not take a photo of it and use it as a background on your computer

[00:05:36] desktop or as the home screen on your phone? Rotate the pictures from time to time. Your

[00:05:42] children's artwork is special and it's easy to want to keep everything but with a bit of

[00:05:47] practice you'll find it easier choosing the pieces that are the most important to you

[00:05:52] and your children will enjoy learning and choosing with you. Finally some other quick ideas for the

[00:05:58] artwork you can't bear to throw away. Pass it on to grandparents and relatives, use it as gift wrap

[00:06:04] or in place of greeting cards, make a digital photo book or let your kids have a pinboard

[00:06:10] in their bedroom where they can see their art. You just listened to the post titled

[00:06:19] What to Do with Children's Artwork When You Can't Keep It All by Antonia Collins of

[00:06:24] BalanceThroughSimplicity.com and be sure to stick around for my commentary after this.

[00:06:30] And a big thank you to Antonia for this post and I'll give you another radical idea for

[00:06:35] what to do with your children's artwork based a little bit on Antonia's gallery idea and more

[00:06:40] so on one of my own fantasies I once had about home decor. If you have a room that you're either

[00:06:46] not doing much with or needs a new look consider creating a memento themed room. So this would

[00:06:52] be a room filled with pieces from your past that represent fond memories. It could have

[00:06:57] children's artwork, it could also have old toys of theirs or yours, pictures and souvenirs

[00:07:03] from old trips, trophies and clothes that you don't want to get rid of. Really anything that

[00:07:08] could create a pleasurable time capsule if you will for you to step into anytime you either want

[00:07:15] to reminisce or even reflect on all your past adventures or successes. You could get really

[00:07:21] creative with a room like this not to mention it would be very unique and very special

[00:07:26] and quite the conversation starter. So something to think about friends I will leave

[00:07:30] you to it though as it is time to wrap things up for today. As always I thank you for being here

[00:07:35] and staying till the end, enjoy your Friday if you're listening in real time and be sure to

[00:07:40] come back for the Saturday show tomorrow. That's where your optimal life awaits.