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Motherboard: Craft Without Clutter

By Mindel Kassorla | March 25, 2025

Our best tips to keep art supplies organized and away from little hands

Pick and Play

Make a big bin of random supplies and projects that you’re comfortable with the kids using independently. Then you can just tell them, “Go pick something from the bin.”

—R.L.

Jerusalem

Size Sets the Limit

Get a bin that’s the appropriate size for one particular type of art supplies. Then, use up what you have before buying more. Let the size of the bin be the natural boundary for how much you have at any given time.

—Dvora Henner is a home organizer and life coach who helps women with time management and concerns related to home organization.

Divide and Conquer

I use drawers that come in stacks of three or four and are about the height of a package of paper. I have one for markers, one for pens, one for pencils, one for sticky notes, a mixed one with glue, scissors, and tape, and one with stickers.

—S.M.L.

Jerusalem

Paint Smart

Dot paints are much more contained than regular paints and almost as fun!

—M.B.

Passaic, NJ

Controlled Chaos

Shaving cream makes a big mess but cleans up very easily. Kids of all ages love it! It’s like playing with snow.

Buy a limited amount of extremely messy supplies only when you need them so you don’t have to worry about anyone getting to it.

—F.G.

Lakewood, NJ

Know Your Limits

Know yourself. If you’re the type to be relaxed about mess, go all out. But if you know a certain type of activity will have you policing your kids the whole time, it’s not worth doing it. It’s better to work with “the boring stuff” and give your kids a calm, happy experience than work with exciting, messy supplies that leave everyone frustrated.

E.Z.

New York

Keeping Boundaries

When you give the kids a project to do, give each child their own tray or baking sheet (even a 9×13 pan) to work on. It keeps everything contained and makes cleanup much easier.

—Leah Shapiro is a preschool morah with her own little ones at home as well.

Keep It Simple

I find that kids love just using boxes, cardboard, and tape — or a roll of foil! Stickers keep my little ones occupied for hours, though I do need to remind them that stickers are for paper only, and repeat, repeat, repeat.

Y.K.

Columbus, OH

Mindel’s Tips

Wash all paintbrushes as soon as possible (i.e., as soon as the kids are all clean) or you’ll be buying new ones every time you paint.

Minimize the glue mess with this trick: Put a regular dish sponge (the foamy kind) in a plastic container that fits its size, and cover the top of the sponge with lots of glue. Cover and let sit overnight. The glue will soak into the sponge, and then kids can press an object into the sponge and attach it to their papers like a sticker. When the glue soaks down to the bottom, just turn the sponge over. Use a spray bottle to wet the sponge if it dries out. When you’re done, add more glue, cover, and let it sit for next time. No more clogged glue bottles!

(Originally featured in Family First, Issue 937)

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