...to want to throw some of the stuff DS brings back from nursery in the recycling...

[Pheebe]

I mean he brings tons of stuff, some are just crumpled pieces of paper with a single line on Now don't get me wrong I love that my DS is creative and is doing loads of painting and drawing but we're drowing under the stuff. I want to keep the more special pieces and the ones he's REALLY proud of

Is this unreasonable...should I be keeping everything??? (I have up til now...)

Oh good heavens, chuck it out, especially scribble. He won't thank you for keeping it even 1 year from now. Obviously, keep the masterpieces. When I was a tiddler, I got given stapled scrap paper drawing books, which at least coralled the crap.

the worst are giant boxes of Cornflakes with a loo roll stuck on

"a spaceship mummy!"

Yanbu. Put it in pride of place for a couple of days, then keep only the best examples & ditch the rest. I have boxes of old drawings mouldering in the garage & with half of them can't remember which dch did them, they're all mixed up.

I ditched all the junk models pdq as well, until DS's started to get rather good when he was 11 so became 'modern sculptures' in our living room until they fell apart!

I know it's hard but you have to chuck it.

yep, chuck out the scribbly stuff - this goes on for years and years, you can't keep it all, you must be selective.

Sorry, put it in the recycling obviously.

I've put some of ds's 'best' work on his bedroom wall, rest has gone into the recycling! It has to be done

oh yes - into the recycling with it. I keep anything that is a first or something that is particularly nice but otherwise out it goes !

I put a couple up on the fridge with magnets and the rest gets recycled. Dd enjoys picking which ones go on display.

I'm not sure if I could throw them, but I don't have that problem at the moment!

Tips for sorting the art collection:

Laminate them in sets of six and give to Nanny (etc) for placemats.
Clip them together - hole punch and tie or use bulldog clips etc - put a front page on stating the age the art ranges from.

If I felt better I know more but I've gone brain dead.

thank you all you've given me the strength to recycle, I just feel so guilty like I'm betraying him or something. I love the scrapbook idea, may try that

thanks everyone

Tinks - love the laminates idea!!! xmas presies here we come...brilliant, they will love it

I've got an A1 size art folder for each of the children. The best stuff goes in there, the rest goes in the bin. You need to push it well down because they will rescue it if spotted and the potato peelings and tea bags won't have improved it.

lol at the crumpled pieces of paper with a single line on pheebe!

get loads of that from dd's nursery, I'm a bit cos she can draw quite well with a bit of encouragement.

Oh, I recycle - but I keep some of the nicer bits to do duty as cards/giftwrap for the grandparents.

Oh god don't keep it all, you'll need a spare house by the time he starts junior school/you have more than one child!

I have 3 DDs, so you can imagine the volume of tat precious artwork that comes home from school and nursery. The very best go on on the fridge and as we get new masterpieces the old ones get recycled and the new ones go on the fridge.

But I do have a box in the loft of the very precious stuff eg the Mothers Day/Christmas/Valentines cards they make at nursery, the Good Work certificates etc.

Bin it after a few days,i have lovingly kept all my childrens art work,school reports ect, to the point that I have an attic full of it, dd1 and ds1 now have there own houses,when I offered them all there child hood treasures they both looked at me as if I was insane and asked me what exactly I expected them to want them for,and even worse was that I have still kept them couldent face throwing away after all these years

heronsfly.

DS is also a prolific artist at nursery and i send a few of the good ones to grany, keep the odd masterpiece, pin up a couple and chuck the rest away.

i don't think art is going to be his forte, at 4.5 can barely draw anything recognisable. he doesn't seem that bothered that his artwork is not all kept.

Well I hope you feel guilty when he stands there, little eyes filling up, when he catches you throwing away all his precious hard work.

Only kidding - bin it!

As has been suggsted, I used to keep ours for a couple days, then throw the 'unkeepables.'

we have a gallery on the playroom wall

pics go up there and then mummy "rearranges" it for new ones, translation: throws stuff in the bin

then they know that you appreciate all their wonderous stuff and you know you can get rid of it without feeling like a mean old hag

I keep any special ones, like when dd1 first did a pic of me and her holding hands [sob]

Kids are really keen on recycling. And if you don't put paper in the recycling bin, there won't be any new paper, will there!?
I have a clipboard for each dc. New stuff goes on the front, and the stuff at the back gets chucked after a while.

Oh recycle it..... but I was caught out the other day when 3 year old found her 'masterpiece' in the bin. I felt like a very bad and heartless mother!

You can also take pictures of them, especially the good 'uns - as they fade over the years, get torn etc. That said I've only photographed a few (ones I was v proud of ) Think I'll do it more often though as DD1 (nearly 3yo) is also a very prolific scribbler