How much kids arts/crafts stuff have you got & where do you keep it all if you have a small house?!

[Jemster]

I'm in a bit of a mess with kids arts & crafts stuff. They don't do it that often but when they do they get it all out & shove it all back it in to several plastic boxes which then get crammed under the stairs making it hard to access anything else under there. We only have a small house so what's the best way to keep it all & how much stuff do people generally have & what sort of things? DC's are 7 & 3.

Too much.

Art craft in a giant storage box on top of their wardrobe (paints, glitter, stickers, glue, glitter clue, more glitter, coloured card and tissue, googly eyes, pipe cleaners etc)

Baking craft in 2 x medium storage boxes in the dining room cupboard (piping bags, cutters, rolling pins, edible glitter etc)

Textile craft in a giant storage box in the spare wardrobe (fabrics, sewing machine, embroidery kits etc)

dd2 loves painting and glittering things. Dd1 loves baking and cake decorating. They both enjoy sewing.

Thank you, are you dc's allowed to get things out when they like? My ds who is 7 just wants to do things when he fancies it but makes such a mess & then just walks off! Dd who is just 3 of course wants to do the same as his him but needs watching a bit more closely. I am not at all creative so find this kind of thing hard but don't want them to miss out either. I just hate all the stuff randomly stored everywhere!

Yes, but they know they're only allowed the poster paints (washable) and not the others unless I say so.

Dd1 cleans up her baking after herself, to a certain extent (she cleans the kitchen but usually manages to flour and or sugar a dog, so it gets spread throughout the house)

Dd2 puts her paints away herself, but her wiping up consists of smearing paint over the surfaces and making more mess

I link pocket money to how well they clean up after themselves and keep their things, this would probably work with your 7yo, but your 3yo might need more encouragement.

We start with a base of £3, to get the £3 all of their daily chores must be completed (this includes tidying away toys and crafts before dinner) any day they miss a chore money will be deducted. money can be added for especially helpful or good behaviour.

This helps a lot with mess.

I generally don't get involved in arts or baking but I like sewing, so I help with that.

We live in a small house so I culled a lot of my books and bought a kindle, that freed up a big floor to ceiling book shelf could house all the craft stuff, puzzles, games, recorder stuff, colouring books etc.

DCs do one craft session and then all clear up, paining I try and keep to the summer out doors. DC1 has a desk in her bedroom so she does a lot up there and is now (after several years of being very messy) pretty tidy.

I also cull stuff and get rid of random stuff that is not much good for anything. I no longer have glitter or hama beads as they got out of hand and proved to be more hassle than they are worth!

I had a massive cull a few years ago. Anything that comes in a single-use boxed kit is generally rubbish. Anything that makes too much mess or requires too much adult input also went (moon sand, glitter, loom bands, fiddly stuff with many instructions etc. etc.). We now have three box files that live on a bookshelf downstairs. One with card/paper/tissue paper, one with collageables (feathers, googly eyes, pipe cleaners, stickers etc.) and one that contains three lock and lock boxes - one with sewing supplies, one with beads, ribbons and elastic string and one with tools (scissors, stampers, scalpels, glue sticks, pva etc.). We have an ice cream tub with crayons and pencils and DD1 has a tin of posh colouring pencils in her room for her personal use as well as a sketchbook. Making is only allowed on the table and must be cleared away before meals. No one eats until the table is clear, and peer pressure from hungry siblings helps with that. The table rule started as a way to keep small people away from craft. We also have an easel (with paints) in the garage that can go outside in nice weather or in the kitchen as long as I'm not cooking (no room). Work can dry in the garage, but no children allowed to hang out in there painting (again no room, but also the building isn't particularly stable). We like making things, but are gradually trying to buy stuff for specific planned projects rather than having a house full of materials. I am tempted to lose the easel now everyone is getting bigger and the collageables are not being replaced.

We got the easel and the box files because I found that by the time I had got materials out and ready, DC had lost interest so it was a wasted effort. Making it accesible and manageable meant they did more craft and still do so now without my input.

One of the best things I bought was something like this

www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00W7XPXJ6/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_z14xvb18G9KNE

I got mine in eBay I think and it's nicer, cream tin with wooden handle, and was about a fiver. I had shopped around quite a bit. It holds so many pencils and pens and easy to carry about from room to trim to cupboard etc, plus actually looks quite nice if sat out somewhere.

I may get a lot of pleasure out of sharpening the pencils of an evening sad

We have an Ikea expedit 4 shelf unit for art and craft stuff, and it lives in the dining room - had to abandon my dream of an uncluttered adult space. 2 drawers with pens, pencils, paint and crayons, rulers etc. 1 shelf with colouring books, blank paper for drawing. 1 plastic box with crafty bits like beads, hama beads, ribbons, glue, loom bands, lolly sticks, stencils, glitter, tissue paper, coloured paper, foil, fabric, scissors etc etc. Underneath 1 plastic box with playdough and cutters etc. 1 shelf for craft kits.

It's a lot, but they do spend most of their time drawing, cutting, sticking, making at the dining room table. I keep things like place mats, and cutlery on top of the unit, so it is handy having it there really.

We have 1 large box (a4 file type). It goes on top of the kitchen cupboards. It has paints, brushes, old cards, glue, scissors, ribbons, glitter, random stickers, googly eyes etc. oh and lollipop sticks. And feathers. Darned if I know what to do with them, the kids occasionally paint them and stick them to things!

Actually dd also has one of those art desks full of crayons etc and we have a stash of colouring books etc.

I must add in some foil to the box that's a good idea.

I am not that creative, the above is plenty to keep me the kids going

Maybe you need to rationalise?

I have boxes of "stuff" everywhere! I long for an organised playroom full of ikea storage .