Kids craft storage

For kids, craft projects can be one of the most enjoyable and memorable parts of their day because they can express themselves, and for some, it also means a chance to make a mess. But as a parent, you want to try and limit the mess, help craft areas look presentable, and make it quick and easy for kids to clean up after craft time.

Great kid’s craft storage starts with dedicating a storage area like a drawer, shelf, or cupboard to craft supplies. Then group together similar items and use clear containers to store them together. The best containers for storing craft supplies are often those that can be easily removed from storage, used at craft time, and then placed right back into storage in the same container. Labeling each clear container is also very helpful, whether you use a label maker for written labels or use kid-friendly picture labels.

Read on to learn all about kid’s craft storage ideas!

Kid’s craft storage ideas

Kid’s craft supplies are best stored in a dedicated area such as a drawer, cabinet, or shelf in a cupboard. Keeping the craft supplies separate from other household items. This helps keep kids’ art supplies organized and makes it clear what supplies are for crafts. Here are some of the best places to store kid’s craft items.

Devoted craft drawer

The simplest and easiest option for storing all of your supplies is to have a specific drawer or two in an existing cabinet where you store everything in. With this option, everything will be out of sight (which can be a good thing or a bad thing).

It makes it very easy to use a non-school or art room for crafts and have everything cleaned and put away. A dedicated drawer is also a great option for something like scissors and other potentially dangerous items.

Try to keep as much as you can at the child’s level because kids love being able to pick their own supplies and have easy access to the things they’re allowed to use. For safety, just make sure to keep the more dangerous materials out of reach!

Craft storage cabinet

A craft storage cabinet can be a simple fix to help organize your art supplies for your children. Craft storage cabinets offer a lot of space for you to store your arts and crafts supplies and they, when organized, look great.

However, they tend to be a bit pricey and can get unorganized quickly. But there is a reason that these are one of the more popular options for teachers as they have lots of sections for all sorts of different supplies.

To help keep materials organized, you could create labels that stick onto the container. I love the idea of having a matching sticker or label for the item and the drawer it’s supposed to go (for example, the glue drawer having a picture of glue). This way, kiddos can help put their craft stuff away, even if they can’t read!

Rolling carts

These rolling carts are also a great option for storing your different jars of bins that have your art supplies. By far one of my favorite ways to store different art supplies, these work great for both art supplies and other things such as books and notepads. My family loves the colors that it comes in and how it is very easy to move. They tend to be very durable as well.

Another bonus of these is you don’t need to carry all of your craft supplies around with you! You can just wheel the cart over to your crafting area, making life easier for you and the kiddos.

Wall pegboards

Pegboards are also a great option. The best part about these is that they look great and you can have a variety of objects on the pegboard to give a great look to your art room.

Place a plant into one of the holders and it can make your art room come to life while still having it easy to get any supplies. With the pegboard, you also have an option to keep the art supplies away from the hands of anyone who shouldn’t have them.

By using wall storage, you also save space on floor and cupboard organization. Wall spaces are great for storing smaller items so that you can use cupboards for more difficult-to-store things like paper, paint, and stickers!

Organizing craft supplies in storage

Kids craft supplies are easiest to use when they are neatly sorted and organized in the storage. Then the supplies are ready for whatever project your little ones can dream up! Here are some of the best ways to organize craft supplies in storage so they’re easy to find (and clean up).

Plastic storage cases

Plastic storage cases are a very common method of storing kid’s craft supplies. These organizers are typically tray-shaped and have lots of little dividers inside them. You can use a storage case from a craft store like Michaels or repurpose a fishing tackle box. You could even make your own from a cardboard box with cardboard dividers.

Using clear boxes is also a great idea so that the little ones can see the craft materials… One less storage case opened is one less chance of pom poms and pipe cleaners decorating your floor!

Mini drawers

Mini drawer sets are small plastic sets of drawers that fit neatly on a shelf. I like the clear sets of drawers as its easy to see what’s inside. Most brands have a little spot in the middle of each drawer for a label. Many brands also have drawers that are easily removable. This makes it quick to pull out a whole mini drawer full of crayons, glue, et cetera, and bring it over to the craft area (and easy to return it after craft time).

Another benefit to these is that they fit perfectly into a cupboard, but also look alright on the table!

Photo cases

Photo cases tend to make great craft item storage systems. Typically when you get a photo case it will have 16 or so smaller cases that are around 4″x6″ so they can store small things like crayons, special beads, clothespins, and most importantly, googly eyes. You can then store all of the smaller individual storage cases into large, transportable cases.

Many of these photo cases will advertise themselves as craft storage as well, and that is because of how great they work! My favorite option has the smaller colors that can be a variety of different colors, which makes it very fun for the kids and adds a bit more color to art time.

Teabag organizers

Teabag organizers act very similarly to the photo cases. It is a simple easy way to make a simple organizer that is clear and use it for any art supplies you have. They don’t typically take up much space, and because they are clear it is very easy to see any supplies they have inside.

Most teabag organizers will be split up into 6 or more different compartments which make great, preinstalled dividers for the different supplies. It can be used for a variety of craft supplies, but I have found if you use small supplies like the previously mentioned googly-eyes, they will end up being placed into all the sections and everything will mix. I recommend that you use these for items like pens, markers, pencils, art brushes, or crayons.

Craft storage turntables

A turntable or a lazy susan is a super fun way for you to display and store your different items. It makes it super easy for multiple children to have access to the craft supplies during art time, and honestly, it is fun to spin the turntable as well.

Many of the turntables that are made for arts and crafts also have an option of interchangeable sections that allow you to quickly and easily prepare the turntable with the proper supplies.

By using a divided turntable, you can set out just what the kids will need for a specific craft! Just fill the inserts with paint brushes, glue sticks, and whatever supplies they might want to use, and get to crafting! It’s a perfect solution for on-the-go craft organization.

Other ideas

There are many other great ideas that you can use. The biggest thing when it comes to storing the individual craft is that it is easy to see inside of the container to find what you are looking for. Great examples of other ideas include using jars, plastic storage containers, the ones you usually see used for snacks and even a shoe organizer that hangs on your door. All of these work great and make it easy when arts and crafts time starts.

Kids art supplies to include in your craft room

It seems weird to talk about how to organize without talking about the essentials of a craft room! Here are some basic art supplies that your kiddos will love to create with.

For painting/coloring

• Non-toxic paint and washable paints
• Food coloring (you can do so much with food coloring!)
• Paint brushes, foam brushes, and stamps
• A mix of pencil crayons, markers, and crayons
• Paint smocks! You can either have a paint smock or a big T-shirt just for craft time. Crafts get messy!
• Assorted paper: I like to offer construction paper, textured paper, and patterns to keep things exciting

Supplies

• Scissors (regular and patterned is fun!)
• Glue (hot glue, glue sticks, and liquid glue)

Assorted craft materials

Here’s the thing. Anything can be an art material if you’re creative enough! Try to keep some fun things you have no use for and see if you can repurpose them as art. Buttons, drink lids, boxes… These have all been fun crafting supplies for us!

• Pom poms
• Pipecleaner
• Assorted threads/ribbons/string
• Stickers

Do you have any toddler-approved organization tips? We would love to hear what works for you and your craft room!

Resources

Did you enjoy this post? Here are some other articles about home organization that you may enjoy!

• Nursery organization & baby room ideas
• Changing table organization ideas
• Ideas for sorting, organizing, and storing kid’s toys
• 15 Home office hacks to improve organization
• 13 Kitchen pantry space-saving ideas