Now that my kids are old enough that they aren’t drawing on the walls, windows, floor….wherever they want, I am able to actually leave out the crayons, pens, markers, and scissors *GASP* I know….right?!? I love our crafting table in the playroom and the kids and I also love to sit and do crafts. Over the years I’ve stored the writing supplies in different types of storage bins: plastic drawers, a locker, marker holder
But now that the kids are more responsible and understand the walls are NOT for drawing, I can freely leave out the supplies and let them enjoy craft time whenever they like.
I wanted to create something that was organized, efficient, easy to see all the supplies, and most importantly, easy to put back and clean up. From what I’ve learned about organization, the only way it is successful is if the cleanup/putting away is the easiest part….otherwise we don’t do it.
I love galvanized sheet metal for its magnetic properties and it’s so easy to hang with command strips (use the 16lb ones just to be sure). Cover the sheet metal in a contact paper of your choice and it makes for a beautiful way to organize anything via magnets.
I already owned these 22lb magnetic hooks I used for hanging my necklaces on you guessed it…sheet metal.
What I didn’t realize was just how heavy writing supplies would be and how the 22 lb hook only held a sideways weight of 5lbs!! SO, I would suggest buying the 60lb or even 100lb depending on how heavy your buckets might be. This way, you should only need 1 hook, instead of the multiple ones I had to use. Oh well….lesson learned.
Once you have your sheet metal, cover it (or don’t) with a contact paper of your choice. I used these small metal buckets and extra hooks on the sides to hang scissors. I also own a Prynt Pocket which makes printing small photos from your phone a breeze! The pictures are printed like a Polaroid so no ink, AND the paper has a sticky back….so just print, peel, and stick your labels!
I let the kiddos decide how they wanted to organize the colors. They chose to have buckets of similar colors together. It’s low enough to the floor that even my little guy can see and reach for what he needs. I did put the Mess Free markers up top because we don’t use those as often, and they are a little difficult for him to clearly see. This has been working VERY well, is easy to see the supplies, and more importantly, easy to clean up!
