Easy Art Supplies Storage Ideas for Kids

Do you or your kids have a TON of art and craft supplies? Here’s how I store all of these supplies for my ADHD brain!

My mission of becoming more organized has divided across all parts of our house. And most recently it’s been my daughter’s room.

You see, at age 10, she doesn’t play with a lot of toys anymore. She has an artistic side and wants to show it off through a ton of different mediums- painting, drawing, designing clothing, etc.

Allison’s been getting a lot of arts and crafts supplies for her birthday and Christmas and I realized we needed a place to store all of it that wasn’t… well, the floor.

It’s a daunting task for sure! And as much as I wish we had a craft room for her, I knew we had to get creative and find different ways to store her supplies.

Here are all the tools I use to organize kids’ art supplies, using a little creativity!

Why is it important to keep art supplies organized?

There are some kids who simply don’t care about having things in a specific place… my daughter is one of them, most of the time. Others need to have EVERYTHING in its spot.

But honestly, I think it’s important to have some sort of system. Here’s why:

• It gives you easy access to your supplies so you don’t have to waste time looking for them.
• It helps keep small items contained and not all over the floor.
• It keeps everything in one spot, which is especially important if you have a small space.

How I organize art supplies

Lazy Susan

You can find these in many different sizes. There are bigger ones that can store a good amount of crayons, markers, paint brushes, or pencils. And there are smaller ones that are good for just a couple of each item, like for a single project.

I have a smaller Lazy Susan for Allison which is just big enough to keep a few of her most-used supplies. It fits perfectly on her desk and still gives her plenty of space to work.

Drawer dividers

I use drawer organizers all over my house! I keep some in my own desk for markers and washi tape, and Allison has a big set for all of her art supplies. I bought this set for her for Christmas and I’m happy to say she was just as excited as I am to organize her supplies.

Her art station (AKA her desk) doesn’t have drawers, but it does have a couple of shelves right under the desk. She puts a lot of her favorite craft supplies there:

• Pipe cleaners
• Erasers
• Pom poms
• Stickers
• Beads
• Glue
• Googly eyes

We also have a few of the small ones in her stacking drawers, which really helps maximize the drawer space. She’s got stickers and other miscellaneous small items in there.

Stacking drawers

These things are a game-changer. I had a few in my office to keep some of her art supplies. But as she got older and started to collect a lot more, I realized we needed to change some things around.

We took off the doors of her small closet (Which we never used anyway) and put one of her cube shelves in there. It’s a great storage space for a lot of her toys as well as art/craft supplies. And right next to it was just enough space to fit a couple Sterilite stacking drawers.

Some of the things we store in there include:

• Different types of paper
• Stickers and sticker sheets
• Watercolor paints
• Whatever else can fit that doesn’t have a specific home yet

Honestly, this closet makeover was the perfect solution for our problems. It gave Allison a good amount of space to let her creativity fly.

Plastic storage bins

While I was going through Allison’s art things, I realized just how many crayons, markers, and pencils she actually had. The drawer dividers weren’t gonna cut it, so I went to Meijer and found some little storage containers.

I actually wanted small containers, but these happened to be the smallest ones available. So each one is home to art supplies:

• Pencils
• Pens
• Markers
• Crayons
• Colored pencils

The good thing is, these bins are versatile. So if Allison uses up all those pens and decides she doesn’t need that many anymore, we can use it for something else…. like all the acrylic paints I got her for Christmas.

These bins fit perfectly on the cube shelf in her closet. She can easily pull one out and use it at her desk!

Other storage ideas

• Mason jars- Perfect for pens and pencils, as well as other small items!
• Rolling cart– A great way to store a lot of things with limited space. And it travels well around the house!
• Over the door organizer: Honestly, this is the best way to utilize a vertical space. You can put all sorts of art materials in the pockets and this leaves extra space in other areas for organization.

Key tips for getting and staying organized

Know when to purge items

Honestly, the first step is probably to get rid of specific items you never use. Organizing is great; but even good organization is pointless if you simply have too much stuff.

Have a nightly clean-up

Getting young children to bed can be a hassle as it is. And cleaning up everything right before bed is just as crazy.

But honestly, I love waking up in the morning to find a tidy home. Clutter can affect your mental health, and I’m simply less stressed when things aren’t cluttered.

Take some time every evening to put things back in their spots. The good news is, the more often you do this, the faster the process becomes.

Have a dedicated art space

When you have one spot for a specific task, you have everything within easy reach. And that also means easy clean-up.

So maybe you have a dedicated art table in a small corner of the living room. Keep all the art supplies there, and that way you’ll easily be able to clean everything up in no time.

Using these tools and systems has really helped create a more organized space for me and my family! We’re not perfect, for sure. But I definitely feel better knowing that we have a spot for everything.

What are some of your favorite ways to store art supplies? Leave a comment and give us more ideas!