Organizing Paper In The Art Studio and Craft Room

I've previously mentioned our "color box" system 

for organizing paper in my 

Favorite Art Supplies for School-Age Children Post

and my Art Studio Tour guest post.

A color box is a small box or shoe box containing 

a spectrum of colored paper (scrapbook paper and construction paper)

cut into small rectangles (approximately 4"x6")

I always had one for each of my student's tables 

when I was teaching art in the public schools. 

They're nice to have available for kids when they're working 

on various projects like collage and avoids wasting big sheets of paper

when they only need a small piece. 

It's also a great way to recycle your small scraps from other projects. 

The color box system works great until you ignore it for 

so many weeks months that it becomes disorganized and you can't 

find what you're looking for anymore.

See what I mean? Ack!

It also only really works for small bits of paper,

I needed a better solution for bigger sheets of colored paper

for the girls and their projects.

It was time to clean it out, 

reorganize,

and re-evaluate the system.

First, "C" and I sorted everything out onto the floor.

Then, we put all of the small pieces of paper back into the color box.

Sigh...that's much better.

Here it is on a shelf in the art studio at kid level.

Then, we put together a system I've admired all year from this blog that 

I pinned on my Art Studio Pinterest board.

I picked up these magazine organizers from the dollar bins at Target

a few months ago, and lined them up along the windowsill in the studio.

We put all of the big pieces of colored construction and scrapbook paper scraps

in here for the girls to have easy access.

And... because it's sorted by color and at their level,

it's easy for them (and their friends) to clean up after themselves!

Fondly,

Pink and Green Mama,