By Cara Terreri

Posted: 10.27.09 | Tagged: back-to-school, home, parenting, reuse

If left untamed, art supplies (your children's or your own) can take on a life of their own. Even if you have a designated cabinet or closet, they still seem to creep, crawl, scatter and sprawl all over the place. But, you can get organized and you can do it for FREE! Look no further than your own recycle bin to get started.

Clean up your art closet and find new tools using recyclables

Paint pots:

* single-serve yogurt cups
* jar lids
* soda bottle cap
* mini Play Doh containers
* egg cartons

Paint brush water pots:

* single-serve yogurt cups
* large Play Doh containers
* tin cans (be sure there are no sharp edges)

Paint brushes:

* store wet brushes with an altered yogurt tub
* store dry brushes in an old silverware tray

Markers, crayons, colored pencils:

* plastic fruit containers (clamshells)
* shoe boxes

Coloring books and magazines:

* turn a cereal box into a book and magazine holder

Paper:

* for a paper tray, cut out the front and one end piece of a cereal box
* to make a storage tray system, cut off only one end of several cereal boxes and stack them

Scraps:

* plastic fruit containers (clamshells)
* shoe boxes

Bits and bobs (beads, googley eyes, etc.):

* spice jars (please only use plastic spice jars for younger kids),
* baby food jars or baby food plastic containers (again, only plastic for the kiddos)
* old or unused tool box or tackle box

Finished artwork:

* line dry artwork with a hung piece of string and binder clips
* create a custom art clip rack
* store completed artwork on a clip board
* roll up finished art and store it in a cardboard tube (from paper towel or wrapping paper)

To protect surfaces:

* an old shower curtain or curtain liner
* a vinyl placemat
* newspapers or grocery store circulars
* an old t-shirt or men's button down dress shirt works well as a smock

If you're organizing for children, keep in mind not to over-organize. The fewer containers there are to put things away, the easier it is for them to clean up... and therefore, the more likely it is that they will clean up [hopefully].