Enjoying Children's Artwork without it being Clutter

This display was during our Alphabet Adventures.
(I didn't have any recent pictures and couldn't take any just now as we just emptied it.)

Clutter is something we have to constantly deal with around here. With a family of 6 it seems to be able to multiply quite quickly. Whenever I can find a good system for dealing with a source of clutter that is a big blessing!

  For most all families with young children one source of potential mess is artwork and crafts. It might be from Classes at Church, Pre-school or school or even if your children are homeschooled like ours you might like us have some prolific artists like we do. Whatever the case with your family it is likely that you also have or need a way to deal with lots of artwork.

 Here is a system that we came up with that works quite well for us:

We created a display area in our hallway by nailing up some ribbon and adding some painted clothespins. In this area we can hang a lot of artwork. It can be admired and appreciated and then when it gets full we can do one of the following......

• Take really special items write the name and approximate date on them and put them in my folder that I have for each child in my file cabinet. Or you might want to frame a few and give them a permanent location.
• Send pictures off in letters to Grandpas and Grandmas, Aunts, Uncles and Cousins and anybody else you might be writing. People love letters and if you include a bit of news too- this will surely brighten somebody's day. They can then discard or save them as they please.
• Use big artwork for wrapping paper or turn it into some other sort of craft.
• RECYCLE the rest.

It is a pretty easy system that works well. The kid's are happy to have their pictures appreciated but yet we don't have to keep them around forever unless we really want to.

  I have been enjoying reading through some of the posts on 31 Day's to an Organized Home over at The Complete Guide to Imperfect Homemaking. You might enjoy them too.

What do you do with kid's artwork or anything else that seems to pile up fast? I would love to hear your thoughts!