Client Profile:
A stay at home mom with three lovely girls contacted Neat Freak for help with her children’s school and artwork. Her little Picassos were rather prolific in the art creation department and it was beginning to take over the kitchen. She was seeking a solution for art supplies, art creation and long term storage, with an added bonus of possibly seeing her kitchen countertops again!
Project Summary:
The Neat Freak was hired to help create a system for regularly sorting through artwork/school work as it came into the house so the client (and kids!) could appreciate the treasures but let go of the rest. The pantry closet was re-organized with craft supplies, getting rid of duplicates and excess. Flexibility was built into the system so that as the girls grew and got more independent, the system could easily grow with them.
Challenges:
- Three busy girls making art faster than mom could keep up
- A closet multi-tasking as a pantry and art supply storage
- Girls of different ages with similar interests but different abilities and levels of independence
Solutions:
- Supplies were sorted, categorized, purged and containerized
- All bins were clearly labeled so the kids could independently access what they needed and easily return it to the container when finished
- Artwork was sorted and rules were created regarding what was kept and what could be recycled
- Each daughter received a large bin for keeping treasures for long term storage
Why Neat Freak was right for the job:
Not only are we organizers, but we’re moms, too. When it comes to overwhelming arts and crafts, we’ve been there and we’re still doing it! We know how special these works of art can feel to parents and children. However, we also know that teaching our children to value what they make and want to keep means that only some works of art are considered real treasures.
We also understand that having easy access to supplies is important for independent work, but if it’s taking over the space, it’s time to clear out the extras. We helped this client find a place for her kids to work and play and factored in their growing needs as they got older. Having an organizer on hand to help make these decisions allowed this client to take back her kitchen countertops while still encouraging creativity in her art-loving girls.