Kid’s Artwork, Who Are You Saving It For?

Kid’s Artwork is abundant in our house even with just one child. Households with multiple kids struggle to tackle the volume of paper clutter. And every parent finds their kid’s artwork difficult to get rid of because of the memories.

Artwork more appropriately falls under sentimental clutter versus paper clutter. And sentimental stuff requires its own process.

Currently, I am working on a small scrapbook for my son’s elementary years. I collected some photos and artwork over the years. With each passing grade, there is less and less.

In the end, I asked for his help with a few large books of his first writing samples. We read them together and laughed at the funny sentences. He noted 6 or 7 pieces that he truly remembered. I snapped photos of those. Without prompting, he said, “I think I’m ready to pass these on. I don’t need them.”

Here’s 3 Reasons Why

1. Time – Several years had passed since he wrote the stories. He’s not attached to them. And he won’t be more attached to them in 20 years.
2. Set The Example – His parents model living with less. We prioritize experiences, not stuff. Our purchases are thoughtful and scarce. When it comes to sentimental items, we keep only the best. Our home is not a museum.
3. Not His Collection – He didn’t fill the storage bin with artwork in the first place. It is more sentimental to me than to him. It represents days gone by. Days that as a parent, you wish you could get back, even just for one hour. He’s excited to grow up while I want him to stay a little boy.

So…who are we really saving it for?

He graduated from elementary school and I finished his scrapbook, but it will be my last. Paper scrapbooking is a dying art.  I enjoyed it for a season. I’d rather make memories than preserve them.

In our house, we choose experiences over stuff. It’s about spending the few short summers I have left with my son in a way that he and I will both remember.

As for this scrapbook, he will enjoy it for a time. I plan to tell him a story about each grade to share my memories. He loves hearing stories from when he was little. The book’s fate after that is unknown.

This i-Generation will inherit our social media pages as their childhood history. Scrapbooks will weigh them down. I don’t expect my son to carry this book off to college. 

Who am I really saving it for? Me. But even that will have limits.