Art Supply Organization: What’s in the baskets?

Whenever I share a photo of our art space, I often get asked, “What do you keep in the large baskets at the bottom?” As an art teacher, I became accustomed to keeping large bins easily accessible for over-sized art materials like paper towel rolls, egg cartons, scraps of cardboard, fabric pieces, or bits and bobs of broken toys. Now in our home art studio (as well as my client’s art spaces) I always include these types of items without even thinking. But, of course, these materials don’t always come to mind for most people when thinking of art supply organization or setting up an art space for kids. So thank you for reminding me of this! I’m excited to give you a peek today into our large art bins and what we do with the materials.

A Peek Inside Our Current Baskets

• Fabric and ribbon remnants
• Broken toys, random do-dads, lots of scratched CDs
• Wood bits
• Cardboard/recycled items and used gift bags

Choosing Baskets

When our art space gets messy, having streamlined baskets helps it look less cluttered and keeps me feeling a little more sane, (but that’s just me!). We use these Half Tone Cube Baskets from The Land Of Nod, but I often use these medium Water Hyacinth Bins from The Container Store for clients who want a streamlined look at a lower price point.

Here are some other ways to find large bins on a budget: Look around your house for unused baskets, use cardboard boxes, check your local thrift store, dollar store, or big box retailer. Our previous baskets that I had collected from around the house worked great for years!

If you have a toddler, these types of storage bins can be a great distraction from an older sibling’s art supplies. Items like toilet paper rolls, egg cartons, fabric scraps, etc, are toddler-safe and fun for little ones to explore. Just keep the amount of items in each basket to a minimum so you don’t have a huge pile to put away later.

What Do We Do With These Materials?

The items in our large baskets tend to be the most flexible and open-ended of our art materials. Really, the sky’s the limit! We’ve used them to make sculptures, habitats, doll accessories, castles, costumes, and so much more.

Do you keep recycled items, fabric, and other bits and bobs in your art space? If so, where do you store them? Please share about it in the comments below.

If you are looking for a little more guidance in setting up your art space, check out my recently launched e-guide, The New Playroom, here.