Tidy Arts & Crafts Storage Ideas

Discover how to organize an arts & crafts storage cabinet in six easy steps and under an hour! Enjoy the benefits for years to come!

Do you ever have a cabinet that's a disaster, but you just shut the doors and carry on? For years??

That was me with our kids' art cabinet in the kitchen. Yes, it might seem like an odd spot for arts and crafts storage, but let me back up.

When we moved in, we had more kitchen cabinet space than we knew what to do with. The girls are always writing letters, drawing and working on craft projects at the kitchen table, so it made sense to keep some basic art supplies in the kitchen.

After a couple of years, though, it had become a mountain of clutter, and I knew I had to tackle the problem spot. Every time we opened the doors, I was afraid everything would come tumbling out!

BEFORE Arts and Craft Storage Cabinet Ideas

Helpful Tips for Organizing Cabinets:

When I start a small organizing project, I like to keep a few tips in mind:

1. Keep the Categories Simple

I like the simplest system possible. Our cabinet holds notebooks, coloring books, games, headphones, play dough and utensils (the utensils are sorted into one bin).

I don't get too specific, so the categories can shift as our needs change. They aren't rigid at all.

2. Make it easier to put things away than to take them out!

If putting things away is easy, like dropping them into an open box, they're far more likely to get picked up.

This one simple tip has been life-changing, I tell you!

3. Choose Clear Bins

When storage sits behind a closed door, I like clear bins. In my pantry, which is open almost 24/7, I wanted closed baskets. But in an art cabinet, where I only look inside when hunting for supplies, I'd much rather have clear containers so I can see what's in them!

Shop My Favorite Arts & Crafts Organizers:

I knew how we used the cabinet. It mostly held books, paper, games, play dough, markers and crayons. So I brainstormed which containers would work best for books and notebooks and for corralling markers, pencils and so on.

Always check your cabinet's measurements before ordering to make sure the bins will fit.

I found some great multi-purpose bins with handles that let me stand up the notebooks and still fit in the cabinet. I loved the handles, which make them easy to carry to the table and easy to pull out for dropping things in.

For the bottom shelf, I found clear storage bins, also with handles, which were perfect for stacks of paper and our utensils. I had to tuck the second bin behind the first, but it holds construction paper and plain paper.

Cleanup is so much easier now!

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How to Organize Any Cabinet, Step by Step

As always, when organizing a space, I follow these steps:

take everything out of the space
group items into similar piles
toss the trash
wipe down the cabinet surfaces
sort everything into bins
label everything!

The whole process took me about 45 minutes, and I couldn't wait to show my daughters when they got home from school. They loved it! (My oldest said it was a crafter's dream come true. Mom wins!!)

Already it's easier to clear the kitchen table for dinner, now that everything has a place and is easy to put away.

Those two boxes in the bottom left are our sensory kits from Young, Wild & Friedman.

I'm waiting on a new power cord for my label maker, so for now I've written on the bins with a chalk marker. I can wipe it off when I make proper labels, and until then it helps everyone know where things belong!

Labels take the guesswork out of cleanup.

I know we'll keep it organized, because every space I've truly organized and labeled, like our pantry and garage, has stayed that way with very little effort.

I hope these arts and crafts storage ideas inspire you to get one space in your home organized! I promise it will make you feel like you've accomplished so much, and you'll enjoy the benefits for years to come!