storage in the classroom - tips and tricks for art teachers

this post is definitely more for the art teacher.  this is my third year teaching art in this district so my bag of tricks isn't very big but i have definitely come a looonnnnggg way since my first year so i thought i would just share how i store/organize items in my room that have saved me tons of time and energy.  

let's start with the basics: supplies for "every day" use such as scissors, glue sticks, scraps, etc. i store in color-coded bins.  making everything color coded might look "pretty" but it also helps determine where things should be so students don't fight over certain supplies.

scissors organized by color

sorry for the blurry shot, here are some markers organized by tables, as well.  

the shelves below i usually load up during the year as we use things so i don't have to go digging around for certain things all the time.  i like my students to know where things are and to feel at home if they need to find something, within reason.  they don't have free access to these shelves unless they are the helper table or have asked for something specifically.  but, nonetheless i want them to have everything out in the open.  


my shelves look really empty right now.  usually there are scrap boxes up there, oil pastels, chalk, pretty much anything we need other than paint. 

shelves for unique stuff that i don't necessarily use every day but i want to be out in the open visually so they are easy to reach: brayers, scratch foam, scrapbook paper, recycled/repurposed materials (it's a box of non-paper items i have that i don't want to throw away but i don't know what to do with yet, cardboard pieces for scraping paint/stamping (i do projects with kinder, 3rd and 5th - images coming soon!!)

paint storage is a whole other battle in itself.  i'll admit it, my first year i hardly used any tempera paint.  i was scared of it, sick of it, thought it was a pain to prep and use.  but now i have an easy system that works great and isn't wasteful!! 

below is how i store tempera for a certain project.  i prep paint like this if i need a lot of colors for specific lessons.  

tempera paint prepped for an upcoming 2nd grade painting project.  usually i don't prep so many colors.  i use the 6-spaced muffin tins a lot more but i needed unusual colors for this one :)

i inherited these muffin tins (to the left i also have 6-space containers) and i use these all the time!  it's so easy to prep and if you have gallon-sized ziploc bags (add that to a wish list!!! i use them ALL the time and leave them around my room for odd uses) just slide the paint into them carefully.  i usually handle these myself, lay them on the counter and then students at the helper table pass them out.  i have taught students how to take them out of the bag/put them back in without spilling because, let's face it, i have 5 minutes between classes which really equates to 45 seconds on some days - so it's nice to have another set of responsible hands doing all that work.  

if i only need, let's say, the primary colors i would just prep paper plates with those colors for that lesson and either pitch em at the end or save them if they still look reusable.  

to save on counter space and to have easy access to paint, i use my cart all the time!!  if you don't have one try to get an extra table just to have everything ready to go for classes.  i usually pour water for the students to start with, just so they know how much to refill with in case they need to change out dirty water, but it depends on the class.  

here are my watercups (the unspill-able kind!! - try cottage cheese/butter tubs, too. they work great) and my watercolors.  i separate kinder-2nd grade and 3rd-5th.  i also try to keep brushes separate, too.  i have some expensive brushes i only use with older grades.  

i'm pretty obsessed with color-coding everything.  to me, it just looks cleaner and more organized. here are the watercolor refills i keep on hand so i can just pop them out of the trays and pop new ones in.  i keep this in a drawer so that kids don't think they can take them when they want.  some kids really like to see how this works, i make them a part of helping me change out paints.  i know it seems small, but having some kids help seems like a reward to them, and you get a little extra help around the classroom.  i love this system because we get to keep the trays and the cases instead of tossing them in the garbage and wasting materials and paint.  

just pull out your drawer of paints and pop in what you need. i keep the cart right next to this drawer to make things easy. label these containers, too because violet brown and black and look really similar at the end of a long day  :)

paper storage: since i am always going into my cabinets to prep paper and get out what i need, it tends to get disorganized and FAST.  here is a trick that i actually used from pinterest!  keep colors in small sized (9x12) in a filing cabinet (a filing box with hanging folders would work great, too!!) and it's easy access for you.  i LOVE this system.  i wish i had extra-wide filing cabinets for the 12x18 papers, but i will work on that...

such easy access!! i love it!  i have a drawer above it for neon/unique papers, too!

lesson planning/storage: this one i struggle with because i have limited space and i love having things out in the open but i also don't want students to be touching things that have taken me years to acquire.  

here is how i store lessons: i have a bin for each grade level and add worksheets i've used in the past, stencils i've made, examples for the projects that i show to classes, etc. and just have them out on my counter.  as the year goes on i'm constantly peeking in to grab something and put it out on my "on deck" table which is basically materials prepped for the following week.  

papers/supplies on top either need to be filed away or they are going to be use in a few weeks for projects.  if i don't have them out in the open i won't remember that i prepped them! :) so everything needs to be seen with me.

here is the 1st grade bin.  as i continue teaching i'm sure my need for bigger bins will increase but for now these work great!

hope all of these tips helped.  i have a TON more but i figured i'd start with storage and organization first.  if you have a system in place, share it! i am always open to new ideas seeing as i borrowed, stole, modified pretty much everything i used in my classroom. 

hope this helps make your classroom a happy and creative one!

share your tips on classroom organization in the art studio below: