What to do with all those kids' drawings

If your fridge is full and there's a drawer that won't shut, you're not alone. Kids make a staggering amount of art, and throwing any of it away feels wrong. Here's a calm way through it.

Keep the ones that matter. You don't have to keep everything to keep the memory. Pick the pieces that are really them — the first time they drew the whole family, the dinosaur phase, the one with the story on the back.

Photograph the rest, then let them go. A photo keeps the drawing without the paper. Snap each piece (see our guide on photographing artwork), save it, and recycle the physical copy with a clear conscience. The memory stays; the pile doesn't.

Keep it somewhere that isn't the camera roll. Photos of drawings get lost among thousands of other pictures. Canvasy gives each child their own gallery, so a year of art is in one place instead of scattered through your phone.

Note who made it and when. On Canvasy you can tag each piece to a child and add the date it was made. Later you can look back at just one child, or just one year — which is lovely, and impossible with a shoebox.

Do a little at a time. A few pieces a week beats a once-a-year marathon. Keep your phone handy where the art lands — the kitchen table, the school bag — and photograph as you go.

Decide who sees each piece. Most of this is just for your family. On Canvasy you choose who can see each piece — just you, your family through a private link, a group, or everyone — so you can keep most of it to yourselves and share only what you want. Your child's first name stays off public pages and out of search unless you choose otherwise.