Clutter-Clearing Crafts

Make Your Own Pencil Jars
Sometimes the combination of a rainy day and a messy house are all it takes to inspire a useful sort of project. This was one of those days. The rain pelted the windows, merging with the snowmelt to create a swampy mess outside. Inside, things weren't much better. Half of the flat surfaces in sight were strewn with stacks of paper, magazines, books, and more paper, with a liberal sprinkling of crayons, markers, and tip-less pencils throughout. Read more.

Homemade Shadow Boxes
Most of our art projects tend to add clutter, not eliminate it. But I found one creative activity -- making shadow boxes -- that actually helped us see the surface of Caitlin and Ellie's desks and dressers. No small feat, I promise you. Read more.

Collection Protection
I was waiting in my doctor's office, where faced with a dismal selection of reading materials -- People Magazine circa 1998 and vintage Family Circles -- I found myself thumbing through the only current publication in the room, The New England Journal of Medicine. Just as I was sliding into a medical-jargon-induced coma, a picture caught my eye -- a photo of Petri dishes on a lab cart. As I admired the precise rows of little containers, my inner-organizer snapped to attention. Here was the solution for handling my daughter Grace's nature collections. Read more.

Identity Crisis
Grace emerged from kindergarten bursting with new-found knowledge and skills. But I was surprised by how much I ended up learning: crying mommies far outnumber crying children on the first day, you switch lanes in the pick-up line at your own risk, and there's nothing scarier than the lost-and-found pile at an elementary school. Two missing jean jackets, a lost lunch thermos and an AWOL pair of mittens later, I've learned that keeping up with your kid's stuff is far from child's play. Along with some serious conversations with Grace about responsibility, I'm gearing up for first grade with a labeling vengeance. Read more.