Do you have kids? Do they love to craft? If your little artists have their fair share of crayons, paints, sequins, stickers, glue, paper, and more, take a look at what you need to know about packing and moving your kids’ craft supplies.

Keep Your Child’s Supplies Separate

If you’re tempted to pack the entire family’s crafting supplies in one big box or bin, think again. While, from an organizational standpoint, this makes sense, it can result in potential risks after you unpack.

Unlike adult crafting materials, supplies made specifically for young children conform to safety standards — such as the use of non-toxic ingredients. Along with toxicity issues, kids’ crafting supplies are often washable. You won’t always find this plus with made-for-adult paints, makers, or pens.

Before you move, separate your child’s crafting materials from yours (or other for-adult-only art supplies). Clearly label boxes in bins with more than just “craft supplies” or “art.” Add who the materials are for or create a color-coding system with one hue for children’s items and another for those that a teen or adult can use.

Choose Plastic Bins Over Cardboard Boxes

What happens if your child’s tempera paints accidentally spill mid-move? If they’re in a cardboard box, whatever is under or next to them is likely to end up in a paint puddle. Stop moving truck messes before they start and choose sealable plastic bins. While the paint (or other messy material) may still create chaos inside the bin, your other belongings will stay safe.

Not only can bins help to reduce the risks of a move-day mess, but they can also keep your kids’ stuff safe. Cardboard boxes often have slim gaps or holes where one flap folds over the other. This leaves room for smaller items, such as buttons, beads, or sequins, to fall out. While a thick layer of packing tape can minimize the potential for art material loss, plastic bins will stop this problem completely.

Plastic bins are also the perfect pick if you plan to store some of the items during or after your move. Simply stack the bins on top of each other in a storage unit to keep them safe until your child needs them again.

Organize With Smaller Bins and Boxes

Now that you’ve chosen a few plastic bins to move your child’s art items in, it’s time to organize them. Group the craft materials in categories by use — such as paint supplies, drawing tools, or collage items. You can also opt for a wet versus dry materials organizational strategy. This is helpful if you have concerns about leakage or other types of damage during your move.

If you have multiple types of items grouped together, use smaller bins or boxes to organize everything within the larger plastic bins. This may mean that you put crayons, markers, and colored pencils in individual containers before you place them in the “drawing tools” bin.

Another option is to use a craft caddy. This allows you to safely store several different items, such as glitter, sequins, beads, and crayons, in one space. You can either move the caddy with you as-is in the car or place it in a larger bin with other art items.

Remove Anything Breakable or Fragile

Fragile items such as your child’s glass pencil holder and delicate watercolor paint cakes require special attention during the move.

Remove these items before you pack and keep them separate as you pack. Wrap breakable containers with fluffy towels or use cardboard bin dividers to reduce the risk of mid-move breakage. If possible, place fragile paints and other similar materials in their original packaging for the move.

Do you need help with your move? Contact Island Movers for more information.