10 Clever Ways to Organize Your Art Supplies (Without Losing Your Mind)

Let’s face it, an art room without a solid art supply organization system is just a beautiful mess waiting to implode. Pencils vanish. Glue stick caps multiply. Paper scraps stage a coup in every corner. And just when you find the scissors, someone’s asking, “Where are the black permanent markers?” again.

But here’s the truth: a well-organized art room doesn’t kill creativity, it supercharges it. With the right art supply setup, your space can inspire independence, save your sanity, and keep your materials (and students) from going rogue. These tried-and-true art supply organization tips are designed with real art educators in mind, because no one has time for a 47-minute cleanup.

Whether you’re in a mobile cart, a shared space, or a fully stocked art room, these art supply organization tips will save time, reduce waste, and keep the focus on creativity.

For more tips and tricks, and deeper strategies to transform how you organize art supplies in your art room this year, don’t miss two key Packs from PRO Learning:

1. Organizing Your Elementary Art Room for Success
2. Routines for Managing Supplies

1. Start with zones, not bins.

Instead of organizing by specific supplies, think in terms of purpose and create zones for each medium. Keep all related tools and materials in the same area, even if they seem to overlap. For example, instead of grouping all papers together, store watercolor paper with the watercolor paint and drawing paper with pencils and charcoal. This way, everything is already bundled together, and you don’t have to run to multiple places to grab supplies for a lesson.

Tip:

Use signage and visuals to label each zone clearly. Color-coded masking tape lines on shelves, tabletops, or floors can also define boundaries for different media areas.

2. Go vertical with wall storage.

When floor and table space is limited, let your walls save the day. Install pegboards, magnetic strips, hanging baskets, and floating shelves to store frequently used items within reach. This is a great organizational strategy if you are visual and need to see everything you have. Plus, art supplies can now double as decor!

Trick:

If you’re not able to drill into the walls, add shower curtain rods or tension rods with hooks.

3. Create “grab and go” kits.

For high-traffic art supplies like pencils, erasers, glue sticks, and scissors, assemble portable kits. You can even create kits for special supplies, like acrylic paint, or make them project-specific, to send home for absent students. No more rummaging around for supplies because they’re already packaged and ready to distribute. Use caddies, zipper bags, toolboxes, or even repurposed lunchboxes.

Tip:

Label supply kits by student, table group, or class period to foster accountability and reduce mid-class disruptions. Students are more likely to care for their supplies if they know they’ll get back the same exact ones next time. 

4. Embrace the power of clear containers.

If you can’t see it, you’re more likely to forget you have it. Transparent bins, jars, and drawers allow you and your students to visually scan for supplies. No more digging through dark, mysterious boxes! Ask families to donate unused clear plastic tubs, shoe boxes, or containers. Additionally, harness your PTA/PTO and ask them to purchase some bins for you. Take satisfying before and after photos to share as a “thank you,” along with pictures or videos of students easily accessing supplies out of the bins. 

Trick:

There are many budget-friendly and free options for clear containers. Aside from your local dollar store, recycled food containers work excellently. Baby food jars can store glitter, beads, paint, or slip. Deli meat or take-out containers can hold hand-building clay tools, drawing pencils, or embroidery floss and needles. Giant cheeseball canisters can store yarn, fabric, or cardboard scraps.

5. Make the most of student helpers.

Empower students to become your organizers and organization enforcers. You can assign jobs based on the zone or task. Have regular jobs that occur each class and rotate so all students get a turn, like Table Tidier and Caddy Checker. Introduce special jobs for project- or medium-specific tasks, like a Clay Collector during a ceramics unit. No matter the age or grade level, when students have opportunities for ownership in the art room, they’re more likely to respect and maintain the systems. 

Tip:

Harness student helpers to curb wild behaviors in the art room by having a list of organizational tasks ready to pull from. If a student finishes early, offer them a choice of organizational tasks. If a student is starting to get frustrated with an artwork or is goofing off, give them ways to contribute to the classroom organization. Often, sorting art supplies is therapeutic and mindless and provides just the break the student needs before they can rejoin the class. It can also make the student feel important with a special helper privilege, which can shift their mood and mentality.

6. Digitize your inventory.

Use a simple spreadsheet, old school clipboard, or an inventory app to keep track of your supplies. If your district doesn’t already have something in place for this, use what works best for you! Record what you have, where it’s stored, item details, and the quantity. It’s also helpful to note details like brands, specific links to products, and how long supplies typically last. This will make ordering a breeze, as well as requesting budgets or shopping with grant money.

Trick:

Try using QR codes on bins or cabinet doors that are linked to your inventory list. As soon as something runs low or gets replenished, scan the code and update your inventory.

7. Label, label, label!

This sounds obvious, but labels are your first line of defense against clutter. Label bins, drawers, cabinets, and even shelves. The more specific, the better. Instead of “Colored Pencils,” try “Colored Pencils: Warm Colors.” When labels are specific, students are able to find what they need and put it away properly on their own. It’s also an opportunity to reinforce art terminology, like “warm colors.” 

Tip:

One way to get customizable labels for pennies is to use packing tape. Write on top of the tape with a permanent marker. When you need to swap the label, use a dry-erase marker on top of the permanent marker to remove the writing. 

8. Keep a “restock” basket.

Designate a bin where everyone will place empty or broken supplies. Check it at the end of each week so you’re not caught off guard mid-project on Monday morning. Sort through to determine what you can revive and what you can toss. This will also give you a hint on what supplies to take a further inventory peek at.

Trick:

Make the bin fun so students will remember to use it! For example, create a “graveyard” complete with a tombstone to commemorate the “dead” art supplies.

9. Build a mobile supply station.

Sometimes the art happens in small groups, at student desks, in the hallway, or even outside. A mobile supply cart or rolling station gives you flexibility without sacrificing organization. Stock it with the essentials for whatever unit you’re teaching. Use drawer carts or tiered rolling carts with bins or baskets. You’ll save time on setup, minimize foot traffic to supply areas, and make differentiated instruction a breeze.

Tip:

For some reason, the same art supplies are extra special when they’re housed and used in a different spot. When you notice your students are getting a little antsy or listless, roll out your mobile supply station and switch up environments! A change of scenery can do wonders for students’ mood and motivation.

10. Audit regularly.

Take 15 minutes once a month to audit a section of your art supply storage. Play your favorite art education podcast, set a timer, and organize. Toss dried-out markers, wipe out and re-sort bins, and update labels. This bite-sized habit is much easier than a once-a-year overhaul, and more fun when you’re listening to hilarious stories!

Trick:

Do this task at the end of the day, before you leave. You will shock yourself with how fast you can move when you’re motivated to go home for the weekend!

A chaotic art room might look fun in theory, but in practice, it results in lost materials, wasted minutes, and burned-out art teachers. By creating art supply zones, using vertical storage space and clear containers, labeling, and auditing regularly, you can transform your space. Your art room will be a well-oiled creative machine where art supplies are easy to find, students know the drill, and you get to focus on teaching art and not digging through drawers. The only thing more powerful than an art room full of imagination… is one that’s actually organized enough to make it happen!

Identify one zone or supply area in your classroom that needs the most attention.

Share how you will organize the area to support student independence.

To chat about art supply organization tips and tricks with other art teachers, join us in The Art of Ed Community!