Cool Product - Artkive

I know it's summer, and no one likes to mention the word 'school' during the summer, but I want to prepare you for what is coming. I bring up the topic of 'school' because just like kids, parents need to start the school year with tools to make their lives easier.

I've started using an app for de-cluttering my house and I wanted to share it with you so you're ready for the day your child brings home this:

and this:

And enough three-dimesional pieces of art to fill an exhibition space at the MOMA.

The app is called Artkive...

Their tag line is: 'The clutter free way to save and enjoy your child's artwork'

I read about it in an article on apps for Moms about a year ago and decided to give it a try. I'm so glad I did--I LOVE IT!

True Confessions: Despite the fact I'm a Professional Organizer, I still have to deal with the influx of my children's artwork just like you do. What I've done in the past was display some of my son's artwork, have him sort and purge all of it with me at the end of the year, photograph him with some of it, keep his best pieces and toss the rest. We still take pics of his artwork if he no longer wants to keep it but Artkive has made the process a much easier and organized one.

Now, artwork comes home from TWO children and as it comes out of their backpacks, I 'Artkive' the work of art and place them in each child's room either for display or storage.

If you'd like to see the top of your horizontal surfaces this school year, read on--you can thank me later...

How to start...

• Download the Artkive app (for iPhone and Android).
• Set up an account with the name(s) of your child(ren) and their grade in school.
• Take a picture of your kid's artwork or upload from your camera roll.
• Tag the photo with your child's name, grade, date and title of artwork.
• Share with family and friend or turn into a book (coming soon: other products).

It's just that simple. I haven't created a book of my kids' artwork yet, but it's something I would definitely try out in the future. Currently, there are two options: 8"x8" or 8"x11." The cost is $25 for the first 20 pages--$1.00 for each additional page. Before holiday time, Artkive plans to expand to gifts like mugs, calendars and the like.

Why I love Artkive...
• It's EASY to use.
• I can quickly email artwork to my husband or parents without having to first download the pictures to my computer and emailing them from there.
• All artwork is backed up in the 'cloud.'

• It helps eliminate artwork clutter.

• It's free. Go download it and set it up before the first day of school.

You're welcome.

After you've used it for a while, come back and let me know what you think about Artkive!