Keep your child's artwork as photos

Q: There is too much to keep up with

You don't need all of it. Photograph the ones you hesitate over. The ones you throw away without hesitating were never the ones to keep.

Published 2026-08-23 · Updated 2026-08-23

The drawings and models keep arriving. You know you can't keep all of them, and yet your hand stops at the bin. Once it is photographed, your hand stops stopping.

A child's drawings and models laid out month by month

Different from letting them pile up in your camera roll

You are probably photographing them already. The reason you never look back is that they are buried between holiday photos and pictures of paperwork. Put the artwork on its own, in order, and looking back becomes one tap.

Only the artwork is there, so you can read straight through it
Each piece carries its date, so you know when it happened
They can be reordered — by time, or by kind
A year of it can go to the grandparents as one PDF

Step by step

1. Shoot it the day it comes home

"I'll do them all later" never happens. Photographing it in the hallway, the moment it is handed to you, is the version that lasts. Shoot square on, from above, out of your own shadow, so the drawing is still readable years later.

One shot is enough for a model. Several angles of the same object just look like repetition once they are lined up.

2. Write the date, and their words

Entering a title, a month, and a line about the day

Use the title they gave it, exactly as they said it. The wording you feel like correcting is the wording worth keeping. Put the month in the note field and it sits just under the photo.

Add one line of description about the day: "the roof colour was non-negotiable", "twelve spikes, and no fewer". These are the things you will have forgotten in ten years — more so than the piece itself.

3. Group them by year or by kind

Consecutive pieces can go into a named group — "final year of nursery", "year one". Each group gets a frame, so the years stay visible as the pile grows. A folder per year works too.

4. Mark the ones that are going somewhere

Labels like "Keep" or "For grandparents" can be attached. You name them yourself, so they work just as well for separating what you keep in the flesh from what exists only as a photo. The decision about the physical object gets made on screen, first.

5. Send the year as a PDF

The share button lays the board out as a PDF exactly as you see it. Mail it to the grandparents, or print it for an album. They don't need the app.

Questions

Can I include photos of the child holding the work?

Yes. Photos stay on your device, and go only where you send the PDF.

What about more than one child?

Use a folder each. Two are free; a one-time Premium purchase lifts the limit.

There is too much to keep up with

You don't need all of it. Photograph the ones you hesitate over. The ones you throw away without hesitating were never the ones to keep.

Can I reorder them later?

Yes — long-press and drop it where it belongs. Older pieces can be slotted in afterwards.

Is it free?

Yes. Two folders and one banner ad. Premium removes the ad and the folder limit. It is not a subscription.