Organizing Children's Playthings...

So I haven't gotten very far into the book due to my job of chasing around two little crazies all day - but sometimes I think it is a good thing that I only got a paragraph or two in - because then I can contemplate that one topic for a longer period of time....

So this morning I got in my Paragraph and it happened to be on Organizing children's playthings... Oh - this is the struggle of my world! Cleaning up My kids toys - And I have realized it's partly my fault that our toy room is such a mess all the time...

For those of you who do not have the Book "the Ultimate Career" Here is a little bit from the book I enjoyed this morning....

"Children are precious, but it requires a lot of prioritizing and patience to raise them. They are bent on missions of destruction. They can spill, splash, scatter, mix up, mess up, and undo your day's work in a minute's time. They seem to specialize in causing clutter. Such Clutter, however, is not part of the problem. Scattered toys are not usually a sign of neglect; they can be evidence of growth, development and good times for children. However, they should gradually be taught to manage their clothing and toys and to clean up after themselves. It is a slow process. A young child can be expected to pick up about as many items as he or she is years old, so you do not get much help from a three year old. The training program and the ultimate results can be greatly enhanced,
however by these few tips:"

Keep the playroom de-junked

Throw away broken toys

Give away Surplus toys

Assign a "Home" for each toy

in addition to helping keep things neat,

this system reassures children, who find

security in order and routine

Create organizers for things

Be consistent in having the children 'help"

put their play things away at the end of

each play period or at the end of the day.

(Pg 19-20 of "The Ultimate Career")

I Thought it was interesting that they said you could expect a child to pick up as many items as they are old --- I usually refuse to pick up my kids toy room - The kids do pick up the whole disaster themselves with my coaching ---- But Recently we have been cleaning the toy room like this --- the kids take turns picking up 5 things - and we have this little rebounder excersize trampoline in their toy room - so while one kid is picking up their 5 things the other kid is jumping on the trampoline - It has been nice to not have to beg them to clean their toy room - It is more like a game - than anything - And they are always so proud of themselves by the end - and they have used up a lot of energy on their little trampoline!
I found a great article on

Sorting and Storing your Child's Artwork

The picture above is how we hang our kids pictures and things - IT is just 3 yard sticks 9 bulldog clips and 9 screws ( I just threw a screw through the hole in the bulldog clip and thru the yard stick to attach them to the wall) so for about $9 dollars or so I have a great place to hang the kids artwork and papers and I think it looks cute on the wall in their toy room or bedroom. I know some people who take a photo of all the artwork - and put it either on a blog or a photo album - I personally think I will do the blog - because then you can absorb it into a blog book and have all the artwork in one book to enjoy forever rather than having it all cluttering up your house.

Other great publishing sites:
LuLu
Shutterfly

Sarah's Organizing

I have been working hard at getting my home squared away to move into. You should see the binder that I have created and recently I got my graph paper out! What a tool that is when you are preparing to organize. I drew out all the rooms with closets and drawers and penciled out where everything was going to go.

One day I was doing it and Hope (Trent's sister) was hanging out and she is preparing to move into a home herself and she couldn't believe how much time and work I was putting into this project. She then asked me to help her out with her house.

I love doing things like this its like my unforseen hobby or whatever that I didn't know I had. I love to put things into their proper order and place and make it feel usable. So here is some of my pictures of what I have been doing

Enjoy!

Please get a label maker it will work wonders on your home as well as your husbands so that they know where things go.

Help me please!

Okay, I am outnumbered and overrun by my kids' DVDs. It thought that I had a practical solution with baskets that fit in our entertainment center. Every day though, they end up strewn about the family room. Even when they are put away they overflow in their baskets. When they are out, the kids open them and pull out the DVDs and end up scratching them. Does anyone have a tried & true solution to my dilemma?
-Allison