It happens to every household: once your kiddo is about 5 years old, “the plastic toy tide” begins to rise.

The small toys and bits and pieces from sets of LEGOs, Polly Pockets and various tiny toys begin to spill out of the child play spaces and an ocean of feet puncturing tiny thingamajigs flood the grown up spaces of your home!

You CAN fight it. There are ways to stuff the toy tornado back into a tamed play space environment.

5 Tips for Organizing and Containing the Toy Clutter

1.  Give ‘em Responsibility

Coaching kids on organizing their own gear in the first place is key to teaching them future responsibility skills (and keeping the clutter out of the living spaces!). Make sure there is a place for everything and help kids slow down and play with a few items at a time cleaning up before moving on. Make clean up a game—as Mary Poppins suggests! Use a timer for competitive personalities, and dress up as the ‘Cleanup Monster’ for creative tykes!

2.  Think Safety First

As older siblings become more interested in toys and games with smaller pieces, it’s important to pay attention to where those pieces land especially with toddlers around! Use a gate to corral the older kid and keep potentially choking-hazard toys away from the toddler. Another option is to only use the tiny toys during nap time of the younger sibling. Make it fun time for your ‘big kid’ by sitting down with them to play with marbles, magnet toys and other itty bitty baby no-nos!

3.  Travel Tips

Shared family spaces exist in more than just the home.

• Long Road Trips
• Airline Travel
• Restaurants
• Grandma and Grandpa’s house
• Beach House, or Vacation Rental/Hotel

It’s a given that kids will want to bring along family toys and gadgets on vacations, but they tend to take over the small spaces! Be judicious in what you choose to bring along. Precious toys might get lost, larger items won’t fit in luggage or store well in a tiny hotel room and think about toys that can double as a pillow on an airplane!

4.  It’s a Cinch…Literally

Use the patent pending Lay-n-Go or Lay-n-Go LITE activity mat and cleanup solution to keep the chaos contained, and encourage kids’ personal responsibility and safety all in one! The Lay-n-Go lays flat with a roomy 5+ feet of play space. With one cinch it transforms into a carryall and storage solution. So, kids can play for hours and cleanup in seconds!  (Bonus TIP: Use Lay-n-Go LITE on airplanes and at restaurants, keeping the area tidy and not loosing any precious pieces!)

5.  Make it a Fun Space they’ll WANT to Play in

If they love the play space they’ll want to be in it more, paint the playroom (or even an extra under the stairs space) bright fun colors and help their imagination go wild. Hire a budding artist to paint a mural on the wall, or paint one side in chalk board paint and let your own child become the budding artist!

About the Author:
Amy Fazackerley, mom of three young rambunctious boys, needed a solution to organizing the mountain of LEGOs growing in her living room. Sheets and bins weren’t cutting it and she invented the Lay-n-Go activity mat and cleanup solution (It’s a cinch…Literally!). She and her husband love finding new solutions to create a clutter free lifestyle for their family of five both at home and on-the-go. To learn more, visit them at www.layngo.com and join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.

When Kid’s Play Spaces Take Over YOUR Spaces! is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

With the joy of being a mother and getting to love on your children comes the challenge of having to deal with all of their ‘stuff’! One of the biggest organizational challenges that I hear from other mothers is how to handle the children’s papers and art projects.  As a mom of six, believe me, I can sympathize!  Managing paper is almost as daunting and unforgiving a task as laundry in my home.  {Almost}

I think it helps to identify the type of paper you are organizing.  There are papers that require action and then there are papers that require filing or storage.  These need to be handled differently.

Action Papers

Papers that children might bring home that require action include: permission slips to complete; a party invitation that requires a phone call, and then a trip to the store for a gift; school newsletters or classroom announcements telling of an upcoming event or day off.

In order to ensure that you don’t miss anything, you need to first decide on ONE place for these papers to live.  In our house, the active papers live in ‘the brown box’ in my kitchen (pictured).  This box is also where all papers land when they come into our house, either via our mail box, backpacks, work briefcases, etc.  These bins are collapsible so I can, in theory, tuck them away (IF it was ever completely emptied).

I check book bags when the children first arrive home.  I like to act on anything I am able to act on immediately.  Often the only thing required of me is to sign something and return it.  That happens right then and I place right back in the child’s bag.

However, sometimes there is a need to check the calendar, or discuss something with a spouse or a child.  There may be a need to write a check for an activity, team, or field trip.  Other times there is paper that gives me information that I need, but that I don’t need right now.  Those are the things that I’ll put it in my box.

I go through my box weekly, usually on Sunday afternoons.  I admit, however, that sometimes I end up looking for a paper mid-week.  That is alright though; at least I know that it is in the box.

Papers Requiring Filing/Storage

Papers that do not require action should be kept for a pre-determined amount of time and then discarded.  Some examples of this type of paper include: completed everyday assignments, art projects, contact lists for teams, or schedules and calendars.   Here are a couple of ideas for how to take care of these types of papers:

You can use open file holders on the desk or counter top, perhaps with a folder for each child or each type of activity.  Use pretty file folders to give it a pop.

Consider setting up monthly “Reminder”  files – a file for every month, for upcoming events, reminders, deadlines, etc. more than a month away (birthday party ideas and gift ideas are great to pop into monthly reminder files).  Consider setting up a portable filing system (pictured) that can be moved from room to room to allow you to go through papers at your leisure.

Also, if your young Picasso’s artwork and projects are frequent, one idea is to save them all to review twice a school year – like at winter break and again once the school year is over.  At that time, have your child pick their top 10.  To keep those pictures in between your review times, consider housing these pieces in colorful document boxes on a shelf that allows easy access for them to add to and/or look through.

Another great idea is to take a picture of the artwork or project.  You can print up and keep the photo as a memory (then you can toss the big cumbersome original).  Alternatively, you can create a memory book online by uploading these pictures to one of the numerous photo service companies.

My personal favorite product for displaying my children’s artwork isn’t even a Clever Container product (are you shocked?!)  The product I use (and love!) is those picture frames that allow you to display one piece of artwork while storing a bunch more within the frame itself.  Genius!!  (http://www.dynamicframes.com/) I have four of these 9 x 12 and I have them in my long hallway – 2 hung portrait and 2 hung landscape (because the kids artwork can come home either way) I alternate the artwork displayed when they bring home special things they are proud of.

So, to recap: Action items are always contained in ONE location; Misc. papers are filed close at hand and attractively; and Artwork is displayed when possible, contained for a predetermined time, and then purged down to a reasonable amount a couple of times a year.

***************

For more information about Colleen and the Clever Container line of products please visit Colleen’s website.

Organizing Kid’s Papers and Art Projects is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

I can’t even begin to tell you how excited I am that I’m able to run another promotion in my shop on one of my all time favorite tools for empowering kids with organization.  This magnetic wipe-off visual calendar was used by my son for years and years starting from about 2 years of age (he is six and a half now and reads so it doesn’t get used as often anymore).  He loved being able to set up the days with the applicable magnets (there are 58 fun and colorful magnets included) and he would check it over and over again throughout the day.  It also meant I didn’t have to keep answering the exact same questions about what was going to happen next over and over again, so worth it for that reason alone!  I can’t recommend this product more highly and trust me it’s never too early to start teaching such a valuable life long skill!

You’ll find this awesome kid’s calendar on sale in my shop for the next two days for $15.00!

My Favorite Visual Calendar for Kids! is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

A change in season means a rotation of the wardrobe, and unless your child has plenty of room in his or her dresser or closet, you will likely be storing the finished season’s garments and bringing out the new season’s clothing.  The trick is to do it in such a way that you don’t lose track of items for which you’ve paid good money.  Whether you misplace items or simply purchase too many of the same kind of item, it is a sad waste of precious family resources.  By spending an hour or two organizing and inventorying your child(ren)’s clothing, you will discover both what you have and what you still need for the upcoming season.

Here are some steps and suggestions to make the process as easy as possible.

1.  Make a plan and gather supplies.  All it takes is an adequate amount of storage in drawers or in a closet, a large tote (or two), and a convenient yet hidden place to store it (possibly in his/her closet, in the attic/basement, at the bottom of the linen closet).  We also keep a long, shallow tote under the bed for pre-season rotation (e.g. short sleeve shirts for when it starts to warm up).   Have some paper and  pencil ready for taking notes about your findings.  Keeping track is a lot easier when you write it down.

2.  Separate each child’s clothing. Keeping them separate will make the inventory process much easier.

3.  Sort all of one child’s clothing into piles (shirts, shorts, etc), by seasons (spring/summer, fall/winter), and by size.

4.  Make a list.  List different items of clothing in the left-hand column (long-sleeve shirts, short-sleeve shirts, pants, jeans, shorts, skirts, socks, etc). I make columns for 2 or 3 sizes because I buy ahead (see example). I also make a column that says “Need” so I know what I still need. (Members to ListPlanIt.com will find several types of Clothing Inventories in the Home Management section.)

5.  Count the items in each pile and record on your inventory. I once found that I had 16 pairs of shorts in a size 4 for my boy because I had bought them on sale but had not inventoried them.  You may realize that you only have 1 t-shirt that will fit your daughter for the upcoming season. If a child is low in a particular item of clothing, decide how many he/she needs to get by and write it in the “Need” column.

6.  Replace all of the clothing in neat, folded piles either in the drawers, in a transition place (like an under the bed box), or back into the tub. Label the tub with gender and size.

7.  Create a shopping list based on each child’s “needs” for the season. Keep it in your wallet or in a notebook that you store in your purse. That way when you visit a store, you can pull out your list and look for the best prices and the right articles.

Free Printables!

ListPlanIt has everything you need to inventory your child’s (and your own) clothing.  Enjoy our Clothing Storage Labels and Clothing Inventory today for free.   Simply click here to access your own printable page.  For the labels, print on adhesive backed paper or just simply tape a square on the tote.  Then either remove or place a new one over the top as the child grows.

Jennifer Tankersley is the founder of ListPlanIt.com, which has hundreds of lists and planning pages including to dos, schedules, inventories, worksheets, and calendars, all geared toward helping you live a more organized life.

Organizing & Inventorying Children’s Clothing + free printables! is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

Last week I wrote a post about my love of purging.  Afterwards I got a sweet email from a reader that I’d like to share with you.

When I was a child (now I’m 58), we didn’t have many toys but my mom was always giving away what we did have to my cousins who had way less than we had.  Clothing, furniture, and toys.  She gave away my Mickey Mouse Farris Wheel.  If you price those today on antique toy sites, they go extremely high prices.  But that’s not really why I wrote.  Both my sister and I have had, over the years, very hard times giving away or getting rid of things as a result of Mom’s wanting to purge our things.  I would caution you or anyone else who makes their children get rid of things.  Sometimes, it causes the opposite result, as those children become adults.  I’m not a hoarder, but I do think I struggle letting go more than if I had been allowed to make more decisions on my own as a child.

It is because of letters like these that I’m such a huge advocate for teaching your children how to organize rather than wait until they are out of the house to do it for them.  Sure you satisfy your need for a cleaner tidier house doing it that way but unfortunately your children are missing out on a very valuable lesson in the process.  I honestly believe that organizing isn’t some magical gene that only a few of us get but rather it’s a skill that anyone can learn.  There are specific steps to the organizing PROCESS that when learned make all the difference to how you view clutter and the power it holds over your life.  Guess what?  The process works for kids too!  Someone just needs to teach them.

Now I get a lot of resistance when I talk crazy like this.  Things like “are you nutso lady my kid won’t part with anything, she’ll want to keep everything” and “I couldn’t possibly let her decide what to keep and what to get rid of because she doesn’t know what’s special and what’s not”.

And so on and son. But the truth is sometimes WE can be our child’s biggest hang up.  Sometimes the roadblock is US.  Oy.

Tell me, are you ready to just grab a garbage bag and head on in to their rooms while their at school to go a little purge crazy?. Not quite so fast. My experience has taught me that the only thing that teaches your children is not to trust you. Let me assure you that the more you involve your children in the process of organizing (and purging!) the more they’ll acquire the necessary skills to make it an ongoing habit that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.

I’m currently writing an ebook on this topic because it’s something I’m so passionate about, but in the meantime set aside a couple of hours one day to work with your children armed with the following tips in hand and watch what happens.

First thing you need to do is collect all toys along with all the bits and pieces that belong to the those toys from around the house into one area. Sort everything into piles so that all like toys are together in one pile. Kids love sorting so this step in the process typically goes pretty quickly. The next step which involves letting some of those prize possessions go is a little trickier especially when you are first starting out.

Organizing is about making decisions and the younger children learn to flex this “decision making muscle” the easier it will be for them to execute it on a regular basis. Presenting them with choices is an excellent way to do this.

Here are a few questions to help them decide:

When did you play with this last?

Why is this so important to you?

Rather than this toy sitting here neglected do you think another child might like to play with it now?

Give them a choice between two things and ask them which one is their most favorite? I see you have two stuffed horses, would you like to keep this one or this one?

Or

Your Lego container is full and you don’t have any room to add more. We need to make room in case you get some more for Christmas. Let’s go through the box and decide which ones we can part with so the box isn’t so full.

When you first start out with this process and having them make their own tough choices, you will more than likely be met with resistance. Expect it but stay firm. I promise you this step gets easier and easier with practice. You might not always agree with what they want to keep but remember your favorites don’t need to be their favorites.

You empower them to make these decisions themselves alleviating potential power struggles. It’s your boundaries and limits but their choice what stays and what goes within those boundaries.

Do you struggle with getting your kids to part with their toys? How have you handled it in your house?

PS:  Are you up for a challenge?  Join Org Junkie’s 29 Day Organizational Challenge starting Feb 2012!!!

Teaching Your Kids to Organize is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

In that post I initially recommended a solution for them that consisted of a sideboard with some shelves.  Well two things quickly became apparent after that suggestion that required me to rethink that plan.  My anticipated $500 budget was slashed to $150 (due to unexpected expenses they had) and a sideboard was simply not going to be enough storage space for their needs.

Here was my challenge:

Toys, toys, toys everywhere (although on this particular day the toy clutter wasn’t really all that bad).  As you can see though not a lot of storage.  The green four basket container isn’t normally kept in the living room either, it is used for hats/mitts by the front door.  With all the company it ended up in the living room temporarily.  This toy area is actually a formal dining room space at one end of their living room that they used to have a second table in (they also have a table in their kitchen).  However after having two kids (now ages 3 and 1) they quickly realized they needed to reclaim this hardly used space for all the toys that come along with two kids.  They don’t live in a big house (maybe about 900 sq feet, on just one level) so I think this was a brilliant solution.  However with no boundaries and limits to the toys, they just seem to scatter everywhere, from one end of the house to the other.

What’s my #1 secret for keeping toys organized?

Don’t give kids free access to all their toys all at one time!

When kids have free access to all their toys a number of things happen:

• toy sets don’t stay together making them less interesting to play with eventually
• kids get overwhelmed easily with the volume of toys at their disposal
• because they are overwhelmed kids get bored more quickly with their toys
• kids have no place to play because the toys are taking over the floor
• clean up is frustrating because of the magnitude of mess
• imaginations are limited being surrounded by so much clutter

My sister didn’t have anywhere to tuck toys away and out of sight so that was our number one priority.  We looked at many different options including many Ikea solutions.  However so many were out of our price range and we really wanted to be able to fill the whole wall on the right hand side to maximize toy storage space as much as possible.  We decided to go with a pantry solution because we found a great sale at Canadian Tire that would allow us to purchase two matching ones to place side by side to fill the space.  Each pantry cost only $69.00 each and fit right into the budget :)

Here’s how it looked afterwards:

Now this solution isn’t going to be for everyone and for sure my sister and her hubbie would have liked to have purchased fancier cabinets however they had two options.  Wait a couple of years down the line to purchase what they really wanted or purchase what they could afford now to solve their current problem immediately.  It made sense to do it now in order to save their sanity and cure their organizational diarrhea.  The amount of storage these units provide is incredible and most importantly as you can see in the above picture we were able to add locks to them, hola!

Here’s a picture of the inside:

Our Daddy even attached them to the wall for us to keep my nieces safe and sound!

We still need to label everything.  Since I didn’t bring my label maker with me (Gasp, I know!  What kind of professional am I?) I will send her some labels in the mail.  My sister already had the fabric bins that we were able to repurpose and they each hold toy sets for things like Mega Blocks, dress up clothes, dolls and doll clothes, etc.  We did purchase the clear shoe box containers to house additional toy sets on the left and craft supplies on the right.  She even had room to store her party supplies and games on the top shelves.  None of these things had homes before and it is just so cool to have them consolidated now all into one place.  It’s a huge weight lifted off my sister and BIL’s shoulders.

(Barbies, Mr. Potato Head, My Little Ponies, puppets, Little People and musical instruments)

My sister can now bring out toy sets one at a time and my nieces know that when they want to play with something else they have to clean up what they were playing with first.  And because it’s just one container it’s not too overwhelming for them to do.  Now when toys come out it’s like they are new all over again.  The girls might not have seen them in awhile and it’s exciting to discover them all over again.  I’m a huge huge fan of toy rotation!  Not to mention how the cabinets now serve as a limiting container to keep the toy purchases under wraps.  If they get something new they’ll have to get rid of something they already own to make room.

I’m so relieved to know that they no longer suffer from this distressing organizational diarrhea dilemma and that they are now able to enjoy the freedom and benefits having an organized space provides all without having to go into debt to do it.  Success!

My #1 Secret for Keeping Toys Organized is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

The beauty of it is this, with the pull of a drawstring clean up is done!  It is as easy as that, no kidding!!

I’m happy to feature two different sizes for sale today…a Large and a Lite.  While quantities last, the Large is on sale for 31% off and the Lite is available at 20% off.

Check out this terrific video by the founders of Lay-n-Go to see it in action.

For more information and to purchase today’s product at these sale prices visit my Opensky site.  Not a member yet?  It’s easy to sign up and by doing so you’ll also be notified by email anytime a new organizing product goes live.  Don’t miss out!

*Opensky only ships to US residents at this time (sorry!)

Product of the Week: Lay-n-Go Lego Play Mat, Clean Up Helper and Storage All in One!! is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

Here is the before picture:

I’m not too concerned about the organization of it inside because these games get pulled in and out all the time.   My main concern was making room for all the games so they were all housed in ONE spot.  So out everything came and with the kids help we were able to create a donation pile that looked like this.

Not bad at all, I was very impressed with the kids.  We went through each game one by one and they provided me with a yes or a no.  Some decisions were easy since my youngest who is now 6 had outgrown many of them.  Others hadn’t been played with in a long while.

Finally everything fit back into this one space:

The two yellow bins hold smaller games and decks of cards to make them easier to find.

Last week I also had a chance to change out the clothes for the seasons and so my purge pile last week ended up being three big boxes that I dropped off at our local thrift store!

This week was all about going through the seasonal outerwear and Halloween costumes.  Anything outgrown or not worn during the past season went into the donation bag.  Only one bag but still happy to pass these things along to someone else.

What was in your purge pile this week?

Games Cupboard Organization & Other Purge Piles is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

My boys LOVE to go to the library.  We are there once or twice a week.  And just this past week, they each got their own library cards.  They are so excited to be official.  But I knew this would mean we would have to be extra organized in our efforts.  So here are a few tips about keeping your trips to the library organized and fun!

1. Have a designated library bag or basket. This is the basket I have used for years.

It works pretty well, but is heavy to carry when its loaded down with books.  I have a friend who uses one of these collapsible rolling crates.

image credit: Staples

Now that my boys are older (5 and 6) and have their own cards, I have given them the responsibility of carrying their own library bag.  They each picked a backpack and know that they can get “as many books as you can carry.”

2. Let your kids know if there is a time limit.  I’ll admit – sometimes we have to make a quick library trip.  But its helpful to let the kids know this beforehand.  I’ll usually tell them, “Ok, we have some other errands to run, so we only have about 15 minutes to look for books today.”

3. When you can, allow time to browse.  The flip-side to setting a time limit on hurried days is, every now and then, allow plenty of time for your little readers to browse the shelves and discover new books.

It makes the days when you have to set a time limit not seem so bad, because you can remind them that they’ll have more time to look on another visit.

4. Utilize your library’s request/hold service.  As a homeschool mom, most weeks I have several specific books or books covering specific topics for which I am looking.  I try to go online to our library’s website several days before our library trip and request that these books be placed on-hold for me.  In our library, the held books are placed on a shelf right near the front check-out counter.  This ensures that the book you want won’t be checked out by someone else, but also saves lots of time.  This was especially handy for me when I had two rambunctious little boys, ages 1 and 2.  I knew I wouldn’t have time to look through the computer catalog or browse the shelves without causing total chaos as they pulled every book in a 20-foot radius off the shelves.

5. Have a designated place for library books in your home.  At our house, its simply a corner of our family room.  The boys keep their books in their bags or on the coffee table of the family room, unless they are reading them.  I keep my books in the basket.

I do allow them to take the books to bed with them at night, but they know that first thing in the morning they have to return the books to their bags.  In the evenings, when we straighten up the house, if we find any stray library books laying around, everyone, even my husband, knows right where to put them so they don’t get lost in the shuffle.

6. Lastly, hang your library receipt in a place where everyone can see it.  For us, it’s the fridge.  But you might also use a chalkboard or bulletin board – wherever you put important papers or maybe near your family calendar.  This keeps all the details about your library books (like how many you have checked out and when they are due) fresh on everyone’s minds.  It helps ward off the “out of sight, out of mind” syndrome.

There you have it … six tips to help keep your library visits organized.  Happy Reading!

Becky blogs at Just a Mom… a place to talk about cleaning and feeding and nurturing and molding … all the good stuff that makes life so much more than “just a life.”

Organize Your Visits to the Library is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie

However it can be hard to stay on top of it and frustrating as well if you are constantly having to remind your children what needs to happen next. That’s why I strongly recommend a chore/responsibility chart of some kind to take the pressure off mom and dad and put the ownership back on the child.

Recently I had the opportunity to review a fantastic system that kids can’t help but get excited about. These responsibility stations for children are so unique and creative and have been developed to provide an engaging, fun, organized and streamlined aid for parents as we all struggle tirelessly to raise independent, responsible children.

My 5-almost-6-year-old son took to this concept immediately. He was excited to see how much “commission” he could earn each day by doing the various tasks assigned and then marking on the included paycheck tear pad his daily amount earned. Great math lesson as well!

At the end of the week we add it all up and pay him his weekly total. He then divides his dollars earned amongst the three zippered pouches (also included) labeled Spend It, Save It, Give It. For some kids it may be more rewarding for them to be paid out daily rather than weekly. Each day one of my son’s responsibilities includes selecting a chore stick from the bucket and performing that particular task. These tasks can be anything from making his bed to cleaning his room. He’s excited about it and doing what needs to be done, which makes this momma so very happy.

If you are looking for a fun, motivating system that teaches responsibility without you having to nag, then I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with this one.

Regularly $48.00, on sale for $31.00 (you’ll get everything you see in the pictures above)!!  There is also one available for teens.  Click on the link below to purchase.  You’ll need to log in/sign up to see this offer.  Thanks!!

Buy Now – available for a limited time only*

Related posts:

We are not our children’s slaves

Weekly cleaning schedule

Empower your kids

note:  shipping available only to US residents at this time, sorry.

Responsibility Station for Kids – available now! is a post from: I'm an Organizing Junkie