GainesvilleMoms.com

The post on being overwhelmed with kids' toys finally sparked a fire under me and I just finished a total early spring cleaning of their stuff tonight! My 3 boys share a bedroom, so needless to say it's not always perfect I went through every nook and cranny, sorted through every last Lego (and believe me they have thousands!) and got everything organized and clean! All their toys are sorted by types and put in clear plastic containers up in their closet. There are a lot I am going to donate (or post for free on craigslist). There are two underbed drawers for Legos and trains. I went through their clothes and did the pass-downs (of what has lasted through them!). It is nice having three boys close in age so they can share toys.

AAAaaah, anyway it feels great! Maybe I'll take and post a picture to inspire others that the beast can be tamed!

How do you all organize toys, especially if you have more than one kid in a bedroom?

We finally got around to that right after Christmas. We put away stuff for the next kid. We also finally decorated my my daughters room. It is Disney Princesses. It is amazing how much stuff we have accumulated in the 21 months that she has been here.

You guys have inspired me!! I am going to start a photo album of Graces room and maybe everyone who wants to will add their kids room too! Grace also has tons of toys and her room is a bit cluttered but we try to keep it semi organized...

3monkeys I would LOVE to see pics of the boys' room!! and Mary Beth, Graces room is done in a sort of Disney theme with princesses and Pooh Bear so if you have pics of Kaylee's room it would be great to see them!!

I'll try to take and post some pictures soon. We have lived here a year and their room still isn't decorated! They have a baseball theme bedroom. My husband made a cool hat rack out of two bases and a wooden baseball bat that has yet to be hung up. That'll be on the to-do list

We haven't finished decorating our little girl's room yet either and we've been in our house almost four years! Well, it was decorated in a Pooh theme when she was still in her crib. But, now that she's a BIG girl of 4 1/2, Pooh is no longer her favorite. We're doing her room in a butterfly/garden theme with touches of Disney Princesses -- 'cause that's her current fave. We figured the garden theme would last longer and could be updated as she gets older. We're still trying to decide on curtains so just mini-blinds right now. And the picket fence/garden gate daybed frame is still on the drawing board.

As far as organization goes -- the toys are a nightmare! I usually go through and reorganize/purge her toy bins every other month or so -- discarding broken toys and donating outgrown or unused toys. She keeps her bookshelves tidy on her own but the bins are a different story!

To see the latest re-orginazation of my "toys", check out my blog!


Jennifer

Man Jennifer...you are LUCKY! I don't scrapbook, but that cabinet could sure hold a bunch of stuff in my house

I dunno about that cabinet Jennifer...looks like some form of witch-craft-ery to me!! LOL I could NEVER get that organized, I wouldn't know what to do afterward - but kudos to you!!

I have those grand dreams of clothes neatly folded in drawers, closets with coordinated hangers and clothes actually on them, shoes neatly placed in pairs and oh, the neatness of toys to rival FAO Schwartz....then I wake up after stepping on some toy that hasn't seen its companion pieces since the plastic wrap was broken and reality intrudes. I think if I lower my expextations to having the toys within the confines of a specific room/area and clothes also within those parameters I will be a much happier person. Not that its gonna happen, but I think it would work.

It is hard with 2 kids sharing a room when each of them has more stuff than would fit in even our master bedroom, hence the need to have a mulit-purpose living room/office/playroom going on. Sometimes I honestly consider swapping bedrooms with the kids so at least most of their stuff could be in their room and I could have the big living room back, but hubby says NO. If I was able to swap rooms without his help, he would be in trouble!

Wow, Marianne! That's awesome!

It sounds like the Disney Princess room is a favorite. My daughter has a butterfly/garden room with touches of Disney Princess, too! And as far as organization goes, we love having a bunch of shelves. We have a book shelf, like the kind you would see in a preschool room, that we got from my mom, who is a teacher. We also have that shelf that holds different storage bins. One holds all The Barbies, one holds al the blocks, etc. Oh, and we also try not to put all my daughter's toys out at one time. We like to rotate. That way, there aren't so many toys out at one time, and my daughter doesn't get bored with the toys so fast.

quote:

Originally posted by michelle v:
I dunno about that cabinet Jennifer...looks like some form of witch-craft-ery to me!! LOL I could NEVER get that organized, I wouldn't know what to do afterward - but kudos to you!!

Michelle, what you see is the culmination of about 12 years of wishing, hoping and dreaming. It truly is a dream come true to have at least one part of my life/house organized. Trust me when I say, I will NOT be posting any pictures of the wreck we call a garage or even a closet!!!!

-- Jennifer