Toy Organization

We've been dreaming of some better way to organize the toys than this! I was originally looking for more of those green baskets to add for holding things, but it seems Walmart (as well as other places for that matter) doesn't carry them anymore. Turns out that I've now seen them in a couple places, but not in colors that match our decor... so it really doesn't matter anyway.

Anyway... On the very top of this shelf are things I don't want the kids getting to. There are client orders all packaged up on the right (note: if the clients would have come to get them before Christmas they wouldn't be there... still), batteries I'm working on charging for a shoot (Sweet Pea likes to find them and stick them ALL the way in her mouth if I leave them down too low), a left over jar from baby shower prep (really there is no reason for it to be there still), a homemade by grandma wooden toy that is broken again and waiting for repair (sorry Mom), and of coarse the iron (and all I can say about the iron is that My Beloved waited all week for me to finally get around to ironing work pants for him... I couldn't put the iron away until I'd finally done it.)

The next shelf has the books I don't want the kids to read on their own. Library books are on the left and special and heavy books are on the right.

Next shelf has books they can read whenever... and it's actually organized pretty well in this picture. Every day or so I try to straighten them up... it doesn't last long since Sweet Pea doesn't yet know how to get them in their vertically (and I'm not sure Tornado really does either).

The bottom two shelves are miscellaneous toys in various containers. Basically, these shelves made me crazy on a constant basis.

For months we've been trying to decide how we wanted to re-arrange the toys. These shelves sit in our living room (which is really part of the big open space that is our living room, entryway, kitchen and dining room all put together.) I see them all the time... they needed a change.

After looking at all sorts of options, I knew those cute cube shelves were what I wanted, but I didn't really want to spend that much on shelves and little cube basket things. I looked for some second hand for a while. I'd give up and then start over again regularly. Then after some money came in for Sweet Pea's birthday a couple weeks ago, we decided exactly what we would do with it. Instead of toys for her birthday (seriously... what did she need?), she got toy organization...

I was tempted to feel bad about it, but the kids are still (a week and a half later) pretty excited about them. Tornado still calls them the new shelves. The green basket on the bottom right wasn't supposed to be there. I suppose a helpful kid stuck it in. I didn't notice it until My Beloved pointed it out in the picture.

A little tour...

On top are those special and library books I don't want them to have on their own. They can reach them, but know they can't have them without asking and reading them with us. The boxes acting as book ends are nesting and wooden blocks (respectively). At present they have been removed for playing purposes and the books are laying in a stack... but some day there will be nice book ends holding them up all pretty!

The kid book shelves are obvious... it is much easier for them to keep them straight with the smaller spaces! :) The green basket in between is a large soft doll my mother in law made Sweet Pea for Christmas and all her little clothes (you saw them in the pic above wedged in a cardboard box that was too small, but the real residence of them prior to that was piled on the floor to the right of the shelves... this is nicer!)

The yellow baskets hold the felt food and play dishes/tea set (with room to grow) in one and their duplo blocks in the other. The middle shelf is still under construction as I'm not sure what to do with random little toys.

On the bottom, the green basket has the Thomas trains and track (pretty full) and room for the dump truck and other misc items on the other two shelves.

So there you have it... a very long, drawn out tour of something that you never wanted to know. I have to share it with you though because I'm excited... I really like the new toy storage solution... and hopefully another basket or two can easily be fit into our lives when it's time to bring little baby toys out. :)

Labels: As God Provides, Keeping My Home, Raising Children

posted by ~Babychaser~ @ 8:11 AM