Toy Organization

Guest Blogger: Mommy of the Rocky Mountain Baby

First you should know that I adore this guest blogger (almost as much as yesterday's). I've known her since high school, lived with her during college, and visit her at least once each year. She is a fantastic, overly dedicated teacher and the mommy to a seriously handsome little man named Emmett.

Today's topic isn't necessarily a "teachable moment" but perhaps you'll learn a thing or two about organization, specifically about storing the bazillion toys your toddler "needs."

Toy storage - this is a daily struggle for me. As MommyBrain can attest, I like to keep a tidy house (at least on the surface), but I have had to loosen up on this since having a baby/toddler. While I don't have any brilliant or creative storage ideas, I have included a few pix of what I do to keep my house at least, somewhat, up to par! :)

First of all, EJB's main play area is our living room too, which is unfortunate since it's the first thing people see when they walk in the house. So, I bought two foot ottomans that double as storage units--one for his blocks and one for cars. They were only $25 at Target. They are suede. And they look nice. I have had several people not even notice they had toys in them until EJB made them move their feet to get inside. This is storage that doubles as entertainment; my toddler also likes to climb inside them when they're empty. They also have leather and canvas covered ones now in several colors/patterns. You can also find nicer, larger leather storage ottomans but they cost more and I'm cheap.

In EJB's bedroom, I have one of the cubicle storage units with cloth bins. Works well and looks fine, especially for his room.

In the TV room, I have a big, clunky toy box that I got off of Craigslist--doesn't look fancy, by any means, but it holds a LOT of toys.

My favorite investment - I have a book display for his books that I LOVE. I did pay a little more for this (maybe $120?) but it is worth every penny. EJB can reach all of his books on his own and can put them back when he's done reading! Priceless. I forget the name of the website I ordered it from, but the brand is Guidecraft and they make a lot of other storage units like you would see in a classroom.

Finally, if you notice next to his toybox, he has a wagon, one of those cheapy Mega Blocks ones from Wal-mart or Target. This is his pick-up truck, that he uses to pick up all his toys at the end of the day. He pulls it around and throws everything in it. Somedays he does better than others... :)

So, that's my two cents, for what it's worth! Can't wait to hear everyone else's ideas.