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My kids toys end up all messed up in a giant pile where they can’t find anything.
So I have tackled the mess by making photo labels for bins so that my kids can find their toys, play, and put away!
I wanted to involve my kids and my husband in the cleaning so that we tackled as a family. So we turned it into a weekend family tackle.
I got Julia really excited about the idea of the job. She told me, “I’m 4 now, so I’m old enough to help, but Sophia can’t because she’s still 1 and 1 year olds are still small babies.”
Julia even got on board with picking out some toys to send to charity… but the pile didn’t get too big.
Sophia as you can imagine wasn’t too much help. She kept dumping out the bins of toys that I sorted.
But we all dug deep into the mess together. (My husband was thrilled to have us donate two garbage bags full of extra toys.)
Watch us work…
It has to get worse before it can get better…
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Having the family tackle together was fun, but soon Julia wore out, so she and her Daddy went to the store for supplies. Then later that night when the house was quiet, I put on the TV and plowed through the rest of the job.
My favorite part of this tackle was making the fancy laminated photo labels. I followed a great tip from one of our long-time loyal readers Laura from I’m an Organizing Junkie and bought some self-laminating sheets.
I took photos of the toys and added the name of the item to the photo. I printed, laminated, and tied the labels to the bins that had handles and taped the labels to the smaller plastic bins.
I felt like such an organizer! LOL
Yay!!! Take a look…
BarbaraLee says
I think your babies have wayyy too many toys. No wonder you can’t keep up. You need to make things simpler for yourself.
Allyson says
This week we tackled the problem of the bathroom hand towel always ending up on the counter or the floor. Check out our quick, easy, & frugal way to have a Mess Free Hand Towel.
Toni says
http://cheapomcfrugalpants.blogspot.com/2009/05/tackle-it-tuesday-clearance-shop-much.html
Clearance Shop Much?
Happy Tackling!
Angela says
http://ninemoremonths.blogspot.com/2009/05/i-made-something.html
I made a shirt that I have been wanting to do. I had to wait until everyone was sleeping!
Nicole Feliciano says
I did some cooking this weekend. I posted a favorite recipe:
http://www.5minutesformom.com/6254/tackle-it-tuesday-157/
donetta says
Well done, I hope it lasts longer than mine does 🙂
No linking
http://jewelryatalifeuncommon.blogspot.com/2009/05/tackle-it-tuesday_26.html
Sold the 4 runner in one day!
Tara says
One more thing. I love that table in the middle of the room. Where did you get it? (I already checked your shop hoping that it came from there, but those styles don’t have the nice big drawers underneath.)
Kristi_runwatch says
Wow – well done!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love seeing toys all neat and clean.
If you cleaned out some toys you’re ready to part with, come visit my tackle:
The church-wide clothing and toy swap
http://runwatchplaywait.blogspot.com/2009/05/tackle-it-tuesday-clothing-and-toy-swap.html
Tara says
I love an organized play room! My daughter’s toys are mostly in the living room, and we struggle to keep them organized, too. Those little canvas baskets work nicely for us. We have one for balls, one for bowling stuff, two for books, one for puzzles, and one for misc other toys like her jack in the box and see ‘n’ say. Then there are six more in her kitchen. 🙂 I’m glad we don’t have more space. I’d just fill it up with more toys.
I wrote about homemade pizza crust today. We’ve been trying to get a recipe that we liked, and it’s taken a lot of trial and error. 🙂 Read about it here – http://www.feelslikehomeblog.com/2009/05/bread-machine-pizza-crust/.
Whitney says
Awesome job! I love the idea of the picture labels.
Kristin says
Maybe it’s because I’m trying to post my url in the comment. I’ve noticed my comment won’t submit if I paste my url in the comment? I guess I’m technically challenged today!@ lol!
Just click on my name and it will take you to what I tackled today…
Giving the dog a bath!
Kristin says
I’ve tried posting a comment 2x already. Why can’t I post?
Mrs. H says
I tackled kids toys as well!
My daughter’s room…
http://inquicksand.blogspot.com/2009/05/tackle-it-tuesday-kids-room.html
mammalog.com says
Awesome! This week I conquered the soap scum!
Maggie says
Susan, your toy area looks fantastic! My house is worse than yours, full of clutter everywhere. No matter where I look, there’s STUFF. Most of it is not mine! Ugh. I tackle one area and the kids come along behind me and undo it all.
Hope’s 3rd birthday is coming up and I plan to go through all of her toys and donate the things too little for her, to make room for new things! Keeping organized is no easy task!
Renee Hurff says
Great job. This was my tackle: http://sahmscookingadventures.blogspot.com/2009/05/tackle-it-tuesday-24-giraffe-lovey.html
Next week it will be some cleaning.
susieshomemade says
Awesome tackle!!
Amber says
Looks good!!
I’ve got part two on my mini kitchen makeover up – several tackles this week to get that done!
Tackling the Mini Kitchen Makeover Part 2
Kim says
That provided me with a few GREAT ideas. Thanks for sharing!
Bonnie says
Love the labels too.
No Mr. Linky I assume?
Liz says
That’s an amazing organizing job! Mr. Linky is having issues again.
Painting Project
http://hoosierhomemade.com/?p=1486
Thanks for hosting!
~Liz
Jodi says
You did an awesome job!!!
My tackle can be found here.
Stephanie says
Wow you did an amazing job! I love the idea of adding photos to the bins. We have two in my son’s room, and this would alleviate him just tossing whatever in there to get it done!
My post this week is on tackling a summer schedule!
http://ahighandnoblecalling.com/2009/05/26/the-summer-schedule-and-mits/
Dominique says
You room looks so good after the clean up.
Can’t say that about mine yet ..
Deb - Mom of 3 Girls says
That’s an awesome accomplishment! We’ve got most things in bins, but I love the idea of adding photos so little ones can tell exactly what belongs in what bin. I think I’ll have to try that for Becca! 🙂
Danielle says
That is amazing! What a huge tackle! I am impressed. We have rubbermaid tubs with lids that hold all my kids toys.
Laura says
Yay!! Great job and I totally agree with Amy. The after wouldn’t mean quite as much if we hadn’t seen the before. You must be thrilled to have it done, way to go!! I’m proud of you 🙂
Laura
Monica says
Wow!! That transformation is amazing!
Rita says
You inspire me with that. My daughter has the messiest room all of the time.
It Feels Like Chaos says
I love that you shared the “before” video! Thank you for making us real moms feel like we are not alone!
Amy says
The “after” pictures wouldn’t mean near as much if you weren’t brave enough to show the “before.” Incredible job. Love the labels!
Maddy says
Well that was an epic, but well worth the results. Well done you [all] Now if we can only maintain it like that……..
Cheers
Lisa says
Your toy room looks so good. Love the photo label idea. We have Lego bricks strewn across our living room floor, loads of baseball gear on our dining room floor, and boxes of shoes along our basement wall. You are definitely not alone. After we tackle our school year this Wednesday, we’ll focus on cleaning for a couple days. 🙂
Organizing Mommy says
Susan, as an organizer, I say, WOWEE!! It looks beautiful! Do NOT feel bad about the before pictures. Yes, we all have had disaster areas. The pictures look so bright and beautiful. You did a great job!! I can tackle next week if you need help. Throw me an email if you want something.