Organization Part 2

I just got a call from my friend, K, from Organization Part 1. She has no recollection of the conversation detailed in the post. I find this very convenient but that aside, we did have a good laugh over this particular move. You see, I was only moving to another apartment on the same street so we actually put my mattress on the roof of my car and one of us drove while the other one held onto the mattress. This is, of course, another perfect example of how I was too unorganized to have anything to hold down the mattress except, of course, my girl, K!

So back to things having a home.... I could not keep things organized when it was just me and my dog, Logan but add toys to the mix and it is not looking good. Toys in our house seem lost and always searching for a home. Because I recognize this as a huge problem, when we recently went on vacation, our wonderful sitter stayed with the dog and the house. Her assignment was to take toys out of circulation that the kids seldom play with. When we got home I went from room to room and was appalled. Super Sitter had not done what we asked which was strange because she is super reliable. The next day when I was returning my suitcase to the attic, I walked into the spare bedroom that leads into the attic. Before me was 5ft by 3 ft of toys that had been pulled from the rooms. First, I couldn't believe I ever doubted Super sitter (Forgive me, Em!) and second, I couldn't believe the reality that my children have so many toys that I did not even notice that these were gone.

Where did we go wrong? How in the world did we wind up with this many toys in the spare room and with loads STILL in the bedrooms and playroom? We seldom purchase toys for the kids and when we do, it is items we know they will love.  We have begged people to give money toward college funds and last year even tried to have people donate money to a cause we believe in  but only one family went along with it. Everyone else said, "How could we possibly show up at a two-year old bday without a gift?" Um very easily, folks, Haven't you seen all the JUNK we have???"

In our playroom we have two little closets that we can store things in. One of them is Buddy's workshop which is filled with tape, scissors, cardboard and other recyclables. The other one stored books so I recently made a book corner in the playroom and am  now working on highlighting a different toy or group of toys each week. So, this week  I created a hair salon and Buddy and the girls have had a blast with it.  I think next week I am going to make a Little People village or a workshop with all the tools we have.

This is one of my first steps at organizing the toys. So I would suggest following these steps:
1. Pull toys not played with
2. Highlight toys that the kids use but not that often to make them exciting
3. Accept that the plastic has taken over your home.

More organizational tips to come from the LEAST unorganized woman around.

A