Bye bye toys

If you have ever tried to give away or organize your kid's toys, today is your last day of cleaning up their messes. Drun roll please. This article will change you. I promise. One of my fav sentences is at the end of the article where Ruth says that her girls like not being overwhelmed by toys and it makes it easier to clean. Aha!! Read on...then get your black trash bags out and start filling it up. http://www.livingwellspendingless.com/2012/09/14/why-i-took-all-my-kids-toys-away-why-they-wont-get-them-back/

Check lists

If you check it, they will come. My girls Love lists. So this week I created one for the morning routine and another for the evening.

This has helped us keep track of all the tasks and activities that need to occur so we can make the bus and get to bed. It's also a great way for them to be more independent and manage their time. 

I also made a quick one today of some chores. I let them decide on the consequences if they didn't finish by 130pm. Here's my hastily written list.

They have a few hours to do all of this and I am not going to micro manage them. I promise. Let's see how the do!

bins baby

Forget shoe bins for shoes, how about for organizing your kiddie's toys. Especially those little tiny teenie toys that love to nestle sharply between my fourth toe and pinky toe.  In the morning.  Always.  Or late late late at night. I use clear shoe box size bins to organize:  markers, crayons, chalk, paint sets, littlest pet shop, legos, polly pockets, blocks, match box cars, Mc Donald's happy meal toys, hair ties, and whateva fits.  Use your large toy boxes for stuff animals and big toys otherwise you will find itty bitty toys hiding at the bottom. Label your bins with a sharpie or use some recycled kiddie art and create a label; this will ease toy clean up.  They come with lids and stack tidy on shelves.  View eco-friendly bins here and dollar store location finder here.