Totally Organized Tuesdays: Guest Post by Twingle Mommy

Allison from Twingle Mommy is guest posting for me today. She is a stay at home mom to a 3 year old(Isabella) and 1 year old twins (Mark and Molly), so you know she is super busy. She is great example of how to stay organized in the midst of chaos.

My friends ask me all the time how I keep my kid’s toys organized and I thought I would share some of my tips. I will say that having a Type A personality does help me out in this process. But I have challenges that most moms can relate to when it comes to toys; three small kids, a small house with limited storage, and a desire to put everything away at night.

Tip 1-Organization starts in the store. When you purchase toys do you think about where you are going to put them? Or how you are going to store the 100 tiny pieces? I do and yes I have vetoed toys because I know that there will be pieces everywhere. And I have also bought a box or bag to store the pieces together when I bought the toy.

Tip 2- Multifunctional furniture is a life saver! In my family room I have this toy box that blends in with my furniture. I searched for this toy box for months and finally found it at Target. I love that it keeps the toys out of sight and you can sit on it!

Tip3-Rotate, rotate, rotate! I rotate the toys that my kids have access to. Once a month or so, I clean out the toy box in the family room and put them on the top shelf of the closet. Then I put new toys from the top shelf in the closet in the toy box. This keeps them interested in their toys longer and keeps fewer toys out at a time.

Tip 4-Shelves in your kid’s closet are your second best friend! I use shelves and bins to keep everything organized. I keep the big toys and the toys that just left the toy box on the top shelf. Out of sight and out of mind! I will get any toy down for them, but for the most part, they play with the things they can reach.

Tip 5-Put those kiddos to work! My kids have all helped in the cleanup process since they were 1. It takes a lot of parent direction in the beginning but you’ll be glad you put in the time training them. Now I can sing the clean up song and they clean up all their toys, provided that I stay in the room from start to finish. They get distracted when I leave the room. And I’m passing my Type A personality on to my girls. They put the toys in the right place and freak out when Mark puts them into the wrong spot.

Tip 6-Clean up every night! I know it might be tempting to leave it out since they’ll just get it out the next day, but you really need to pick up every night. It helps kids understand that they have to be responsible for their messes and it will prevent you from stepping on a Lego in the middle of the night. In case you haven’t done this yet, it hurts and you will wake someone up with your scream. We spend about ten to fifteen minutes every night cleaning up. You can find ten minutes everyday right?

I hope that helps you get a little more organized. Take what works for you and toss the rest! And if you have a great tip for me, I would love to hear it!

Aren't Allison's tips great? I especially love Tip #5. It is something we just started a month ago because I didn't know they were capable of picking up at their age but they love to help and do a great job at it. It is also very important for kids to understand that if they make a big mess, they are going to have to clean it up. They might think twice before dumping out a whole basket full of toys.

Go visit Allison over at Twingle Mommy. She is always hosting giveaways on her blog, has a weekly blog hop every Sunday evening, and you are sure to get a few laughs at her parenting stories.