by kathilipp | Jan 7, 2013 | Home, The Get Organized Project |
Get Yourself Organized in 2013: How to Organize Toys (Your Kid’s or Yours)
I was sitting down with a couple of young, got-it-together moms, brainstorming areas of the house that they needed help with getting organized. When one of them said “Toys” they looked at each other and said “YES!”
Oh I remember the days of stepping on Barbie’s shoes and seeing my living room covered in car tracks. The toys seemed to take a life of their own and movie around at night after I’d cleaned them up. The movie “Toy Story” seemed more like a documentary to me than a cartoon.
If you don’t have kids, or your kids toys are things like iPads, then choose an area of your own “toys” to start working on. Maybe it’s a hobby, a craft area, the “sports area” of your garage, or a collection of some sort – the principles are the same.
When it comes to toys (or almost any other area of your home,) the most important thing to do is figure out what you are keeping, what you are giving away, and what you are recycling/throwing away.
- The first thing to do is to get all the toys into one area. (If you have more than one major area for toys, say your daughter’s room and your son’s room, or a play room and a child’s room, work on one area at a time.) Get stray toys and toy parts into the toy area.
- I highly suggest my Three Boxes, Two Bag Method in quick cleaning any area.
- As you are sorting through toys, realize that the reason they are often so hard to organize if there are probably plenty of things that your kids no longer use floating around in there. The less you have to manage, the easier keeping organized will be.
- When you are done with this process, you will have a bag of things to recycle, a bag of trash (how did garbage get into the kids toy box? It’s always a mystery…) a box of things to donate, and a box of things to put back into other rooms of the house. (Like stray shoes, socks, the dog’s collar, etc.)
- Now that you’re starting with a clean (or cleaner) area, it’s time to take a good hard look at what kind of toys your kids have, and how to organize them. Your daughter who keeps a vet office worth of stuffed animals has different needs than your so who collects Matchbox Cars. Here are some ideas from some smart and toy-savvy moms.
Toy Management
Creating a Toy Library
“Turn a closet into a “toy closet” All toys are stored in organized, labeled containers and kids can only play with one bin of toys at a time. They have to turn in one bin before they can play with another!” Alexia Staelens
Stuffed Animals
“A toy hammock is a great idea, the kids can just toss stuffed animals up there and off the floor.” Robin Neil
A Million Little Pieces
“I think I should write a book called 101 uses for an over the door shoe organizer. They work here too, especially for a girls room! Think Barbies, Barbie clothes, Polly Pockets, etc. Avoid toy boxes or anything deep that is the chasm of hopelessness! Toys go in but they don’t come out! (well at least until you have thrown away every other part to the toy, THEN it shows up!)” Robin Neil
“I’m a Lego organizer freak these days. Directions, pieces all in a see through container with a photo label on the box. Yes, they are kept up so a parent has access to hand out. Bins for easy clean up and a designate area for play. I have let go of “perfect” separation of toys, as long as the boys are happy and can find their stuff, I’m happy.” Stephanie Helder
Less is More
“Rotate toys—less toys equals more attention focused on what they do have. Have the children pick 3 or 4 “favorites” at a birthday or Christmas and put the rest out of sight. When their interest starts to fade with, say, the tea set Aunt June got them, you put it in the closet and pull out the box of dress up that Grandma sent. We go through every 3 months or so and switch out toys (right now its dress up, art tower, 4 board games & Lego’s). Christy Taylor
“Spring Cleaning” happens every season at our house. After birthdays and Christmas, we also have a “Donation Station” where my kids can search through their piles of toys and other things that have accumulated and give them to the Salvation Army or other charity. We throw the
m in a huge bag and donate away.” Jenny Sulpizio
“Each birthday and Christmas the boys have to ‘give to others who have less than they do.’ For every new toy that comes in, one goes out. It’s a lesson on giving and curbs the over-abundance of ‘stuff.’” Stephanie Helder
Oh – and to keep track of all those Birthdays and other special celebrations, for members of my Facebook Page you can download a year of beautiful calendars to track. I use these in conjunction with my stockpile of birthday and anniversary cards to stay on top of sending a little love. (Plus I keep a stack of Starbucks cards – just in case.) Go over and download it now!
Tell me your best toy organization trick in the comments below.
by kathilipp | Jan 2, 2013 | Home, The Get Organized Project, Uncategorized |
It all started when I couldn’t find my eye cream.
I’d been talking with a friend who was going on and on about the great eye cream she’d been using, and I thought it was the same one I bought a few months ealier, so I wanted to go home and give it a try that night.
The only problem? I couldn’t find it.
Was it on the counter with the products I used every day?
Was it in the basket of facial products in under the sink?
Was it with my travel stuff?
Had it migrated (my cosmetics have a tendency to do that with a visiting 20 year-old daughter stopping by…)
I had no idea, so the next time I was out shopping, I picked up a little bottle of the magic lotion. Problem solved.
And then, the next week, I was retrieving a tube of toothpaste from our hall closet and that’s when I found it: the original eye cream jar. And suddenly, that 1 ounce jar weighed a pound in guilt.
How much money have I wasted in “replacing” things because I didn’t have an easy way to find them?
How much time have I wasted going to the store to “replace” those things?
How many times have I not contributed financially to a cause I believe in because I’m short on funds (from re-buying things)?
In 2013, I’ve made a pledge to “Use it or Lose it”. I’m committed to not buying things unless I can determine that we are absolutely out of that item. I’m going to reduce clutter in our home by not keeping around items that I will never use.
Each week I’m going to concentrate on one tiny area of my home and life to de-clutter, organize, take stock of and manage. But this isn’t just about clearing the clutter – it’s about managing the resources that God has trusted our family with. Our goal in each area is to use what we have, make do, make it last, wear it out, and when need be, replace it responsibly.
The other part of this is that I want to experience the peace that comes with knowing what we have, having less of what we don’t need, and being free to give away those things that weigh us down mentally, physically and spiritually.
I’ll be blogging through my adventures in minimizing, clearing the clutter and freeing up time and space in our home.
I would love to hear from you which parts of your house you want to get under control, so I can make sure I hit it.
by kathilipp | Nov 23, 2012 | Christmas, Home, The Get Organized Project |
OK – now that you are recovering from all things turkey, it’s now time to kick the Christmas plans into high gear. Spend 15 minutes scheduling out all your commitments for the next few weeks on a blank calendar.
It’s so easy to have great ideas (“Let’s go look at Christmas lights!” “Let’s curl up and watch Elf one night this week!”) and with the craziness of the season, let them all slip through your fingers because of your schedule. So along with all the chores of the season, let’s schedule in some fun!
Head on over to my Facebook Author page and download printable blank calendars for November and December to fill out. Put it up on your fridge so everyone knows the holiday plans.
Here are some things you may want to consider with your schedule.
- Kid’s school calendar
- Work events
- Church events
- Parties and other fun
Once you have filled in all the scheduled activities, set aside some pockets of time to work prepping for Christmas. Here are some things you may want to schedule some time for:
- get tree
- cookie baking
- decorating
- project nights (for wrapping, card addressing, ordering gifts online)
- a night to go look at Christmas lights
- a night to watch It’s a Wonderful Life
I’m not saying you should do all of those things (in fact, I don’t think you should…) but if you want to do any of these or any other family/friend activities, put them on your calendar so you can plan the rest of your month. (And make sure the rest of your family and friends can see the schedule as well.)
When you’re snuggled up on the couch with you family eating fresh baked cookies while watching It’s a Wonderful Life, you’ll thank me.
by kathilipp | Jul 8, 2012 | Home, The Get Organized Project |
I know it seems like a weird question, but hear me out.
There are a lot of stories I’ve told myself about being organized:
- Other women come by it so easily.
- My family actively works against me when it comes to getting organized.
- I could get so much more done if I could just get organized.
And to some extent, those are all true.
So let’s break them down. Today I want to tackle the first one.
Other women come by it so easily. Yes- I would say that most women are naturally more organized than I am. Their natural response is when they pull something out, they put it away. Not me. My natural response is to leave it out in case I need it later.
But just because something comes more easily for someone else doesn’t mean that I should give up on it – that it’s any less important for me to achieve it. When I use the excuse “It just comes easily for her.” what I’m saying is that the things in my life are not as important to accomplish as the stuff in her life.
You do a lot of things that don’t come naturally: I get being a mom didn’t come naturally at first. Or cooking dinner. Or figuring out Facebook. But you stuck with it – and now you can.
It was the same for me. Putting things away. Not natural – but now I do it. Keeping my living room picked up. Not natural, but I’ve set myself up that I do it for 15 minutes a day, and it stays mostly picked up.
Is there someone in your life that you compare yourself to when it comes to organization? What do you tell yourself about why you are not as organized as you want to be? I want to deal with the issues that keep us from being all that God wants us to be.
by kathilipp | Apr 30, 2012 | Home, The Get Organized Project |
Yes- I do believe I can help you get organized. (I mean, if I can organize cats, what can’t I tackle?)
I have been one of those women who has lived with the frustration of not knowing where my keys are, not being able to put my hand on important paper, running errands at the last minute for items that I knew I needed weeks ago, all because I’d resigned myself to the fact that I just wasn’t organized.
Have you been there?
If you are like me, then you’ve bought ever orgainzation book on the shelves of Barnes and Noble, or on the screen of Amazon, looking for a solution. But let me tell you why they haven’t worked.
They were written by organized people.
They were not written for you.
An organized person would never tell you how to clean out your purse by dumping it all into a bag but I do, because you, like me, want fast and instant and impressive results.
So if you’re willing to take a chance that I know what I’m talking about (and let me assure you, my stress level has gone down dramatically since I’ve learned the secrets to being organized when you are naturally unorganized) I have an offer for you!
Buy my two latest books THE GET YOURSELF ORGANIZED PROJECT and THE WHAT’S FOR DINNER SOLUTION (because we know the only thing more stressful than not knowing where your keys are is not knowing what’s for dinner…) for the majorly discounted price of $19.99 (plus S&H) and I will include the adorable MY HUSBAND IS A HOTTIE bag for free.
This offer is just to kick off the book release and is good until May 15th.
by kathilipp | Apr 12, 2011 | Because Sometime? I'm Just All Shallow - You Know?, Home, The Get Organized Project, tips and ideas, Travel |
I have a giant purse. Huge.
I was even given the cocktail napkins at a retreat after people heard me talk about my undying devotion for oversized bags.
I remember one time telling Roger that I needed a purse with wheels to lug around all my stuff.
Roger told me, “That’s called a suitcase and you have a problem.”
I will always have a giant purse (because I love them and see the napkin above…) but I don’t need to have the back and shoulder pain that go with an overstuffed purse.
So once a week I do my three step method (I use this all over the house, but here it will apply to handbags,) to keeping my bag from overflowing.
1. CLEAR IT OUT I simple take my purse and dump it out in a grocery bag.
- Anything I want to keep (but doesn’t belong in my purse) gets put away. (This is when I go through receipts in my wallet – or the ones that have been thrown in my purse, pieces of paper, etc.)
- Anything that is garbage stays in the bag and gets thrown away.
2. PUT IT BACK Anything that belongs in the purse, stays in the purse. This includes
Wallet (I like the kind that has a place for a checkbook because I still have to write a couple of checks a month, plus, it keeps my business receipts better organized.
Make-up bag
- Lipstick and gloss
- Eye liner
- Powder
- Sunscreen stick
- Blush and brush
- Eyeglass cleaner wipes
- Hand sanitize
Sunglasses case
Cell phone
Keys
Emergency kit
- Hollywood Tape
- $20
- Needle and thread
- Nail glue
3. KEEP IT UP If I do it once a week, it really is easy to stay on top of it.
Also, have a small bag for makeup, and an emergency bag, it makes it easy to transfer the contents of the purse into my computer bag.
So tell me – do you have any fab tips for keeping your bag clean and light?
