I don’t know about you, but I am sick of toys everywhere. We try and have a good toy clean out every few months and get rid of broken or unused toys each time. My kids aren’t really “into” toys…they will tip the toy bins out and sift through them every now and then but when it comes to hard-core playing they are really only into certain things.
For Oscar it used to be his train set but now it is Lego, Lego, Lego.
At the moment Lil loves to draw and play with play dough. If she is playing with toys it is usually Duplo, dress ups or dolls.
Tommy is happy to chew on what ever the other two have lying around!
I’ve come to realise that they are happier playing with sets of toys rather than just random bits and pieces so I am slowly trying to eliminate the toys that don’t get played with much to reduce clutter. We encourage them to play with toys that promote creativity, problem-solving and imagination.
Toy storage is something that I struggle with. I’ve gone from clear plastic boxes with lids to big flexible round tubs to a wooden blanket box and haven’t been happy with anything. If I could have my way this would be my ultimate toy storage solution – I love the idea of sorting toys into categories and each of them having their own tub to live in, but there is no Ikea in Tasmania and I want to do something now!!
I have had this idea floating around in my head for a few weeks and finally found some spare sewing time to bring it to life this week…
I’ve sewed 8 big toy sacks and sorted the kids toys into them. The cool thing about these sacks is that they have a big plastic window on the front so that everyone can see exactly what is inside them without having to open the bag and tip the contents all over the floor!
They are fully lined so look just as neat on the inside as they do on the outside and should be really durable. Spots rock and you can’t have too much of a good thing so I pulled out my stash of Michael Miller Ta Dot fabrics and used the 8 that I have. Buying more Ta Dot is on the list for my next fabric purchase because I want to make a few more sacks now! I thought that keeping Lego in a plastic box would be best but when Oscar came home from school this afternoon he insisted that keeping his Lego in a “Peek-A-Boo” Sack would be cool.
So, at the moment we have the 8 sacks, a box of Duplo, a box of Lego and 3 flexible plastic tubs – one with train tracks, one with dress-ups and dolls/softies and another with bigger toys that get a decent work out. This sized sack is too small for dress-ups and dolls but I might have a go at making a couple of bigger bags to fit those things in so that we can get rid of a plastic tub.
I know this won’t solve the dilemma of having all of the toys dumped onto the floor, but I like a bit of toy organisation and it may aswell look good! We have to clean up anyway and it is actually easier to get the kids to help if they have responsibility for picking up a certain toy…now I can give Oscar the car bag and he can be in charge of packing up all the cars and Lil can have the animals bag and pick up all the animals, etc. It makes the job seem easier and I can still hurry around and clean up the rest of the toys while still giving them a bit of responsibility.
Jaron and I were discussing tonight that the bags would look really cool hanging from a heap of hooks on the wall or in a big cane basket with no lid. At the moment they are piled in a corner in the studio and looking for a more permanent home. I’m sure they will stay that way for awhile but in the meantime I can keep my eyes open for somewhere to keep them.
Hehe – had to share this pic of Tommy…he crawled up to the bags and was trying so hard to get the toys out through the plastic window!!! So cute!
If you want to make some “Peek-A-Boo” Toy Sacks for yourself, I’ll be sharing the tutorial tomorrow…I say “some” because they are fast and addictive to make and I assure you that once you get started, you won’t be stopping at one!!!
