When it comes to Spring cleaning, the dollar store can be your secret weapon. Inexpensive bins, baskets, and containers are perfect for organizing kids' stuff... especially in their playroom. And when it comes to the overwhelming task of getting organized, starting with small changes and projects is the key to success.
Recently, I noticed that my boys' card games were in boxes that were overstuffed and falling apart. I made a quick trip to the dollar store and picked up a couple of small containers that fit their games perfectly.
The containers stack perfectly too!
I love this simple solution for organizing my boys' games, and the games are now easier to take on the road too. It would work well for games with dice and small pieces too.
Do you use dollar store items to organize your kids stuff? You can read more about how I control the mountain of toys in my boys' playroom here.
♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)
My 8 year old loves LEGO, but I can't stand having it cover every surface of my house. So, I came up with a way to organize our LEGO in a way that works with the way my son plays with it. Today I am sharing the simple ways we organize LEGO in our house.
My son loves little LEGO kits. He builds them multiple times, and he plays with them once they are together. He zooms around the house with his Star Wars ships, and he uses his imagination to act out scenes with his mini-figures.
In order to keep his kits organized and accessible, I use a clear shoe rack on the back of his bedroom door. I throw out the boxes, and we put all the pieces and building instructions into large Ziploc bags. Then, we store each kit in its own pocket. Everything is organized (and off the floor), and my son can find all his kits easily.
All the other LEGO goes in bins in our playroom. He can easily pull it out when he is playing with it, and scoop it up into the bin when he goes to bed at night.
We also have some loose pieces and mini-figures in bins in his room. The top bins are open, so he can place his "works in progress" here at the end of the day.
I've seen many fantastic LEGO desks on Pinterest, but we just don't have the space for that in our home. I think our system works well for us, the way my son plays with LEGO, and our limited space. How do you manage all the LEGO in your house?♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)
This time of year makes me want to get organized, and playrooms can be tough rooms to keep under control. So, today I am sharing 5 DIY Playroom Projects that I absolutely love! I have done these projects myself, and they are all easy, inexpensive, and totally cute.
1) Artwork display - Children's artwork deserves to be celebrated, and this DIY artwork display in my boys' playroom is adorable. I decorated some clipboards (using the tutorial you can find here), and crafted some letters (using yarn and the technique you can find here). I love it, don't you?
2) Stuffed animal bean bag chair - This project creates two things... storage and comfy seating. Buy a bean bag chair cover, and fill it with stuffed animals. That's it! Don't you love how easy and practical this project is?
3) DIY artwork - I think a playroom should be decorated with artwork that means something to the children that play in it. So, in my boys' playroom, I created some unique hockey card artwork (that you can read about here), my boys painted their own hockey jersey canvas art, and I framed pictures of the boys at Jedi Training Camp (from our trip to Disney). Fun, right?
4) Toy bins - Every playroom needs a toy storage solution. In our playroom, I created an entire wall of toy bins for my boys. Each bin is labelled with a picture of its' contents. (You can read all about our toy bin labels here.)
5) Book nook - Reading is an important part of childhood, so it is important for every playroom to have a display of books that are easily accessible. I used IKEA spice racks to create this little book nook for my boys (which you can read about in detail here). I also took a photo of a page in one of our favorite books, added a quote from the book with Picmonkey.com, and framed the picture. I think the DIY artwork adds a little extra fun to the space, don't you?
All of these DIY playroom projects are easy, inexpensive, and guaranteed to help you transform your current playroom into a fabulous space in your home. Do you have a favorite DIY playroom project? I'd love to hear all about it.
♥
Gina (aka East Coast Mommy)
I like easy and inexpensive DIY projects, so I am loving the cute $5 artwork I put together for my boys' playroom.
I found two frames (with two spots for 4x6 pictures) in a discount bin for $4 each.
Then, I used Picmonkey.com to create blank backgrounds and quotes for each frame. The quotes are from a couple of the greatest hockey players of all time, and the blank pictures make perfect backgrounds for the matching hockey cards.
I am really pleased with how they turned out, and my boys are thrilled.
Do you have any hockey fans in your house? This would work well for baseball or football cards too.
♥
** If you haven't already "liked" me on facebook, I would love to have you join me here.
Yesterday I posted about my Spring Cleaning Plan, and I received a lot of questions about my new storage bins. I was going to post about them next week; however, given all the interest, I thought I would do it sooner rather than later. :-)
I bought two storage units (with cloth baskets) at Costco. (The units were $149 each... including the bins.) Then, I sorted all the boys' toys into the 16 bins and took pictures of the contents of each bin. (We have bins for: hockey players, balls, kitchen stuff, art supplies, trucks, lego, hockey/pokemon cards, musical instruments, people, pirate stuff, hockey gear, Star Wars toys, cars, farm stuff, hockey jerseys, and dress up clothes.)
I had the pictures printed in (wallet size), and I cut some scrapbook paper just larger than the pictures. I used double sided tape to attach the pictures to the cards, and I had the 16 labels laminated at an office supply store.
Then, I attached the labels to the bins using double sided mounting squares.
Now there is a place for everything in my boys' playroom. They can easily find their toys, and they can easily put their toys away (in the right spots) when they are finished with them.
I am loving my bins and labels! What is your playroom storage solution?
♥
Gina Bell (aka East Coast Mommy)
** If you haven't already "liked" me on facebook, I would love to have you join me here.
