Toys!!! I DID IT! Challenge #9 - 21 Days to Get organized

Oh Em Gee I was dreading this one... almost as much as I'm still dreading the freezer.

When we moved kids around, Zoe my 8 yr old (the youngest), got the smallest room to herself, while her teenage sisters now share the larger room. I swore I'd never put Rhiannon and Faelyn in the same room together because one would surely stab the other in their sleep... but they've finally gotten to the phase in their lives where they can not only get along, but actually have fun.  It's 1:52am as I write this and they just stopped laughing and apparently fell asleep.

Rambling! Sorry!  So, anyway, Zoe got the smallest room... and along with it came all the stuff Corina left behind when she moved out, and all the stuff Rhiannon left behind when she moved into the other room. Poor Zoe was surrounded by everyone else's unwanted junk.

This picture almost makes me think of "Where's Waldo".  But it's more like "Where's the red sports bottle that has an unidentifiable chunky liquid in it?" Yeah, you think this room looks gross, you have no idea. So, it's not just "toys" that needed organization here, but the whole room.  And actually, this is much better than it looked just a few days ago.  The bed used to be along the left wall instead and the open floor space was all chopped up.  Oh and there was a copy machine and an electric typewriter sitting in the middle of the floor ("freebies" Corina got for doing an odd job for someone who was moving - and she didn't want to take with her. They're going on Freecycle Monday)

The closet was bad and kind of throwing up into the room, and poor Zoe just can't get her clothes to fit into her dresser drawers. I didn't get them organized today, but I will tomorrow, along with the closet.

Zoe and I both tackled it together, throwing away trash, putting dirty clothes in the hamper, and deciding which toys went where. She can't part with any stuffed animals, so for now they get the top bins in the cubby holder. Oh, and her ZhuZhu pets and their home get her nightstand. Hoping to get an attachment or two for that so she doesn't get too bored with it too quickly. I hate seeing toys played with for a couple days then never again.  It's sad.

I want to label the cubbies so it's easier for her to put things away, but I want to find a petnet or some other way to store and display her stuffed animals, then we can re-sort the cubbies, and maybe get some new toys to fill some of them.

Wow that cubby holder's been through the wringer. We did buy it for Zoe, so it's not terribly old, but still showing some age. It works though, and gets things up off the floor.

The Lego table is awesome. It folds up and has a handle so it's portable, and the green pieces slide over to allow access to lots of storage for legos. We got it at Habitat for Humanity Store for $5 and it was full of legos!  Santa brought her another box of airplane and vehicle legos. She said she's currently building a hospital. I love having daughters. :)

Then she has a lap tray with pockets to hold crayons and colored pencils, and she has a notebook full of paper and one coloring book Corina gave her.  Wow, I remember when Corina was little there must have been 30 coloring books in her room.  Of course she never had room to play in her room.  I definitely think in a kid's room, Less Is More.

Her babydoll playpen hold all her babydolls and accessories.  She used to have tons more doll stuff, but it's been broken  and tossed.  The kids never clean their rooms and things eventually get stepped on and broken. If Zoe can prove to me that she can keep this room clean with just a little bit of reminding from me, then we'll get her a wooden crib and highchair for her birthday. I'll let her play with babydolls as long as she wants. She's my last little girl. *sniff*.

 

Oh it's so nice to walk into this room now. It sure smells better! There were some unknown stains on the carpet which thankfully are covered by the rug for now.  We'll be sure to do this room when we rent a steam cleaner again. Hmm her nightstand still looks full of clutter.  That's all Corina's stuff I need to get out of there.  Then maybe it can be a doghouse for her pooches. :)

The bunny on her bed is what she sleeps with. My Mom made it and she also made the clothes for it out of the material from the curtains of my room when I was a child. Awww. Yeah I make sure she takes care of Bunny. I need to get a new curtain rod for this room too so she can have some pretty curtains.

This looks a lot better.


So, this was more of a "Zoe's Room" rather than a "Toy Organization" challenge, but it was badly needing to be done. We'll see what the rest of the challenges end up being, and when they're done, I'll go back and do the other things that still need doing, like inside my buffet and kitchen island cabinet, my refrigerator *shudders*, under the bathroom sinks (both), the hall book/gameshelf,  and then of course... DUN DUN DUUUNNN  the teenagers' room.


Now I'm heading back over to A Bowl Full of Lemons to see how other people deal with toys. You go too!

***EDIT!!   I did find some inspiration there actually.  In fact, I'm going to be getting this (it's 29.99 at BigLots but I'm hoping they have it in white at the store):

And adding these:

By the way, these (well not exactly like these) canvas collapsible bins in blue, red, purple and green (I think those were the colors) are on sale at KMart for $2.50 each!!

I was inspired by this by Judith at Creating Balance:

This is from Creating Balance

 This would be the perfect solution for Zoe's room.  I can get rid of the old cubby holder (the bottom rails are actually broken on it), and put the bookshelf in its place. Then put the bins from the cubby holder along with the new canvas bins I'm getting on it. I should also have room to move some of her books into her room for easier access. Currently all the kids' books are on the bookshelf in the hallway.

I'll post with pics (and probably update this post too) when it's done.  Can't wait!