Last Thursday my daughter and I went through EVERY SINGLE toy, article of clothing, stuffed animal, and hair clip that was in her room. She helped me pick out things that needed to go to charity and find homes for things she was done playing with. Thursday night she went to bed in a perfectly organized room. I looked around her room and said, “There.”
The next day she and her little friend played in her room…. and this is what it looked like by the evening.
OH. MY. GOSH.
Sometimes I wonder how she can possibly be my daughter. She can make a mess unlike anything I have ever seen before. No matter what new system of organization we come up with, she manages to make a disaster. I know all the rules:
*get the kids involved in organizing
*ownership helps them take pride in their space
*teach kids how to clean and put away, don’t just do it for them
I’m a teacher. This is what I do.
So, Saturday morning we were at it again. We put everything back in the labeled bins.
She told me that the reason it was so messy was because they wanted to play in the playhouse when it was empty. So, they had to take all of the toys out of the playhouse. I convinced her to close up the Barbie house to free up a little more floor space. Then we moved the stuffies out of the playhouse.
The pink bins, holding stuffies and babies, are from Storables. The Barbie house is all folded up for now. The low shelf holds the Build-A-Bear stuffies. She loves to take them down and play with them so we wanted the shelf to low enough for her to reach. Usually they all have different outfits when she puts them back on the shelf. Right now most of outfits, accessories, and shoes are in the Build-A-Bear cubby.
My daughter’s room is back to organized bliss.
I’m sure, in no time at all, it’ll be back to this:
Check out these linky parties.
http://betweennapsontheporch.blogspot.com/2010/05/impromptu-tea-partymad-hatter-style.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+BetweenNapsOnThePorch+%28BETWEEN+NAPS+ON+THE+PORCH%29&utm_content=Google+Reader
The Comments
Leanne
I love the tags on the baskets and all the stuffies on the shelves. Isn't it amazing what kids can do to a room in no time. I'm having the next We're Organized Wednesday party May 12.
Mary
What a girlie room! Having 3 boys, I never had the chance to have one of those in my house. And, I've never had the chance to see my boys' rooms organized…except maybe when they were babies! Now that they're older….WHEW! I'm not even going to go there!
Diane at Perfectly Imperfect Life
Your before picture looks like my living room right now. We took everything out of the play room this weekend and put it there.
So, I guess I've done all the work for your daughter and her little friend. 🙂
gena
You have the patience of a saint ! I have 3 boys, no girlies, so no barbies and dollhouses and pretty pinks…. I did have GI Joe and Tonka Trucks, Brio trains and lots and lots of legos, though !!!!
Your daughter's room is lovely and it's easy to see with a mom like you, she'll become organized in no time !!!
gena in nj,
http://www.thehouseonlavenderhill.blogspot.com
40daysof
I am your daughter! I feel badly for you! It sounds like you can handle it, though. A book I recently heard about that you might find helpful is this:
http://www.amazon.com/Neat-Mom-Messie-Kids-Survival/dp/0800758056/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1272912441&sr=1-18
jayayceeblog
Oh my gosh, I remember those days with my daughters. I just wanted to pull my hair out! Cute room she has, though. 🙂
Kaysi
Wow, I think I would have flipped if I saw that. Great way to organize though!
Kelly
This cracked me up! She's exactly how I was as a kid. Weird, because today I'm obsessive compulsive about organization!
Kelly
ourlifeinaclick.blogspot.com
My kids are pretty much the same way. Your daughter's room is adorable!! I love your organizational system. We go from perfect to a 'hot mess' just about every day around here. As long as you have a place for everything, it eventually gets back in there! 🙂
Nice site! I'm a new blogger and it's so great to check everybody else's out.
-heather
Room to Inspire
Seeing the "slightly disorganized" photo makes me feel better! The tags are fabulous ideas. Thanks for linking this up today too!
Chelsea
Leah
My daughter is only 2 and we've got an organization problem in her room…thanks for the ideas!
Natasha
You are a really good Mum! I love the room and the ideas for labelling those bins. I also love the cute Koala on the shelf!
Best wishes,
Natasha.
Leanne
I still love the tags. Thanks for linking again, Becca. You're awesome.