As I said before, we are going through a phase where we are cleaning things out around our house. I feel this urgency, this pull to organize and clean out all those closets, pantries and hidden shelves. I want everything clean and in its place. I also feel motivated to get it done now, just in case later on I can't.
The kids have accumulated so many toys. Every birthday and Christmas they get lots more. We have designated an area of the basement as their play area and off and on I go down and organize the toys, only to have them play a few times down there and then I find it a mess. I haven't cleaned out the basement toys for over a year, and so when I went down all the toys were just shoved onto shelves-- children trying to appease mom who told them to clean up.
So I pulled every toy off the shelves and went through them one by one, throwing away the junk and trash, and putting many other toys into the 'give away' pile. I was amazed at some of the hidden treasures. There were old grocery lists, a tootsie roll (luckily still in its package), all the missing pieces to the alphabet puzzle, and about a million prizes from Happy Meals or birthday party goodie bags.
Once I decided what was worth keeping, I got bins and labeled them to organize the toys, and gave everything a special spot on the shelves. I am so thrilled every time I walk down there. It looks clean and organized, and I am working on training the children to put away one bin before they get out another one. I also have room left over, so when Christmas and birthdays roll around, there is room to store their new favorites. I actually enjoy going to the basement to play with the kids now!
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