Hey Friends! Happy Monday! I actually wasn’t dreading this Monday. Man, having a week off of school really takes a huge load of stress off. The weekend was amazing and ended with a hair party where my dream finally came true… I got purple hair! If you follow me on Pinterest you’ve probably seen the abundance of purple hair pins on my hair-spiration board. While I’m not brave enough to pull the Kelly Osbourne (yet) I am SO loving it.
Now on to the agenda for the day…
So today is my third week of the Project: Simplify series. I’m so glad I started this! It gives me the motivation and accountability to follow through on projects I’ve needed to do. One of the biggest things I’ve wanted to do is make Payton’s room more inviting for her to play in. Since we work from home she spends a lot of time there. It was overcrowded with toys she never played with and the configuration of her room left her with little play space. I wanted to make her room something she would enjoy playing in (so she would stay out of our bedroom!) I spent all night Friday night going through ALL of her toys (minus the ones in the basement, but that is another post for another day). I had a box for donations, a bag for trash, and piles of toys she wanted to keep. I got rid of a lot of her baby toys and plan on taking them to resale or donating them. I also took down the vinyl dots from her “nursery” days since they don’t go with her big girl bedding *tear*
I organized what she was keeping by category. She has a large tub of baby dolls, a container of horses, a container of characters/figurines, her music instruments, play food, and dress up. I also created an art station/table for her to color and got her some new crayons. I moved the bed over to the other side of the room to make her play area larger. We also put a TV/DVD player in her room so she can watch movies if she wants. I did this Friday night and I’m happy to report she has kept her room clean (with a little reminding from mom) since then!
And now for the before and after:
She was so excited to go to bed after I moved the bed. It was cute. I also went through a lot of her clothes and plan on taking some of the nice things to Once Upon a Child to try to sell them. She has played in her room more this past weekend than I think she has in the past month or more. All because I got rid of a bunch of stuff. Look at the amount of stuff I took out of her room!
She was there with me the whole way, asking lots of questions. I reminded her that these toys would go to other kids who would use them and she would have more room to play with her favorite toys and she didn’t seem to mind. She doesn’t miss them or ask about them (unless she sees them in the garage… which means I should probably get them out of there quick!)
It was probably around 3 hours from start to finish. It was so worth it. She now has a simplified and organized place to sleep and play. And it is less mess and clutter for me. I was able to get ALL her toys out of the living room downstairs and organized in her room. More fun for her and less mess for Mom. Win – Win.
How do you handle toy clutter?
imperfectly courtney 
I keep C’s toys in crates that match the decor of the room they are kept in. She has enough that i have one big and small wicker tote in the living room that gets cleaned up every night. I also keep a tote in her room and a bag in the car for when we are at the park or gatherings etc and she needs to stay occupied. I switch them all around from time to time to keep her interested too.
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Must clean kiddos rooms! Thanks for the kick in the pants. Top of agenda for this weekend. The clothes sorting can be so overwhelming. Outgrown clothes out and inventory of what remains…. Eeeeek!
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Seriously, I have been on operation simplify all week this week. Getting my house in order feels so good. I am a geek though, looking at your before and after organization photos just got me pumped.
The purple hair is super pretty! I love it!
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Don’t wait…get the toys to donate out da door. She will see them and will want to play with it “one more time”. I put stuff in my car the day (usually) I purge a room. And, even if my daughter sees it in the car on the way to Goodwill, she is asking for it! I talked to my daughter about doing this soon in her room – and I think she is ready to get rid of alot of her baby-ish items (she is 6). Makes mama happy to help and clean it out!
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