In my house, I am constantly picking up my kids toys! Yes, we teach them to clean up after themselves while singing the clean up song. That being said, they love to carry toys from room to room – and floor to floor. That means I am constantly trying to move toys back to their “home” – aka – the correct place in our house. To make things more interesting, we have dogs. If toys are on the floor and not where they belong – there is a HUGE chance the toy will get chewed up. That is a BIG incentive for the kids to clean up…but it does not entirely solve the problem.

I’m a fan of toys (and other items) having a “home.” Yes – I am a person who loves to organize and believes things should have a place. That is how I find things easily for each person in my house. Trains go on the train table, books on the bookshelves, puzzles on the puzzle shelf, keys in a basket in the foyer and so on. To make my life easier, I’ve come up with some storage solutions that organize and declutter my house (most of the time). Try them out and hopefully you will feel more organized and zen in your home! 😉

Storage ottoman: I’ve linked to an affordable storage ottoman that I personally own. There are other ottoman options out there, but I’ll walk you through why I like this one and you can look for something with similar qualities if you agree with my list. First of all, it’s squishy! For me that is a big deal because my kids love to climb all over it. I like that they can sit, climb and play on top of it without sharp edges or corners. Second, it’s sturdy. My little ones are not the only ones who sit on it. My husband and I have used it to put on our shoes, we’ve used it as extra seating in our living room for guests, and you would never know that it is full of toys! Lastly, it holds a ton of stuff! I’ve included a photo of our ottoman so you can see how full it is. It is filled with the kids costumes, play backpacks, musical instruments, stuffed animals and more! Lastly, it isn’t super expensive. With toddlers and dogs running around my house, I don’t like to spend a ton of money on things that are going to get wrecked. This ottoman is priced perfectly because it isn’t so cheap that it’ll break in a week, but it isn’t something you’ll own 10 years from now. It will have a good life and help keep the clutter off your floor. That is a win in my mind! 🙂

Lego/Toy Storage Bag: I LOVE this bag! We have gotten many lego sets over the last couple of years, and having one place to put them is great! Lego boxes are bulky and take up a lotof space. Recycling lego boxes is fun for me at this point because it means less clutter! This storage bag is very inexpensive, holds a TON of legos, you can open it up easily for play time, and then push all the legos into the middle of the bag before pulling the cord to close it! The kids love it because it’s easy for them to pull out and play – and it makes clean up a breeze for them! It is a winner in the eyes of me as a mom, and in the eyes of my kiddos!

Wipes Boxes: We go through wet wipes like it’s our job! We regularly order a big box of wet wipes refills from Amazon and we’ve ended up with a bunch of wipes boxes as a result. I use them for organizing toys, crafts materials, stickers, crayons, and more. They are handy and you can easily label them with real labels or a permanent marker. They don’t break easily (and they are recyclable if they do), they stack nicely, and they are easy for the kids to open and close. As you can see from my photo, I like to group similar toys in a single box. For example, all of the kids Paw Patrol toys are together in one box. In another box I have all the Octonauts toys. When they ask me where something is, I actually know and can find it in one of the boxes. I can also easily put toys away because they have a “home.” Same goes for all crafting materials. When we go out to eat and come home with crayons, I toss them into the crayon box. When it’s time to color, I grab the whole box and the kids can have a blast! Get creative – there a ton of things you can organize with these boxes!

Mesh Door Organizers: Ok…don’t judge me…but I love door organizers. They are so handy and they are NOT just for shoes! I use them in my kids rooms for shoes and toys. I also put extra kids products like baby powder, baby lotion, sunscreen, diaper rash cream, and more in the upper pockets (far away from kids reach). I usually purchase things like butt cream and baby powder in 2-3 packs so I have enough on hand, and then group those items together so I can easily grab it when needed. Another fantastic use for door organizers is toiletries!

I have one on the door of my hallway closet and it is a huge time and space saver. It creates more space for towels, toilet paper, and other important bathroom/home items. It also helps me organize things by need. For example, I keep the kids bandaids with the Neosporin so that I can grab both things quickly and easily for any scrapes/cuts. Travel size soaps from hotels can easily go in one of the larger pockets and are easy to find/grab when you’re getting ready to travel. I keep toothpaste, extra toothbrush heads, and floss grouped together. You can also group together things like nail polish, polish remover and cotton balls. Keep items like nail polish and remover in the top pockets so they are far away from your kids reach. There are so many ways to group together similar items – making them easier to find while also freeing up space!

Family baskets: The kids are not the only ones who leave things all over the house. We adults do it too. Think about your sunglasses, wallet, watch, lipgloss, keys, earbuds, hair ties, and other random things that make their way around the house. My husband leaves his wallet, watch and items in the living room, kitchen, and dining room on a regular basis. To help you quickly relocate these random items, try using family baskets. Pick a small/medium size basket for each family member and put them in a handy location. As you find small items misplaced around the house, put them in the baskets. When a basket is full of toys, books, and other items, grab it and walk from room to room quickly putting things back. It will save you time and energy! My son brings toys from his room to the kitchen every morning. My kids love to take off their socks in the living room so they don’t slide around. Those are examples of items that can be tossed into their respective baskets for an easy trip back to their rooms. I’ve linked to a basket set that I like, but pick whatever fits you needs, style and budget.

I hope these organizational ideas inspire you – and help to declutter your lives!

ENJOY! XO

Ok friends – I want to share some of my favorite books. These are books we own and love. There are many more but I tried to put my top picks on this list to keep it from getting out of control. I’ll do my best to put them into categories, based on my opinion and how well they were received by our kiddos. I don’t have books for older kids at this time, as this list is based on my own experience, which is dictated greatly by our kids current ages.

There is a good chance I will add to this list over time – so be sure to check back! The goal is to give you book ideas to add to your own library, your kids library, friends who are expecting, friends with kids, friends who are teachers, etc. Reading is a joy! Help give children a love of reading at a young age so they love it through life. I want to help encourage reading at all ages! Read this list, share it, read from it! Spread the love and enjoy! 🙂

Books for new and expecting parents:

• On Becoming Baby Wise – Gary Ezzo, MD
• The Happiest Baby On the Block – Harvey Karp, MD
• Ma! There’s Nothing to Do Here! A Word from your Baby-in-Waiting (Picture Book) – Barbara Park

Classics for any age:

• Goodnight Moon – Margaret Wise Brown
• Guess How Much I Love You – Sam McBratney
• The Very Hungry Caterpillar – Eric Carle
• The Wonderful Things You Will Be – Emily Winfield Martin
• Where the Wild Things Are – Maurice Sendak
• The Giving Tree – Shel Silverstein
• The Rainbow Fish – Marcus Pfister
• Where the Sidewalk Ends – Shel Silverstein
• The Story of Ferdinand – Munro Leaf
• Love You Forever – Robert Munsch
• Little Blue Truck Board Books – Alice Schertle

Books for 6-24 Months:

• Moo, Baa, La La La – Sandra Boynton
• Barnyard Dance – Sandra Boynton
• Are You a Cow? – Sandra Boynton
• Night-Night, Little Pookie – Sandra Boynton
• Peek-A Who? – Nina Laden
• Good Night Gorilla – Peggy Rathmann
• Row, Row, Row Your Boat – Nosy Crow
• Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star – Nosy Crow
• The Wheels on the Bus – Nosy Crow
• Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site – Sherri Duskey Rinker
• Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night? – Brianna Caplan Sayres
• Chicka Chicka Boom Boom – Bill Martin Jr.
• Dear Zoo – Rod Campbell
• Are You My Mother? – P.D. Eastman
• Giraffes Can’t Dance – Giles Andreae
• Little Owl Books – Divya Srinivasan

Books for 2-7 Years:

• If You Give a Mouse a Cookie – Laura Numeroff
• If You Give a Moose a Muffin – Laura Numeroff
• If You Give a Pig a Pancake – Laura Numeroff
• Elephant and Piggie Books – Mo Willems
• Pigeon Books – Mo Willems
• Iggy Peck, Architect – Andrea Beaty & David Roberts
• Rosie Revere, Engineer –  Andrea Beaty & David Roberts
• Ada Twist, Scientist – Andrea Beaty & David Roberts
• The Day the Crayons Quit – Drew Daywalt
• Harold and the Purple Crayon – Crockett Johnson
• Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You? – Dr. Seuss
• The Pout-Pout Fish – Deborah Diesen
• Hedgehugs – Steve Wilson

Books when expecting a second child:

• There’s a Baby in There! – Dandi Daley Mackall
• God Gave Us Two – Lisa Tawn Bergren
• I Am a Big Brother – Caroline Jayne Church
• Hello in There!: A Big Sister’s Book of Waiting – Jo Witek (NOTE: I added this book for the big sisters out there!)

Have fun reading! xoxo