There has been a general trend in blog land towards Spring cleaning. I have finally hopped on board. No major projects, but little clean-up endeavors here and there. So the first thing I tackled was our downstairs toy cabinet. As our children are now almost three and five, we no longer need to have toys all over the downstairs. It’s a nice trend and the toys they do have, fit nicely in a built in cabinet. These days, puzzles, art, and books seem to occupy most of their time. These are much easier to get a handle on as well. 
My hope is to show you a newly organized space and offer a couple of tips as well. The not so fun part is showing you the before picture. Ughhhh. I sort of cringe when I look at it, but we all LOVE a good before and after, right! T h e B e f o r e 
{By the way . . . Elefun is amazingly fun for little ones. Great for playdates when you have a mix of age groups} So it was pretty bad. It had looked good at one time, but it slowly became this mess. Forget trying to ask the kids to put their toys away. How could they find room. I did make the number one mistake . . . .I allowed my children to help. At first it was okay. My daughter organized the puzzles and my son took charge of the trash. And then suddenly, without any warning, they were madly in love with every old toy that hadn’t seen in months. So much for purging! T h e A f t e r 
Ahh!!! Much better. I feel like I can breathe again when I open this. The whole cabinet only took 30 minutes from start to finish. As always, it’s easy to do . . . but so easy to put off! t i p n u m b e r o n e 
My first tip is the fabric bin from Martha Stewart. I picked mine up at Home Depot and they were on sale for $5. They are not only cute, but a great size for the cabinet. We keep our puzzles in plastic bags and this bin is easy for the kids to grab and put on the family room floor. We do a puzzle train almost every night where we all grab a different puzzle and work on them next to one another. Not sure why the term “puzzle train” took off, but they love it. 
t i p n u m b e r t w o 
Clear plastic bins! I can’t say enough about using clear ones. The kids know what they have and are more apt to pull it out and play with it if it’s not hidden. {yes . . . I am contradicting myself with the cute blue polka dot bins . . but those host the items they use every single day.} I picked mine up from Costco, but you can find them anywhere. 
t i p n u m b e r t h r e e 
Way back in the day when I first started reading blogs, I came across this idea. I think someone used it as an adorable way to display a recipe in the kitchen. If you are out there, please let me know so I can give you credit!!!! So this was not my brain child, but I adapted it for my kiddos. I picked up cookie sheets from The Dollar Tree and used mod podge to attach the scrapbook paper. The kids use them all the time. They play with their magnet letters or take them in the car to use as a flat surface for drawing. I highly recommend them. 
So that is it! Spring Cleaning Installation number one! Just a little bit that makes a big difference. 
Have you been bit by the Spring cleaning bug yet? What’s your latest project? And I just found out that I spelled “legos” incorrectly! Off to fix it on my plastic bin! I love that my readers are looking out for me!!!!
It looks awesome Courtney! As a former preschool teacher (and mom to 2 now older daughters), putting the puzzles in Ziplocs is a fabulous idea!! I also love the cookie sheet trays. We have been weeding out big time. If it will ever stop raining so I can get some decent shots I will share the family room update!
Love a good organized cabinet! I have the same two fabric bins in my laundry room! Very cute 🙂
Wow, that looks awesome! Even your "before" picture looks better than some of my "afters"!
Is that truly all of your toys? If so, I am VERY impressed! We have about that many that are accessible at any given time, but then the other 80% are stashed away in the basement (I rotate them when we're ready for a change). But I would LOVE to pare down to a more reasonable amount!
Courtney-
What a great before and after. Those polka dot Martha bins are really cute.
I forgot about using cookie sheet trays for magnets {I did that all the time when I was teaching!}
Right now, I'm in the midst of closet overhaul. My craft closet is done. Now, onto my master walk-in and the new toy/book closet…I love spring cleaning and organizing.
Great ideas as always. I need to follow you lead. My house is always covered with toys, especially random puzzle pieces everywhere. I will use the ziploc idea for sure. The bins are super cute too!
Doesn't it make you feel better? It look fantastic, and those polka dot bins would be perfect for my son's bedroom! Job well done.
Wish you lived closer because I would seriously pay you to come do this at my house. LOL Great job lady, looks wonderful and I bet it feels really good everytime you go to pull the toys out : )
Paula
Those are great ideas! I love the puzzles in a bag and the trays are adorable! Love organizing! 🙂
looks great! I keep meaning to put the games and puzzles in bags. All our boxes are broken…for more spring cleaing ideas check out my How Often Do You Clean It series, every Thursday new neglected places being cleaned…organizedcleandesign.blogspot.com
Great ideas! I love that you put the puzzles in large bags, and cut out the cover. That way, you don't have to keep the large boxes the puzzles come in! Love it! And the tray with magnetic letters looks great with the scrapbook paper! I guess I have to get to my organizing soon, but it's so easy to put off! 🙂
Just for the record, I literally bookmark everything you do for "one day when I have kids." That cookie sheet idea is awesome!! And the organized cabinet is gorgeous, Court. Seriously need to get my butt in gear and start labeling everything around my house!!
For the record, no, that is not all of the toys we have! I secretly wish it were. Other than art supplies, those are the only ones we keep downstairs. The rest are in their rooms and in a play room.
Beautiful. I need you to come over and help me with my fabric closet.
LOVE your ideas girl! Esp putting puzzles in baggies. What is it about puzzle boxes? not only are they way bulky but they dont hold up well at all so we've always taped the corners trying to keep the boxes together so the pieces dont fall out. No more o that thanks to Courtney!:)
XO,
Sarah
Those are great tips! Love the cookie sheet idea.
never knew that had MS storage bins at HD! thanks
LOVE the cookie sheet idea! Can't wait to do the same! Genius! Thanks for sharing!
xoxo,
Jen
What an awesome idea with the cookie trays! And love the fabric bins. When I was little, I was obsessed with blocks. I only played with blocks and barbies. Of course the blocks were to build floor plans of houses (: silly me!
I have been bitten by the spring cleaning bug, too! I have started with the closets which I started over the holidays and gave up. I am determined to complete it! We have too much stuff! Love the cookie tray idea and that cute polka dot fabric bin. Believe it or not our puppy has toys galore and they are everywhere in the house. Might need one of those fabric bins! You've inspired me with your organizing, Courtney!
I think you just saved me money on a bin! My son's puzzles are taking up a whole bin so I needed to buy another for some other things. Now I'm definitely going to be putting them into baggies & it will free up so much room! Thank you!
Um hi Elefun is like my favorite game EVER. I'm coming over to play!! Our lost all their butterflies somewhere along the way! My fave thing to do on a rainy day is clean out the toys with the kids. They get distracted playing with a long lost toy, I secretly throw away junk, and we spend oodles of time playing together and making a day of it. I adore your zest for organization Courtney!!!
Love this idea! So clever! Also, just wanted to let you know to double check the spelling of "Legos"
OH, I love that someone is looking out for me! I just changed the spelling of Legos on my plastic bin! Thank you!!!! 🙂
you are such a great mom!!! love the clean up…and super clever on the cookie pans!
I like the subway sign too…and send you our projects inspired by you?!?!? that'd be half my content! 😉
Great work! What a difference. I LOVE the pan idea. I have a few that I was getting rid of but have kept in the garage because I was determined that there is SOMETHING I can do with them. I don't have kids, but I could make one for someone or just keep it in mind. Thanks!
aren't puzzles in ziplocks the best! 🙂 that pan idea is great, I am going to borrow it for sure!
Your toy closet looks great! I love the idea of using a cookie sheet (decorated) for playing with magnets, etc.
That's really impressive. Great job 🙂
Wonderful ideas and possibly the most organized spaces I've seen. Ever. I think Legos is spelled with one "g", fyi.
Good work! Especially using clear bins so the children don't have to take everything out before deciding what to play with. If you want to build some momentum while you are not in the room take a look at these toy cabinets that require the child to put a toy back before getting out another one. Click here for Barbie Doll Case that Gets Kids To Put Away Their Own Toys Things just keep getting better!
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