On the Coast – Families Issue 96 I October/November 2019 | Page 10

6 tips
T
here’s room for mess in all our
lives but if you want to get
organised and cut some of the
chaos out of your home, these tips
will help.
Once sorted, the toy and book mess
CAN become manageable! Here are
some ideas for how to get control of the
uncontrollable…
Storage options – Buy containers,
boxes or a whole IKEA shelving set
up if you like. Sorting the toys
according to type (cars in one container,
soft toys in another, etc.) is a good idea,
but so is having a box of various toys
for each area of the house your
children play in. We have books in both
the living room and the kids bedrooms
at our house, as well as a different
variety of toys in their bedrooms to
play with if they get bored of the toys
in the living room.
Tiny toys in containers with lids –
This is a MUST for me, otherwise
those Hot Wheels cars, mini dinosaurs
and lego pieces would be all over the
house. Once your kids have dumped out
the contents of the container (as they
will) and then are done playing, make
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KIDZ O N T H E C OA ST
for organising your
children’s play areas
it a game to put all the tiny toys back in
the container. In our house we see who
can put the toys away the fastest. Doesn’t
make for the tidiest job, but there’s never
any tantrums about not wanting to pack
up if we make it a race.
Bookcases or shelves – Books can get
annoying because they’re all
different sizes and shapes and can easily
get thrown around and lost under a bed
or couch. This is where a bookcase in
the kids rooms is handy. We also have
two large containers in the living room
(we love books in this house) and we
rotate them regularly, mostly so the
adults don’t get bored reading them for
the 27th time.
Once a day, do a quick tidy – It’s
great to get your kids used to packing
up after themselves but let’s face it – if
we left them to clean up every time,
standards would be low. Doing a quick 5
minute tidy after they’re in bed will not
only make you feel better, it will also give
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by Lisa Seltzer
everyone a fresh start in the morning
before another toy attack.
Chuck out everything that is broken,
or fix it – Unless of course your child
is attached to the broken toy in question.
This will dramatically reduce the toy
clutter and you’ll be surprised how
many toys they don’t play with anymore
because they’re broken.
Hang artwork – A hook on the wall
for each child with a coat hanger
and a couple of clips works a treat when
figuring out a solution as to where to
store those precious creative efforts.
They are still visible to the kids too, so
if they want to show anyone who visits
or just want to admire their own talent,
they can.
There’s room for mess in all our lives,
but if you want to get organised and cut
some of the chaos out of your home,
these tips will help. Not to mention the
joy in being able to see your floor again!
It’s the little things.
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Lisa is a freelance social media manager, working with clients to engage customers via social media
platforms including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. Lisa has a degree in Marketing and
a Diploma of Counselling, with a background in marketing for the publishing industry. She started
freelancing in social media in 2015 after having her first child.