Brilliance or No-duh?

I have been toying with the idea of taking a day off work to clean my house, but unfortunately I need to use my limited vacation days when my kids are off school = no possible way of getting any cleaning done.

But I have determination that we will not continue to live in filth and some way, some how, little by little, I will get organized and de-clutter.

Today, I had about 30 minutes while Ella napped before Alex and Anna came home from school. Obviously not enough time to do much, but we do have this art drawer in the kitchen that needs some TLC. Ella has recently discovered its wonder and loves to empty it. When we put back all her hard work, the crayons, markers, cards, books, whatever, just get thrown back in.

Today, I decided to tackle this drawer.

When I opened it, I saw a bag with random markers inside and it dawned on me, these were the only things Ella didn't dump or if she did, at least they stayed in the bag.

Insert ah-ha moment here. Everything goes in a bag!


  • I tested all the markers and pitched half of them. The rest, in a zip-lock.
  • After that, the crayons. We had a few beat up boxes. I filled them and then in a baggie they went.
  • Uno cards - bagged.
  • Flash cards - bagged.
  • Glue sticks - bagged.
  • Pencils I decided to bundle and wrap with a hair tie (much easier to find than a rubber-band in this house)
Then just for fun, I added a few little toys and a calculator (honestly in an effort to distract her and slow down her dumping). I wish I had taken before pictures but you'll have to trust me in its original horror.

  
I don't know why I didn't think of this 10 years ago. And it is highly likely you are reading this thinking, duh, I've always done that. But if by chance you are like me and continue to pick up and re-pick up everything your child dumps on the floor, I hope you find this idea useful. I figure I have some time to enjoy it before she figures out how to work a zip-lock bag.


Hopefully, a little time anyway.


Comments

Anonymous said…
Awww, isn't she a doll! I have a drawer especially for Evie to dump. It's full of baby items that I don't even use anymore...how practical is that??
Sarah said…
We have a box just like that at our house too. I am afraid if I get rid of them, she will move on to something I don't want her to unload.

Oh and I should mention, the hair tie on the pencils was not Ella proof. She had those on the floor in about 20 seconds.
Fran said…
That's pretty damn brilliant Sarah! It would've taken me 10 years to figure it out too.
Christina said…
I have been doing the same over here. Well at least trying to. I get stumped at times, which frustrates me and then I walk away from it. Everything needs a place, but I can't seem to find those places. *sigh*

Popular Posts