Simplify 2012: Kids Spaces

I didn't really get a chance to do so much organizing this week. I had a feverish/teething toddler so I spent quite a lot of my spare time looking after the little one. The main kid's space that I wanted to tackle was Little Miss' bedroom closet. It needs a big clear out (clothes that don't fit anymore especially) but that generally takes an afternoon while child is not around. So instead, I managed to just reorganize her play area in the kitchen, and do some general tidying around the living room area.

Here's what I did:

1. Kitchen Play Area - moved around the play kitchen and art easel, added microwave station to play kitchen since little one is tall enough to reach it now and this provides storage space for some of her tea sets. New set up also opens up some floor space in the kitchen.

 (before)

(after)

2. Quick Bookshelf Tidy - removed and put aside unread books for charity shop, consolidated favorite books and placed in basket on the floor next to the couch so that she can grab books on her own and chill on the sofa.

3. New Play Table - I thought it would give me extra storage but quickly realized that I need more! Currently houses small doll house, puzzles and other boxed toys.

4. Small toys and art supplies organized into plastic bins - crayons/markers, instruments, Peppa Pig figures and tea sets. The different bins make it easier to sort and keep track of small pieces. I also encourage Little Miss to do "clean up time" and put things away. I bought these at local diy store but I'd like to spray paint the lids of the bins white one day (just to blend in a bit more) and make some diy chalk board labels just to pretty things up.

That's all for now. Happy organizing :)

It's Spring Cleaning Time!

I am a huge fan of SimpleMom.net and have been following Tsh's helpful and inspirational stories since I became a new mom. I was so happy to see that she is running Project: Simplify 2012. The idea is to break down Spring cleaning into easy and manageable chunks for each week during the month of March.

I recently cleaned out my dresser and closet (using a similar process to this) and found the whole experience really exhausting. I took me nearly two full days and I ended up donating about 8 huge shopping bags full of stuff to charity. However, I am really grateful that I did it because now I can actually see and access all my clothes and even have room to buy more!

Anyway, I digress. I don't want to lose the organzing momentum that I have so I think this will be a great home project for March. I'm actually very excited to do this so crossing fingers that I follow-through!

Here's a quick breakdown of the to-do list:

• Week of March 5: Kids’ stuff—toys, clothes, and the like (really need to do this!)
• Week of March 12: Kitchen and/or pantry (maybe just the kiddy dishes and sippy cup cabinet)
• Week of March 19: Closets, countertops, and drawers (can you say junk drawer?)
• Week of March 26: Choose your own adventure—you pick your most-needed hot spot (I'm thinking my office/desk space or maybe my craft suppies)