From Chaos To Control: Toy Bins

I have a love/hate relationship with toy bins.

I love how toy bins can keep all the kid's toys organized.
I hate how the little pieces get thrown in the nearest bin, instead of the appropriate bin.
I love how toy bins make cleanup a quick process.
I hate the feeling I get when I see a stuffed animal head poking out of the "Tool" bin.

Because of my OCD tendencies I had to give myself "toy bin limits".  For me, I could spend my whole day trying to keep my kid's toys organized and in the appropriate bins.  So, I set one day a week where I go around the whole house and gather the toys that are in the wrong place.  I chose Thursday because that is my cleaning day.

 I bring all the toys into the play room and empty out one toy bin at a time.

Then I make piles (until I have an empty bin to put the organized toys in) to organize them.

I make a throw-away pile, as well as an I-don't-belong-in-the-play-room pile.  These piles must be taken care of before this task is complete.

The rest of the week I don't care if there are 5 cars in with the barbie dolls or play make-up in with the hand bags because I know that Thursday is right around the corner:)