My youngest son recently had a playdate with our new neighbors, twin four-year-old boys. They played together contently for hours exploring every inch of our playroom. As any mom would be I was thankful for the chance to do a few things around the house while my little one was entertained. When our guests left, I reluctantly made my way into the playroom to assess the damage. As expected, there were toys scattered from one end of the room to the other. I didn't panic. My playroom motto has always been "don't worry about making a mess... everything has a place and it goes back together quickly." Friends and neighbors who offer to help usually shrug their shoulders and think I'm just being kind, but it's true. Thanks to various bins, buckets, shelves, and storage drawers even the tiniest toy has a home that's easy to find. Whether it's me doing the clean-up or my kids this chore never takes more than five minutes. The key is using open bins and buckets and clear plastic storage containers and drawers to make it easy to see what goes where. It's also important to use the right size container. For example, we have tons of cars and other vehicles but they don't all go into the same container. Smaller cars like Hotwheels go into small bins, while larger cars are sorted into larger bins. It's all about making the toys easier for your kids to put their hands on and easier for you and them to put away.
