Keeping Downstairs Tidy

    "I need a flat house," my neighbor told me.  I agreed as I laughed.

    Of course, I'm very grateful for our two-story house that rather comfortably fits our family of five.  However, two stories means that things that don't necessarily belong downstairs often find their way to the first level.

    A week or so ago, as I stepped on another block while I bent over to pick up a microscopic Littlest Pet Shop accessory, I decided I'd had enough. I needed a way to help my children keep their toys from taking over every corner of our house. 

    I found my inspiration as I looked at my children's lunch plates.  We had recently decided that they would each have an assigned plate color so that they would always know which one belonged to them. (It also helps me to know who forgot to clear his or her plate from the table.)

    That's how we found ourselves wondering through the aisles at Target until we found three different colored bins. We took them home and I promptly explained the rules of their new bins.  I told them that, while I still didn't want them to bring too many of their upstairs toys downstairs, they would now have a place for their own toys.  (The toys we keep downstairs are things that belong to all three children like the play kitchen and blocks.)  Now, when I ask them to put their toys away, they carry them to their bins and I can walk around barefoot without fear of stepping on a piece of plastic cleverly disguised as a toy belonging to a pirate or a pony.

    It's never been easier to keep our downstairs tidy.  The kids are excited to have a little place to call their own.  It's a win-win.  I just may have to color code more of their lives.  Next up... toothbrushes.

    Assigning my kids a special place downstairs to call their own, even if it is just a small fabric bin, definitely works for me!  Please stop by Kristen's at We are That Family for more Wednesday tips!