Lego Organization {Instruction Manuals}

My son received a few sets of Lego Duplos for Christmas. Thankfully they all fit into one container. Unfortunately, the instruction manuals kept getting crushed on the bottom of the container. So, I started brainstorming Lego organization ideas. My first thought was to run to Staples and grab an adhesive binder pocket to stick on the side of the Lego Duplo container. I was thrilled with this solution...my two year old was not. So, I was stuck at home and needed to make do with the supplies I had on hand. In the end I think it turned out better than my original idea.

I ran to my craft closet and emerged with the following items.

Mailing tape, scalloped paper punch, 12"x12" cardstock, paper cutter (ultimately not used), and Martha Stewart Labels (not shown).

I folded the cardstock, placed the label on the front and attached it to the back of the Lego container with the mailing tape.The tape secures the pocket to the container and effectively laminates the front of the pocket to protect it from the two year old who wouldn't let me go to the store in the first place.

Our Lego container went from this.

To this.

Ahhh. Much better.

New Years Resolution (NYR) - Days 1 through 3

So far so good. I'm three days into the new year and I have done three things to improve the functionality of this home.

Day 1 - Crayons
We have a craft drawer in our Family Room closet that holds all of my daughter's markers, pens, pencils, and crayons...and a few random glitter pens.

So, I pulled out all of the crayons (broken and intact) and separated them into two containers. The intact crayons ended up in an old containers of Triple Paste diaper rash cream.

The broken crayons now live in an old baby wipes container. I have plans to melt them down into some new funky shaped crayons for the kids. Inspiration thanks to Pinterest.

Day 2 - Wooden Dolls
My daughter has some magnetic wooden dolls that were originally in a tall flexible plastic pouch that was a pain in the you-know-what. It didn't fit in any of our toy cubbies/shelves so it usually got stuck between the couch and the end table. Becuase it was hidden away from the other toys the dolls didn't get played with very much. Out of sight out of mind. So, when we got another set of magnetic wooden dolls for Christmas this year I knew I had to come up with a better solution. Enter another empty container of baby wipes.

I guess it's a good thing I never throw these things away.

Day 3 - Labeling
Since I do not have a label maker or a Silhouette (oh the things I could do with this) I went to Hobby Lobby and got some 40% off stickers. For less than $2 I labeled the crayon container and the wooden doll container.

And after my daughter added her creative touch.



So, 3 down 362 to go. Yikes. Let's hope I can keep it up...the momentum that is.