Toy Storage - by Age

As my Little Miss is accumulating more & more toys, I've had to think of a way to store her toys but be able to access them if I need to. The big & bulky ones have been dismantled (where possible-some can't be pulled apart once they're assembled!) & put in large garbage bags with a sticker on the bag with the name &/or description of the toy & put away. The smaller ones (which I want to be able to access) I've decided to organise into plastic tubs, by age. That way, when we have younger kids that visit, we can easily grab some age-appropriate toys for them to play with.

Here's how I've organised the toys:

Wash &/or wipe the toys.

Write the age range of each toy (usually found on the box or packaging) on the bottom of the toy with a permanent marker/texter (I don't use stickers in case they get peeled off & end up in a little one's mouth). I usually write the age range on each toy when we first get it, before throwing the box away.

If there's nowhere on the bottom to write the age range, I write it on the side or somewhere else inconspicuous

I bought myself a whole lot of these great tubs from Bunnings. They come in different sizes, they're stackable, they have wheels & they are cheap. Perfect for storing all sorts of things

This particular size cost just under $10. 

So far, I've labelled the tubs with the ages:
Birth - 6M
6M+
12M+

Little Miss is at the 18-36M stage, so she's currently using her toys in that age range.

The toys' age ranges are sometimes quite broad. As an example, for toys that are recommended for 6-36month olds, I've put those toys in the 6M+ tub. That way, I know they're safe for children 6 months & over, but may not be safe for any children younger than 6 months.

I filled the tubs with the toys, stacked them & stored them in the garage. Out of the house but easy to get to if we need them.
Once we've finished using the toys again, they can be stored in the corresponding tubs easily because of the age range printed on the bottom, rather than trying to guess which tub they go back into.

I've found this storage system is working well for the moment. However, I'm not sure how many tubs I'll end up with in a few more years!

Organise your Greeting Cards

There have been times when I've found myself with a beautifully wrapped gift but no card to attach to it, & then I've had to rush off to a newsagency/shopping centre/supermarket to buy a card. I decided that, whenever I find beautiful cards whilst I'm out shopping, I'll buy them & keep them for future use. Those unique hand-made cards that you find at markets & at small gift shops are my favourites.

The challenge is, how do you store them?
I came up with this idea:

I bought this white box at Officeworks (a set of 3 different sized boxes cost about $20 - this one is the largest in the set). You can use a shoe box or any other box you may have around the house that is big enough to fit greeting cards.

I also had some previously used plastic A4 dividers

& I removed the old yellow labels from the tabs. I cut the dividers to size, so they would fit inside the box. (You can use traditional cardboard dividers if you like). 

I put a blank white sticker on each tab & hand wrote on each one.

Then I sorted through all the cards, grouped them & put them in the box.

I ended up with these groupings:

Baby (includes Christening, Birth, Baby Shower, Mum-To-Be, etc)

Birthday

Easter & Xmas

Get Well Soon

New Home

Sympathy

Thank You

Wedding (includes Kitchen Tea, Wedding, Engagement etc)

Various (any other cards, including blank ones)

& one for Stickers, Seals etc

You can label your dividers any way you like, depending on what cards you have.

I hand wrote on the tabs to give them a personal touch, rather than using my trusty labelling machine.

I did, however, use my machine to label the front of the box

It's neat & compact & stackable. Very practical!

The box is organised well enough for me not to have to spend too much time searching for the right card. Of course, there are cards that I can't buy in advance (eg. kids age birthday cards, Anniversary cards, Farewell cards, etc), so those cards won't be stored in this box as I'll buy those cards when I need them. But for most other cards, this storage box works quite well. 

I'm still trying to work out a good way to store my wrapping paper & ribbons, but I'll be sure to let you know if I come up with a storage idea for those. Feel free to share if you have a great idea that works well for you. 

Hair Clip Organisation

I was getting a bit frustrated every time I wanted to put a hair clip in Little Miss's hair. The storage I was using for the clips was not working out so well - I'm sure you'll all agree.....

This fabric bag with the clips attached to it, was hanging on the back of her bedroom door!

I decided to go through the house & see if I could find some inspiration.
Rather than buying a new storage container that would eventually be thrown out or take up room once we no longer needed it, I thought that using something "not for the purpose it was intended" would work just fine.
This is what I came up with. What do you think?

Much prettier & easier to use. I just had to make sure I put it on a high shelf in her room where Little Miss can't reach it.

It's amazing what you find around the house that's not being used. I only ever use the egg cup holder at Easter, which is perfect as Easter has just gone, & the little bowl is one of so many you can find in your kitchen. I'm sure once Easter comes around next year, I'll have to upgrade to a larger container so I won't need to use the egg cup plate anymore.

The egg cup plate can also be used in the study to store paper clips & other little stationery items.....

Now if I can only figure out how to store her headbands. Any suggestions?