Today was one of those rare times that I had the house to myself! I was supposed to go the oncologist for a checkup at 3:30 so Aaron brought the two youngest kids to his mom's house for her to watch them while he worked. My oldest daughter was at school. Right before I left my house to head to the hospital for the appointment, the nurse called to reschedule for another day. Since Aaron was already gone with the kids, I had the house to myself!
I decided to make the most of my time. I looked around the house and saw that the playroom was a disaster! (Yes, those "before" pictures are real. The kids have really been slobs lately!) Since the kids weren't there to distract me, it was a great time to straighten up in there and throw out broken toys and donate unused toys to the church nursery. It is so much easier to do that when the kids aren't there making the decisions about whether they can separate from every single toy. I was so excited to finally throw out all of those old McDonald's Happy Meal toys!
You can read my original post about how we turned our dining room into a playroom here.
Some of you may be looking at the "after" pictures and thinking, "that is still a lot of clutter." Well, it is. I have to cut it down in shifts. If I take away too many toys at once, they will notice. The changes I made today are subtle enough that they will enjoy the neatness of it without noticing that things are missing.
I didn't touch the large closets against the wall because Sydney and I just recently organized those together. You can read my post about organizing those beasts here.
Some tips for you if you decide to take on your playroom:
1. Make sure the kids are not home. They will try and distract you from your mission.
2. Devote at least an hour to the project. Turn on the TV or radio to make the best of the time.
3. Bring a garbage bag or three.
4. Have a vacuum with extensions handy, you will need them. There will be food in every possible crevice.
5. Use Sterlite boxes or totes to keep things contained. I especially love Thirty-One products.
Looks great Amy!
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