Do you have an organizational system in place that is practical but has some flaws? I do. I am finding that just because an organizational system once worked does not mean that it will continue to work with my growing family.
In learning to recognize problem areas from my family’s reactions, I can better fix the problem. Consider the growing pains of my organizational system for our beach balls.
The Need for Beach Balls
My children love to play with balls. At the age of 6 months, my son took a Weeble and tossed it across the room nailing my husband. Yes, it hurt! After that incident, we substituted a beach ball for the Weebles, who were put away until our son learned not to throw them.
The beach balls have offered many hours of fun without pain or broken items. All three of our children have enjoyed rolling, kicking, tossing, hitting, serving, and bouncing these balls around our house. I love the variety of games we can play with the beach balls, but what I don’t like is how big they are to store.
The Problem with Beach Balls
In the entryway of our home, we keep all the toy balls in a large tote. However, the 3 large beach balls (one for each child) continue to roll off the pile of balls into the hallway.
Besides the frustration of having them out of place, the beach balls have become a hazard when they come to rest at the bottom of the stairs. In coming downstairs in the dark one night, my husband tripped over a beach ball. Though he did not get hurt, I had to find another solution for storing these balls.
The New Solution for Beach Balls
With limited space due to all the other toys our family has accumulated, I needed to work within the boundaries of the ball tote. Since the problem is keeping them in the tote, I have chosen to deflate 2 of the 3 beach balls.
When all of my children need their ball, I can easily blow up the other 2 balls. After play, I can deflate 2 of them and place them in the ball box. There is room for one inflated beach ball, and now all the toy balls fit in the tote.
As I identify frustrating systems that are in place, I am learning to find another solution. What worked last year with two active children and an infant is not necessarily working this year with three very active children.
While on my motherhood journey, I am becoming more aware of my family’s preferences and working through the growing pains of the current organizational system to another organized system that works for us all. Whether it is reorganizing plastic food storage containers or beach balls, I hope to keep my home a clean, organized haven for lots of fun and laughter.
Question: What organizational system in your household has become a frustration rather than a help? Please click the Leave your Comment button to add your answer.