Happy Labor Day! For some this is the end of summer while others are just taking a little break from their new school routine. Between last dips in the swimming pool to summer picnics and barbecues, I wish you a wonderful Labor Day.

As our family is taking a little break from our new school routine, I have closed the chapter on our summer fun. The fun remains, but we fit it in between school obligations and responsibilities.

In completing most of our backyard outings, we took a little time after dinner one evening to clean out and organize our outside toy chest. My decision came after rearranging the items twice to fit toys with broken pieces. Rather than fuss with the lid, I began unloading the chest.

Unloaded the Toy Chest

Our outside toy chest contains all our outside toys. Everything from baseball and soccer equipment, chalk, water guns, sand box shovels, Frisbees, and balls find their way into the toy chest.

Our too many unused and broken toys

With getting the toys in and out, my children have emptied containers, broken items, and out-grown some of the toys. As our summer came to an end, we unloaded the toy chest by dumping the contents into the yard.

Unloaded the outside toy chest

Sorted the Toys into Piles

After spraying out the chest, we sorted the items into two piles:

• Trash
• Keep

Trash and Keep Piles

We had lots of broken items, including swimming toys from our first baby pool – 5 years ago. Yep! We needed to clean out this chest.

Organized the Toys

After trashing the one section, we put similar items together from the keep pile. Our sections consisted of water toys, sand toys, soccer toys, baseball toys, etc. The sections were then placed back into the toy chest. By the time we finished the sun had set, so the picture is a little darker than the others. But we finished!

Project complete!

In using time wisely to organize our outside toy chest, our family unloaded, sorted, and organized the toys that will entertain my children into the fall season. Clearing out the chest rid our toy stash of unused, broken, and out-grown items. With an organized chest, we will find the wanted item without wasting time and energy searching among broken toys.

Before putting the summer items away, spend a little time clearing out for next summer. In using time wisely now, you will save storage space and energy at the start of next summer by keeping only the toys you need. Enjoy the rest of your summer and your Labor Day. Happy organizing!

Question: Where do you store your outside toys?

Photograph Credit: Martha Stewart

There it is that perfect organizer that gives everything a place and looks fantastic. The advertiser has lured you in with perfect lighting, balance, and color. You consider your space and budget and decide to purchase it.

Then you get it home and the drawers are too small to hold all your items, the height seems smaller than pictured, and reality sets in. The ideal organizer looks great, but lacks functionality in your space.

Don’t Give Up

Hang in there because not all is lost. Remember the saying, “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade,” find a new use for that great organizing system.

Creativity and organization go hand in hand. What works for one individual is not guaranteed to work for another. Just because that scrapbook station worked for one scrapbook artist who loves small items like buttons, eyelets, and paperclips does not mean that the same system will work for the scrapbook hobbyists who loves bulky items like paint, stamps, and stickers.

Try, Try, and Try Again

Organizational systems are great. But when your organizing system is less than perfect, get creative. Go back to the drawing board, and answer these questions:

• What is currently working well?
• What is not working?
• What changes would you like to make to the existing system?
• What do you need to get from your current system to a workable solution?
• Do you have anything around the house that will fit your needs?
• Can you adjust your beautiful scrapbook station into an office or music center?

If not, get creative. See if you can move a media storage center into a tall, narrow space to solve your problem. As you evaluate your organizational systems, you have options. Just because the designer chose to market that set as a sewing center, you can adjust that system to create a desk, kitchen island, or workbench.

What worked last year is not necessarily workable this year. Stay flexible and creative in finding a solution that works for you. Happy organizing!

Question: What organizational solution resulted from your creativity? 

Final Product!

Summer fun continues to fill my days. However, school is fast approaching, and my schedule is about to change.

With a second grader at school all day and a kindergartner going half day, I will shuttle back and forth with my toddler. Yikes!

Knowing my time at home will come in short spurts, I am working to get my home in shipshape. Concentrating on my downstairs, I cleaned top to bottom and focused on my eye-sore downstairs.

The Eye-sore

The Problem Area

Around Christmas in 2011, we purchased our first flat screen television to replace our small box television set downstairs. After moving our large mirror to our half bathroom and mounting our 40” television, we discovered that the cords were short and on opposite sides of the screen.

The short cords on the one side hook up to our VCR (yes, we still have one), DVD player, and Wii console. Needing to elevate our units, we choose a stack of totes as our temporary solution. Well, our temporary solution lasted for six months. Time got away from me.

Finding a Solution

Our media storage unit

As I checked each station downstairs to improve efficiency, I needed a solution to the blue totes. Not wanting to spend any money, I looked around our home for an option. As I scanned my downstairs, my eyes detected a possible solution in our media storage center.

Hopeful that all the cords would reach the outlets, I moved (read: unloaded and carried to new spot) and found success. Allowing the VCR, DVD, and Wii to sit on the mantel with the power strip resting on the media storage center brought a smile to my face.

The totes were returned to storage, and I loaded the items back onto the media storage center. Whew!

The Result

By moving our media storage center to create a workable space, I found a solution in using time wisely that fits our needs, looks nice, and required no purchase. 🙂

Before, During & After

Finding organizational solutions that complements your room may not cost you any money. Look at items around your home and view them in light of solving your solution. I passed over that media storage unit many times, but it worked.

As you prepare your home and children for a great school year, continue using time wisely while saving money, energy, and time. Happy organizing!

Question: What space needs attention in your home?