Step into my office.
I’m sure you have some high-level executive job that pays a fat salary, or just any job that pays…. and that’s great.
I get paid in bruises, sloppy kisses, high-fives and laughs at my job. Because who really wants money anyways. But my job doesn’t require undergarments to be worn, so ultimately, I think I’m winning here.
Here in my office, the walls are painted bright colors, stuffed animals (in bulk) are constantly staring at me and play food is wedged in every corner. In my office, your chances of stepping on a metal tow truck or corvette are extremely high. If this happens, you will absolutely use profanity. You don’t curse, you say? Step on a metal tow truck and it will bring out the worst in you. You think stepping on a lego is bad?… stepping on metal cars makes you wish your foot was amputated.
In my office, my midget co-workers talk a lot and most of the time they don’t make sense. It makes things kind of stressful. Their bodies are tinier than your co-workers’ bodies, and it seems that they are constantly trying to injure themselves. One lunatic named Von, launched his body off of his desk yesterday just for the hell of it.
My office is no ordinary office. It’s a child’s playroom.
Things may be constantly sticky…. but I wouldn’t trade my job or office for the world, even on my most stressful days.
Here I accomplish many things. Like folding laundry and trying to convince my son that we are, in fact, no longer connected by an umbilical cord. It’s been gone for 2.5 years, but he doesn’t seem to believe me.
In order to keep my sanity in my place of business, it MUST be tidy and contained. Here are some tips that I have done and find very helpful with keeping this crazy space organized!
Just the team and I at our last board meeting.
ALL CRAP MUST GO IN COLORFUL, LABELED BINS.
I don’t go crazy spending tons of money on said bins. I am thrifty. All bins you see in this post are from Home Goods (TJMaxx). No, they are not sponsoring this post, but they should have, because I keep them in business. IKEA is also a great bin supplier. Labels are an addiction for me. You never know when a complete stranger will walk into the house and need to find the coloring books to save their life. If this ever happens, they will be saved…. because there is a bin labeled “coloring books”.
My husband once asked if I was going to label the toilets and the family members.
I said yes.
SOME TOYS ARE ALLOWED TO BE UNREACHABLE.
Now, I know this may be controversial. What if the child wants the toy and climbs to reach it?
Note – Your child must know there are boundaries. All toys that are up high must be grabbed with ASSISTANCE. The playroom has rules… we all can’t run around naked, setting things on fire and playing with anything we want at any given time. Like destructive crayons and permanent markers.
Rules. They are important in my place of business. My kids (co-workers) are not allowed to practice knife throwing or coloring skills unattended. Keep the crayons, paints, chalk, coloring pencils, markers – IF YOU LIKE TO FLIRT WITH EFFING DISASTER – and all other objects that could cause damage to your place of residency up and out of reach.
Table: Pottery Barn Kids
I like to keep other toys up and out of reach as well, not just destructive things. I keep some fun puzzles, loud toys, books, and larger trucks up high. This makes them desirable! My son doesn’t get this toy 24/7 so it keeps its luster.
Which brings me to my next point….
TOYS SHOULD BE ROTATED, LIKE A WELL COACHED SPORTS TEAM.
I used to think that having all my son’s toys out in the open was the way to go, that way he would never get bored.
I also used to be an idiot.
This doesn’t work. In fact, it does the opposite. The child gets tired and bored of all his toys, therefore resulting in your child clinging to your thigh like that cellulite you still got hanging on to ya from your first pregnancy. They just won’t get off. Both of them, child and cellulite.
I now know, ROTATING out toys is key. Find the closest closet, or lockable container and throw a couple toys in there that you noticed your child has not been playing with lately. Bring them back out in 1-2 weeks and it’s like a new toy. Promise.
I also hide new toys and save them for rainy days. Or extremely whiny and clingy days. Bust out that new toy and play! It usually turns my child’s mood right around and it is a chance for me to sit down and really engage in some playtime with my son.
Obviously, I need more bins. The closet where toys go to temporarily die.
PLACE ALL PUZZLES IN A DESIGNATED AREA.
Puzzles. Puzzles will be the death of me. My son loves them, which is great, he’s got his daddy’s engineer brain, but if a piece goes missing, I flip my shit. The puzzle is ruined if it’s missing a piece. Nobody goes to bed until we find that missing puzzle piece. Not even the dog. (We don’t have a dog.)
I taught my son at an extremely young age that our puzzles have a designated spot in the playroom. He knows that when we pick them up, at the end of our day, they go to their place. No bins, because that’s just asking for trouble.
MAKE THE PLAYROOM FUNCTIONAL FOR DAILY LIFE.
This place is no model home, I am in here 97% of my day it seems, so I need all my crap in here. I have a mommy bin (up high of course) chapstick, hair tie, paper and pen for quick thoughts, a snack for when the children are making it difficult for me to eat, tissues to wipe the tears from my eyes after my kids physically and verbal assault me… it’s all here.
Keep a basket down low for wipes, diapers, and lotions. They playroom doesn’t have to be just for toys. I have two kids, I can’t haul my infant into another room to change her diaper on the changing table that I paid way too much for and leave my toddler unattended for several minutes. You know how many objects he could consume in 2 minutes? Diaper changes happen in the playroom, so I have my necessities close by and ready for action.
I hope some of these tips and tricks gave you some ideas for organizing your child’s play space! If not, at least you got to look at some pictures. If you want my FULL house & playroom tour head on over to The Avery Grace, a home and event decorating site, where my friend Laura featured my humble abode!
– Until the next time this Redhead rambles.
To get more humorous and bluntly honest parenting posts and videos, please “Like” my Life as a Rambling Redhead Facebook page HERE.
Twitter: @theramblingred
Instagram: @theramblingredhead
YouTube Channel: Life as a Rambling Redhead (Newest Video Short: Fall Fashion FAILS For Moms.)
