By Sherri Kruger, with Zen Family Habits

Diets don’t work. At least that’s been my experience. I’ve never been the type of person to be overly concerned about my weight or physical appearance. What I am concerned about is having a healthy body through the foods I consume.

It’s difficult to eat well and be healthier overall if you are disorganized, misinformed or simply don’t know what you don’t know. Here are 7 things you can do to get you well on your way towards establishing healthy eating habits that are sustainable for the long run.

1. Educate yourself. This doesn’t mean you need to know the composition or origin of every fruit, vegetable or grain that you consume. Here are a few things to consider educating yourself on:

• Learn what foods are actually good for you and in what quantities.
• Learn about food substitutions if you have known allergies.
• Learn how to cook different dishes especially if you are stuck in the meat and potatoes or pasta rut for dinner every night.
• Learn how to prepare food to get the maximum nutritional benefits from it.
• Learn about healthy snack alternatives

2. Start small. You are less likely to see big life altering changes through to the end.  This is why it is important to start small when establishing any new habit. When it comes to eating healthier, start with changing one meal, one day or one week. Try this change for a few weeks and see how it works for you and your family. You shouldn’t be afraid to admit when something doesn’t work. It’s unrealistic to expect a perfect change the first time around. You should be willing to look at what doesn’t work and try something else. Think of one of the obvious eating habits you currently have that you want to change. Do you drink too many soft drinks? Do you eat too much junk food or processed food? Do you rarely eat fruit or vegetables? Whatever it is choose one or two things and begin making a change. Add 2 vegetables to your dinner plate tonight. Drink water, herbal tea or green tea at lunch today instead of a soft drink.

3. Make a plan. Going in cold and flying by the seat of your pants is no way to establish a good eating habit. If your goal is to completely overhaul the foods you consume then it will be infinitely easier if you start with a plan. Creating a meal plan doesn’t have to be difficult. It can be done using something as simple as a recipe card, notebook or a spreadsheet on a computer. Start by making a list of all the meals your family enjoys. Include healthy mains, sides, desserts and snacks that you became aware of during the education part of this process. Next you can pick and choose what meals to have on which days as well as healthy snacks  to ensure no binge eating.

4. Remove the friction. This is a big one for me. Friction here, is all those little things that make it just a little more difficult to eat healthy. To remove as much friction as possible consider:

• Pre-wash fruits and vegetables and leaving them on the counter for easy access.
• Package snacks into individual serving sizes to grab as you’re running out the door.
• Cut vegetables into manageable pieces.
• Keep water in the fridge.
• Do as much of the food preparation the night before so you can quickly whip up a tasty healthy meal for dinner when you really don’t feel like it.

Once you have removed a few of the mental hurdles it’s easier to stay on track. After a while these things will become second nature and you won’t have to think about it.

5. Be flexible. You should avoid making a plan too rigid so as not to allow for deviations throughout the week or month. Decide what flexibility means to your family. Is it pre-cooking a variety of ingredients at the start of the week and using them in diffierent combinations throughout the week? Or is it planning a different meal every night and skipping one if you’re invited out or substituting if you decide to have people over? Whatever it is you shouldn’t get too hung up on the details. Allowing flexibility in your meal planning will reduce stress and make it a lot easier to stick with in the long run.

6. Have a cheat day. This is one thing that can really help sticking to healthy eating over the long run. Choose one day a week when you can eat whatever you like, within reason of course. If you’re really wanting pizza, ice cream or donuts have them on this day. In the beginning, transitioning to a healthier eating habits can be trying. However, it’s easier to eat healthy during the week when you have that one day, your cheat day, to eat your guilty pleasures. If you choose a day try to stick with it. After a month or so you’ll likely notice the “need” for your cheat day will diminish and you’ll find eating healthy your new way of life everyday.

7. Many things in moderation. One of the reasons diets don’t often work, is you feel you need to eliminate “everything”. Everything that tastes good, everything that’s fun and all that you really enjoy eating. The problem is that as soon as you eliminate these foods from your diet you crave it even more. Saying I will never eat chocolate or no more ice cream really doesn’t work. When you do eventually have some, which is entirely expected, you aren’t likely to eat a small portion are you? No, you’re likely to binge and eat a whole chocolate bar or an entire tub of ice cream. Everything in moderation.

Establishing healthy eating habits can increase your energy levels, get you feeling better about how you look and feel and just make you healthier overall. Start small and implement changes gradually. The key is to start. Now.

7 Steps To Sustainable Healthy Eating Habits [Zen Family Habits]

[Editor's note: Thanks to Sherri Kruger for her post on learning to eat well. These are some great tips, and I especially like her tip regarding a "cheat day." Eating well the other six days doesn't sound so bad if there is a bowl of ice cream waiting at the end of the week!]

Related posts:

1. How Motherhood Can Help You Build Healthy Habits
2. Shopping For Healthy Foods – On a Budget
3. Are Coupons Mostly for Junk Food?

By Sherri Kruger, with Zen Family Habits

In the seemingly never ending quest to reduce clutter and simplify our lives it’s just hard to let go sometimes.

A few key questions and a clear vision of where you want to be can certainly help keep you going in the right direction.

As you evaluate and re-evaluate what to keep and what to part ways with ask yourself the following:

Do I use it?
Do I care about it?
When I see it does it make me feel happy?

It really does just boil down to these simple questions. If you don’t use something why are you hanging on to it? It’s taking up space and is just one more thing to clean, dust or move when company comes over. If you can’t bear the thought of throwing it away donate it to charity or give it to a relative who has mentioned liking it in the past. Sometimes it’s easier to get rid of something when you know it’s going to a good home.

If you are completely detached and indifferent towards a particular item there’s really no value in keeping it either. It takes up space and even if you aren’t short on space it’s nice sometimes to just have room for the sake of having room. A lighter, airier home can help you feel lighter and airier yourself.

Finally, the items that conjure up feelings of happiness, great memories and those that just make you smile … keep them.

Perhaps a subquestion to this would be: Are these “good” items on display or packed away in a box somewhere out of sight? Items that give you a sense of joy or happiness should hold a place of honor in your home. Any item worth keeping is likely worth displaying prominently in your home. Every time you walk into the room and you see that item, you’ll be met with feelings of warmth and of simply being home.

As we are now well into the new year take some time to look around your home and see if there is anything you could possibly do without. Start small, do a bit each day and before you know it your home, your sanctuary, will feel lighter and a whole lot more inviting.

Declutter Your Way To A Happy Home [Zen Family Habits]

[Editor's note: Thanks to Sherri Kruger for her post on decluttering your home. This is great motivation for me to go through my own home and remove the things we no longer have a need or a use for. It's so freeing to get rid of the things that simply taking up space!]

Related posts:

1. Fun Ideas For Your Home Office
2. Create A Play Area That Fits
3. Suffering from Dry Air In Your Home? Try These Tips.

Now that Christmas has settled I am going through and organizing the kids’ playroom and bedroom. I have always known that they have a lot of stuff, but I am realizing more and more just how much they have. There are a lot of toys! Bins were overflowing, cubes were stuffed, and shelves were filled up. My goal recently was to go through their toys, and declutter everything I could get away with.

If your kids’ things are out of control, here are some things I have tried that help –

• First, pull out the things they have outgrown. My girls have moved onto Legos and Duplos, so they don’t play with Mega Blocks anymore. I also came across a surprising amount of older infant toys that are more appropriate for a one year old, rather than my two and four year old kids. These were the easiest things to remove from the playroom.
• Beloved stuffed animal, or forgotten toy? There are some stuffed animals that I would never toss because of sentimental value, and because my kids love playing with them. However, there are also a lot of stuffed animals that my children have been ignoring for months (or years!) and are only collecting dust. If you are unsure about your child’s attachment to a stuffed animal but want to thin out your collection, try setting a few aside for a couple of weeks. If your kids don’t notice they are gone by then, they will probably never miss them.
• Rotate toys. If you have a wonderful (but overwhelming) toy collection, try rotating toys. Divide up the toys, and then rotate throughout the year. You can do this every month or every six months – the point is to have a manageable number out at a time (the rest in a closet or garage), but still keep the toys.
• Get rid of the oldest, banged up version of the same toy. For Christmas this year, my kids received several new puzzles. They really enjoy puzzles, and I was happy to see that they had some new ones to play with. However, I also went through their toy room and looked through the ones they already had. I was able to pull out a couple of  worn out puzzles, in order to make room for the new ones. Again, I set these aside before giving them away – just to make sure that the kids wouldn’t miss them before they officially left our house.

Now that I’ve gone through and reorganized things, my kids are discovering forgotten toys that were buried under piles or stuck on shelves. Right now, my daughter is playing with a toy she received last year, as if it were brand new. It’s wonderful to see how much easier it is to walk into the playroom and select something to do – rather than feel overwhelmed with too much of everything. It has been refreshing to thin out our play room, and I recommend it to other moms. Whether you choose to keep everything and simply rotate toys, have a yard sale, or donate items, I hope you’ll be enjoy a more peaceful and less cluttered space to play.

-Grace

Related posts:

1. Start Planning Your Christmas Shopping – And Start Clearing Out Old Toys
2. Create A Play Area That Fits
3. Relaxing With Your Kids

As I was rummaging through my medicine “cabinet” yesterday (which consisted of Rubbermaid bins stuffed full of expired medicines), it occurred to me that I really needed to do some reorganizing. I know that at some point I had my linen closet (and my medicines) organized, but after a while it just became a mess in there.

I sometimes put off organizing projects, because they intimidate me. If a closet looks like a mess, I just shut the door and walk away, saying “I’ll do that later.” Sure enough, I’ll set aside some time and tackle it at some point, but I’m in no hurry to devote an afternoon to a messy area. The last time I did that, I ended up spending three hours working on my daughters’ storage closet, up to my elbows in baby blankets and toddler shoes.

Rather than repeating my three hour storage closet blitz, I decided to sit down and write out a list of organizing projects. I started brainstorming everything in my house that was bugging me, from the medicine cabinet to my storage closet full of old wrapping supplies. The thing that I focused on while I was writing out projects was breaking things down into specific projects. Rather than saying, “Clean storage closet” or “organize the kids’ old stuff,” I wrote down all of the little things that were part of larger projects.

Here are some examples:

• Organize top shelf of my closet
• Organize shoes in my closet
• Purchase new baskets for linen closet, and put all of our medicines and first aid supplies in those baskets.
• Clean out the floor of the linen closet – organize all of the random stuff thrown on the floor
• Sort through the kids’ old toys – donate toys they no longer play with.
• Go through my old clothes. Donate older maternity clothes to crisis pregnancy center, and other clothing articles to Goodwill.
• Organize wrapping supplies in storage closet.
• Get rid of old curtains in storage closet.

By breaking down specific projects into two, three, or four jobs per area, it’s much easier to tackle a project. If I were to do an entire area at once, it would take too long and I would hate doing it. Sure, I have a list of about fifteen or twenty projects to tackle in the next couple of months, but at least it’s broken down in a way that is more reasonable.

-Grace

Related posts:

1. Tips for Keeping Your Children’s’ Clothing Organized
2. Start Planning Your Christmas Shopping – And Start Clearing Out Old Toys
3. 5 Minutes Can Make a Difference

I love having people over. One thing I try and remember is that being a good host is about so much more than mini-quiches, a spotless house, or having some amazing craft for all of the kids to do. Being a good host is about making people feel comfortable in your house.

Ask yourself, what makes YOU feel comfortable? Is it really the gourmet meal your friend made? Or perhaps the mom who cleaned her house from top to bottom before you came over with your kids? No, I don’t think so. That stuff can be nice, but more often than not I think it sends the wrong message. Unless you really have an actual event to host, sometimes going to so much trouble actually makes people feel uncomfortable. There are certainly cases where impressing your company is important, but more often than not, I think we tend to overdo it. This doesn’t help anyone.

Now, when it comes to a play date, I don’t see any reason at all why you should go to much trouble to clean up (see my post on Why You Should NOT Clean Your House). The objective should be to have a home that is comfortable enough for your friend(s) and the kids to come over – this means walk without tripping over toys, have a snack for the kids, etc. Don’t go to much trouble beyond that. The point is to get together as moms, and have the kids play. I usually do a quick pick-up, brew some coffee for my friend, set out some goldfish or apple slices for the kids, and that’s about it.

When grown-ups are coming over and you’re having “company,” it’s a bit different than another mom showing up in yoga pants at 10am. I’m not advocating that you don’t do ANYTHING, but I am suggesting you think more carefully about what you are doing and why. Motivation in your decisions is the most important thing. Are you trying to impress company, or make them feel welcome? There are a few things to consider, when you are having friends or family over.

What’s for dinner? If you have time, it can be really fun to pull together a nice meal that takes a long time to prepare. However, it can often be much better to prepare something less time consuming. If your guests come over and you are fussing over making an impressive dinner, this creates a stressful environment that focuses more on the work you are doing, and less on the people who are coming over. Another consideration is the clean-up. There have been many times I’ve put a lot of hard work into a dinner, only to be left with tons of dishes after everyone leaves at midnight. Friends feel bad for leaving a mess (or worse, they don’t notice – which is frustrating), and you have a huge clean-up in the morning. So, skip the elaborate spread. Go for something low-key, like a crock-pot dish or grilling something outside. Friends are coming over to see you, and not to make a judgment on what a great cook you are.

Create the right atmosphere for entertaining. Do not spend the whole day cleaning, light candles in all the rooms, and hide all child-related items. Yes, pick up the house so your friends know that you care about the fact that they are coming over, and (if you want to) light a candle in the bathroom for ambiance. Why not? It’s fun. Just remember, do that sort of thing if it’s fun for you to do, not because you feel obligated to create a model home for your friends. Focus on creating an environment that is welcoming and comfortable, not sterile and impressive.

Put on some music. If not for my husband, I would overlook this one. He knows just about everything about every album that has ever been made, so we have quite a library of music to choose from. We have music playing often, and it creates such a nice atmosphere. Our current favorite is a fantastic jazz album, “Whipped Cream & Other Delights Rewhipped,” by Herb Alpert.

Think about what your guests may need or want. Do your friends have a newborn, or a toddler they are bringing over? Go ahead and set up a pack & play in your bedroom, pull out the bouncy seat for their baby, and serve something you think the kids will enjoy as well as the adults. Try and make it easy on them if they have kids and are coming over to your place. If your house is not already baby proofed, put up breakables and move important objects to out of reach places.

What to do after dinner? Even if you end up visiting over some wine for a couple of hours, it’s nice to plan something fun to do with friends. If you friends are staying after dinner and putting the kids to bed at your house, suggest a movie they may want to watch, or a game they would enjoy playing. We have had a great time playing “Settlers of Catan” with our friends, as well as other games such as “Risk,” and “Taboo.”

Just remember that having friends over is supposed to be fun – not stressful. If you never have people over because you hate all the cooking and cleaning, just try something more low key. People come over to see you, not your house. Keep your expectations reasonable, and enjoy your evening.

- Grace

Related posts:

1. Why You Should NOT Clean Your House
2. Your House Doesn’t Need To Be That Clean
3. 5 Reasons to Host a Clothing Swap

Some people love to grocery shop, others absolutely hate it.  Personally, I have been in both of those camps.  For me, it all depends on who is coming along with me.

Let me start by saying that I am at the point right now where I do my grocery shopping on the weekends, without my kids.  I know that plenty of moms out there take their kids along during the week to run their errands, and I know I could as well.  Usually, my kids are fine on smaller errands at different stores.  They love Costco, are well behaved in Target, and think the mall is equivalent to Disney World.  I do consider my kids pretty well behaved, however, I know their limits.

I took my older daughter grocery shopping with me when she was a baby and a toddler, before her sister was born.  I never thought twice about it – it was easy.  Then, her sister was born.  Her colicky, “I hate my car seat,” little sister.  That was rough, and I tried taking them both a few times.  That didn’t last long.  I wore my baby in a sling or a front carrier, but the trip usually ended in tears (both of us) while my older daughter quietly watched the chaos.  It got better as they became older, and at one point it was easy.  My one year old sat nicely and played with toys, while my three year old rode in the little car attached to the front of the grocery cart.  It was easy, and it didn’t last.

Now that I have a two year old and a four year old, I realize it’s just too much of a hassle to take them grocery shopping.  And yes, I know I could bring them along – but frankly I don’t want to.  I just don’t see how I can ask kids that age to (a) sit still in a cart, (b) walk beside me without grabbing stuff, and (c) not get incredibly bored for the hour that it takes.  I see other moms doing it, and I applaud them – I’m just not one of them.

I don’t expect to continue my weekend grocery trips for very long, though.  My four year old actually starts preschool this week, and I think that having her removed from the equation will make grocery shopping much easier.  Just having my two year old to interact with will probably give me enough brain power to both shop and keep her entertained (and well behaved) at the same time.  I’m hoping my prediction is accurate, so I can stop spending my Saturday mornings at the store (even though it is a nice break…).

Looking back over the past four years, here are some of the best lessons I’ve learned for grocery shopping with kids.

• Always, always park near the cart return. This may be a no-brainer, but I have to say it anyway.  (Also, some stores do have pregnant-lady parking, up close to the store.  This is helpful if you only need one or two things, or if this is your first baby and you are still shopping alone.)
• Try to get one of those carts that are made for moms with children. Sometimes they have little cars in the front of the cart where kids can sit, or perhaps there is an addition to the cart with seats for kids to sit.  These carts are great, as well as the carts that are found in warehouse stores.  Costco’s carts sit two children in the seat, instead of only one.
• Look for a store that has child-care. These wonderful places do exist! My local store provided this free of charge, for ages 3 and up.
• Order your groceries online, and pick them up at the front of the store. If you have a new baby who fusses way too much to spend an hour or two at the store, consider online grocery shopping.  It is more expensive, but I assure you it is well worth it.  When I had my second daughter, I spent the first three months online grocery shopping at the local Harris Teeter.  It was such a blessing to have this service, and it made my life so much easier!
• Pack snacks, and remind your kids that you have them. Say something like, “once we get to the part of the store with the milk, I will give you that juice box.”  If your kid knows that good behavior will earn them some animal crackers half-way through the trip, it will keep them focused both before and after you break out the animal crackers.
• Have your infant nap while you shop. Shopping with a newborn or an infant can be easy, or hard.  It all depends on your kid.  If you have a baby who sleeps well in their car seat, consider timing your outing with their nap.  Ideally, the car ride will put them to sleep.  Once you arrive at your destination, you can remove the infant seat from the infant base in the car, and carry your sleeping baby into the store.
• Avoid bathroom breaks. If you have a child who is potty trained, make sure and have them use the bathroom before you head to the grocery store.  If the child is newly potty trained, have them go again at the store before you actually begin your shopping.  And always bring spare pants, just in case.
• Consider where your kids are at. For my kids, after breakfast and before lunch is the best time for an outing.  Make sure your children are full and well rested before you take them to the store.  Decide when their best time of day is, and tackle the store during that time period.
• Last of all, DO NOT compare yourself to any other moms.  If your kid has temper tantrum at the store, you can be sure that the mom in the next aisle has dealt with that as well.  If you have the kid who opens up a box of cereal and dumps it all over the aisle, don’t worry.  Clean it up and move on.  People have either been in your shoes before, or they will someday.  Keep shopping, and don’t worry about it.

- Grace

Related posts:

1. Preventing Injuries While Out With Kids
2. Toddlers and Their Tantrums – Tips to Handle It
3. Do You Save Money by Shopping Around?

These days, it seems like I’m always doing two or three things at once. It seems like every time I turn around, there is a new basket of dirty laundry, a sink of dishes, and kids who need something. In my busy life, I need to do whatever I can to make life easier. One thing that I find helpful is multitasking, something that I seem to do more and more as life goes on.

Even though I sometimes feel like I’m a blur around the house, I find that doing multiple things at the same time actually helps me to slow down. It may seem counterintuitive, but just think about it. Let’s say you have six different things to do in one day. Doing them one by one will take up a lot of time, but combining tasks is going to leave you with leftover time. This is time you can use to play with your kids, go out somewhere fun, or just sit down and read a book during naptime.

Although I’m sure most of you already do this, I just wanted to throw out a few suggestions – things that I try and do in order to save time.

• When my kids are in the bathtub, I clean the bathroom. I still pause to watch my daughter as she shows me how the Barbie Mermaid can swim, but I’m also getting something done while I’m chatting with the kids and supervising their bath. When we’re done, I have clean kids and a clean bathroom.
• Every time I go up or down the stairs, I carry something. On my way up, I’ll carry a stray toy or shoes that belong in the kids’ bedroom. On my way down, I’ll bring a basket of laundry to take to the garage. I find that I save a lot of extra trips up and down the stairs this way.
  The kids know that if there is something downstairs that needs to go back upstairs, they should put it on the steps. This way, I won’t miss it.
  
• Clean as you go. Managing chaos in the kitchen is as simple as cleaning up while you are preparing a meal. If you’re waiting for water to boil, go ahead and start unloading the dishwasher. Do you need to stand and sauté the chicken for ten minutes? Try to use that time to wipe down counters or put away ingredients you’ve already used.
  
• Fold laundry while the kids watch a movie. I do this all the time. If my kids are watching a movie or a short show, I’ll sit with them and fold laundry. This way, I’m with them so we can chat about the movie and what’s happening, but I’m also getting something done. I sometimes return phone calls while I’m folding laundry, which is another opportunity to do two things at once.
  
• Double a recipe and freeze it for later. If you think about it, it’s not that much harder to double a recipe. Now that it’s getting colder outside, it’s time to start making soups and chowders again. Try doubling your soups and then freezing them for later on. Some good ones to try – Southwest Corn Chowder and Baked Potato Soup.
  

What about yourself? What are your tips on how to multi task and save yourself some time? I’d love to hear your tips!

-Grace

Related posts:

1. Scrubbing That Pot Just Got Easier
2. Is Now Really the Best Time?
3. 6 Things You Can Do Today to Change Your Child’s Life

Now that Halloween is over, we are left with more than enough leftover candy. Between trick-or-treating, the Halloween preschool party, and candy from grandparents, we have quite a bit in our pantry right now. I don’t feel too bad about munching on it for a couple of days, but after a while I really need to get rid of some of that stuff. But what am I going to do with it all?

Here are some great ideas from Alpha Mom. My favorite idea is a countdown calendar with cups of candy – something that is simple to make and requires very few supplies. This way the kids are able to space out their candy and enjoy it over the next few weeks.

Check out her simple instructions and more ideas for what to do with that leftover candy – I’m pretty excited about the calendar, and I can’t wait to get started on it!

Repurposing Your Leftover Halloween Candy [alpha mom]

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2. Parent Hacks for Halloween
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[Editor's note: Thanks to Sherri Kruger for her post on setting up a play area for your children. These are ideas that both parents and kids will enjoy. As a mom of two young girls, I really appreciate these tips!]

By Sherri Kruger, for Zen Family Habits

If you have children then you know all too well that they come with toys. Many MANY toys. Those toys seem to multiply every week. Some toys are great they can spark imagination, creativity and a sense of wonder in little ones. They can help pass a rainy afternoon and even provide valuable insight into our child’s world.

Although these toys are good I don’t like the idea of them taking over the entire house. My solution: an area the kids could play in, store their toys and books, make a mess and not have to clean it up right away. If you are still fighting with messes, stepping on Lego, or tripping on trucks then perhaps these tips are worth a shot.

1. Blend it in. I wanted the kids area to be fun and bright to spark imagination and creativity but I did not want it to stand out like a sore thumb from the rest of the house. We chose subtle colors that complimented those we have throughout the rest of the house.

2. Make it inviting. There are ways to make the area inviting without making it too kiddie like. We have pictures of the boys on the walls using large frames. The play area is well lit so even on gloomy, overcast days it’s not a dreary place to be. There is a colorful play mat on the floor and it opens to the living-room and computer room so the kids don’t feel completely removed from the rest of us.

3. Limit the amount of furniture. Kids like a large open area to play in. Trucks need to be pushed around, mega blocks need to be stacked and forts need to be built. Our play area is in the basement at the base of the stairs. In their play area is a set of cube shelves we bought to store books and most of their toys. It’s tucked in the corner of the room so as not to take up much space. For Christmas we’ve added bean bag chairs to the boys lists and when they are a little bit older we’ll get a craft table of sorts so they can create their works of art.

4. Make it educational. It’s sometimes difficult to separate educational from boring. Along one wall of the play room we created an alphabet tree, it is fun, educational but still matches the overall feel of our home. We had large vinyl letters and numbers printed with an adhesive backing. We used the large letters as the trunk of a tree and the small letters as a branch. We painted on branches and leaves and placed the numbers throughout the branches. We hung a large clock with real numbers, not roman numerals, to teach the boys to count and tell time. We also painted a magnetic chalk board on another wall for them to draw on and play with their magnetic alphabet.

5. Limit the amount of toys. If you have a thousand and one toys for your children to play with try stashing some away for later. What I’ve found is the more toys my eldest son has access too the less he plays with any of them. He becomes overwhelmed with the choices and in the end chooses not to play with them at all. We have 2 plastic bins that we use to rotate through their toys. Every month or two we pull out the bins. The toys that were out now get stored and toys from storage are out to be played with. This has worked very well for our boys. With fewer toys to choose from their attention is held longer on the ones that are out and every couple of months it’s like getting brand new toys.

We have a very open home. Our kids are welcomed in every corner of it. We have no “kid-free zones” but at the same time I don’t want to have their toys take over every corner of the house. With a little planning, forethought and a lot of love we’ve created a space where our kids can be kids and we can enjoy the space too.

This post and others can be found at Zen Family Habits. Provided by The Mom’s Cheat Sheet with the permission of the author.

Create A Play Area That Fits

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1. Toys – Less Can Be More
2. Start Planning Your Christmas Shopping – And Start Clearing Out Old Toys
3. Declutter Your Way To A Happy Home

It may still be October, but it’s time to start thinking about Christmas. As I was watching my two year old play with her My Little Pony today, I thought about how she would enjoy one or two more and have several to play with – what a great Christmas idea for her! I started getting excited, thinking about what to get her for Christmas (and I’ll admit that my secret reason for getting My Little Ponies for her is because I used to love them when I was a child).

Not only is it time to start thinking about Christmas gifts for the kids, but it’s also time to start thinking about Christmas purging. I’m talking about going into the playroom or the basement and surveying all of your kids’ toys before you go out and buy new ones (and before you start giving grandparents ideas…). To stay organized as you add to your collection of childhood fun, I have a few thoughts on the subject.

• Collect all the toys they no longer play with. When the kids are asleep, take a bag into their play area. Pull out everything you hope to either throw away or donate, and put it in the bag. Don’t do anything with this bag for a week or two, though. My rule is that if my kids actually remember some random Happy Meal toy and ask me where it is, then I’ll return it to the toy room. If they forget about it, then I will get rid of the old toys.
• Remove toys that are too young for your kids. I don’t know about you, but my kids are growing up more quickly than I realize some days. I still have a bag of Mega Blocks in my toy room, even though they are moving on to Duplos and Legos. Look through your children’s toys, and pull out toys that are too young for them. Store them if you plan on having more kids, or donate/yard sale/give them away. Once in a while if my kids catch on to what I’m doing, I just remind them, “You’re a big girl, right? You have some new toys you received for your birthday. “I’m going to put away these baby toys – you’re too big for these now!” And they usually are fine with that explanation.
• If you are already maxed out for space, let the grandparents know. It’s wonderful if you have family who enjoys blessing your children with many gifts, but don’t be shy about letting them know your limits. For our family, we are running out of room for larger toys. My kids have a craft table, two easels, a huge Barbie house… and the walls are closing in on us. A grandparent may really enjoy buying some huge present for your child, but if you don’t have the room in your home let them know. Mention toys that take up less space – craft supplies, puzzles, games, etc.
• Before Christmas hits, have new storage/organization ready. If you’re looking at a play area that can’t hold one more toy, consider being proactive with your space. If you know what your kids are getting for Christmas, think about how to organize it now, rather than the day after Christmas. Go ahead and put up a shelf for the new games they are receiving, or assemble some storage cubes to hold new toys and stuffed animals from the grandparents.
• When you go shopping for the kids, add to what they already have. If I buy my four year old some Barbie furniture for her Barbie house, it won’t take up any space or become just another random toy. She already has the doll house and the Barbie dolls, so more furniture would be pretty cool for her. Another example: my four year old recently received a bike for her birthday, so I went to Target yesterday and bought her a bike helmet, bell, and basket for her bike. She’ll love the gift, and I love that we’re not buying more toys!
• Make stockings practical – but still fun, of course. Feel free to make fun of me on this one, but I like to put practical stuff in my kids’ stockings. Don’t worry – I don’t fill their stockings with diapers or plain white socks. But I do fill their stockings with cute Disney socks (Target – $1!), a new toothbrush, hair bows, and even fruit snacks. Once fall hits, I stop buying fruit snacks as regular snacks. After a couple of months without them, they think it’s a novelty to have a stocking full of Princess fruit snacks. I’m sure tricks like that won’t last very much longer, but I’ll do it while I can. Just remember that stockings don’t have to be filled with a bunch of cheap little toys. In a month’s time, these cheap little toys will be the things that you find strung along your house, stuffed in random baskets in the play area, and then they become forgotten. And then you have to pitch them next October!

As the holidays are upon us, enjoy getting ready for them. And if you shop early (now is still “early,” right?), remember to do what you can to minimize the chaos on the day the presents arrive. Although it’s always fun to head to the playroom with a bunch of new things to play with, it’s even more fun to do it knowing that toys are not coming out of your ears, and you actually may have a place for all of this new stuff!

-Grace

Related posts:

1. Toys – Less Can Be More
2. Operation Christmas Child – A Great Holiday Lesson
3. Slow Down This Christmas Season