Toy Central

There is nothing as motivating as being too sick or too injured or too pregnant to do something you know you should be doing but you just keep putting off. You know when you’re eight months pregnant and you’re thinking, “What I wouldn’t give to be out running five miles at this very moment.” Because that’s exactly what you’d be doing if you weren’t doing this other thing instead, suffering from a cold, agonizing over a broken foot or cooking a baby, right? I believe you.

While I was sick last week all I could think about was organizing our toy and game cupboard. (Let’s not talk about why it was such a mess in the first place.) I had a perfect view of it as I lay on the couch crying because I couldn’t get up and take care of my kids or organize the toys.


But somehow when I was feeling better that toy cupboard didn’t seem as important anymore. A few days later Victor was pestering me so badly about playing with a friend that I said, “I know what we can do! We can organize all these toys and games instead! Won’t that be fun!!!” He agreed whole heartedly that he wished for nothing more at that very moment. Isn’t he just bubbling with excitement?


This first thing we did was pull everything out of it. Then we decided that that was enough work for the day and we took a nap. I mean, that was when the fun started because Lovely could cast her big blue eyes on all those fun trinkets and she just had to have every single last one of them! This made our job much easier so we dug right in and started organizing. The puzzles went in one drawer, the game pieces in another, the game boards stacked on a shelf, etc. I always throw all the boxes away and everything is organized into a tidy Organizing Bag. If I had the energy I would count it all up to impress you with exactly how many toys, games and puzzles I fit in there but no. Just know that it is a lot!

I reserve one little drawer for pieces that get separated from their families. Whenever I see a Puzzled This or a Sorry That on the floor, I pick it up and drop it in the Foster Drawer. All the displaced pieces go back home later when we have time for a big happy reunion.


I love my toy cupboard. It’s sits in the living room, right where the kids like to play. You know the organizing rule; store it where you use it? That sums it up. I don’t see the use in keeping toys in their bedrooms when they are just going to drag them out to the living room anyway. Plus I can keep a better eye on the mess and make sure it gets cleaned up before another mess is made. You can easily make your own Toy Central out of a bookshelf or a hall closet.

Now remember all those projects you wanted to finish as soon as you were feeling better? Remember that marathon you were going to start training for after you had the baby? Get to it!