LEGO Storage: A Saga for This Family

Ah, Legos.  One of the coolest toys around and also the brunt of many parental jokes (like sprinkling Legos around to deter criminals).  My boys can spend hours building and have truly done some pretty amazing things!  I love Legos for that reason.  But...for someone who has a hidden OCD streak, Legos can be the bane of an organized, tidy existence.

We went through months of trying several different ways to organize Legos.  I looked to Pinterest for ideas, talked with my Hubz and my boys, and delved the depths of my own brain for the best way to store the gazillion bricks and their instruction manuals.  Here are some we tried...

1) The One Box Idea - Keep them all in the same box.  Use a big blanket to build on, and then you can just take up the blanket and be done with clean-up in an instant.  Simple.  But definitely cramps the style of serious Lego builders as it takes FOREVER to find the pieces you want.  Which also means there is tons of sifting going on...which *might* grate on the nerves of a mom who likes things to generally be quiet and peaceful.  Things had to change.

2) The Ziploc Idea - This one is all over the place.  And I think it might be for the OCDers out there who just don't get the big picture of Legos.  I confess: I was there.  Why WOULDN'T you want to keep a Lego kit all to itself in one Ziploc bag with the instructions slipped inside?  It makes perfect sense.  Then all your pieces are right there, ready for building.  Where this fails: This is an imagination and engineering killer.  By doing this, you are confining Legos to only be used for what has already been thought up.  One of the benefits of kids (and adults) playing with Legos is the way it forces the brain to imagine, engineer, create, and even do math without realizing it.  Also, I guarantee that these Ziploc kits will NOT stay complete.  They will NOT be put away correctly every single time by young kids, especially if they are hurrying to "clean."

3) The Instruction Manual Notebook - This one is also all over the place.  How on earth do you store all those manuals??  Why, get a three-ring binder and some page protectors, of course.  Slip instruction booklets inside, and viola.  Excuse me while I laugh at my ignorance.  Your child(ren) would have to already be OCD to keep those page protectors unwrinkled and in one piece and the instructions neatly placed inside rather than jammed in.  I was shocked at how badly this idea failed.  My Hubz was shocked that I actually thought it would work.  :-)  (PS - If you are a hard core paperless person, Lego does have all of the instruction manuals online!  We let the boys build from the Kindle at times.  The boys have an endless supply of things to build without our having to spend a dime on kits.  This is also neat because then they must improvise for pieces they may not have.)

4) Separating Legos into bins/drawers by type - I thought this would be a great idea.  I realized my error in thinking that keeping kits together was perfect and moved towards the bigger Lego picture.  Freeing up blocks to be used for whatever my kids (and Hubz) could think of.  So let's try it by type.  Big, unique pieces in one bin.  Tiny little one-dots and bits in one bin.  People in one bin.  Flat bricks in another.  Normal bricks in another.  And so on.  We were SO close to finding a system that worked.  This one almost did.  Here's where it failed: Clean-up.  Some pieces could go in two different kinds of bins.  How is a kid (or mom??) to know which one?  And when kids are using instruction manuals, they have to check more than one bin to find that particular piece they need.  And a 3 year old?  Yeah, there's no way she's helping clean up because then the bins would be completely messed up.  This one was longer lasting, but it still took a few hours every now and then to set things right - going through bins and putting bricks back in the right places.  Eventually, this got annoying.

Enter the "I told you so" moment.

My son Judah (who could probably already be a Lego designer for the company) had suggested a while back that we just sort it by color.  My brain didn't compute that because that would mean lots of different kinds of pieces would be together.  Why, oh why, did I not listen to my sweet 7 year old when he said that!  He's the one that builds, not me.  So, I gave in.  We already had been using the perfect storage unit from Ikea (Trofast with 9 small drawers is Lego organization heaven!), so we set to work separating every brick by color and some by type.  I printed labels for the bins.  We purchased three extra rubbermaid/sterilite drawer units for the categories that didn't need huge bins.  Failure?

NO.  WAY.  This has truly been a blessing - yes, a blessing - to this mother.  And to the Lego builders in my life.  Anyone can clean up Legos this way - 3 years olds and even younger kids can certainly figure out that this red brick goes in the red drawer.  Judah and Elijah appreciate this organization method because as they build from instructions, they know which drawer to go to.  Yellow dot?  Yellow drawer.  White piece with a sticker on it?  Sticker drawer.  Large grey flat piece?  Grey drawer.  Judah knew what he was talking about when he told me how we should do it.  ;-)  Bliss.

Here are some pictures of our system with captions for explanation.  Soon, we hope to get some simple, thin white shelves to put next to the Lego storage to get the built projects off the ground where they can be stepped on or where they take up play space.

Our Lego Storage.  Ikea Trofast system and smaller drawer units from Walmart.  We have two big bins in the Trofast for our Thomas wooden train set and for cars, but the other bins are Legos.

Organized by color.  Plain and simple.  This also makes it SUPER easy to get the drawers perfect as you can tell when there are colors that don't belong.

Our drawer units.  The blue basket on top holds extra Ziplocs so the boys can keep kits they are working on together rather than having loose Legos everywhere or having to put all the pieces back only to find them again when they are ready to finish building.

A closer look at the bigger drawer unit.  These drawers are the PERFECT size for Lego instruction manuals.  As you see, we have them divided up into categories.

Our small tower holds drawers for the smallest categories.  Although the people are about to outgrow their drawer!  And it's a little weird to look in there and see heads and tiny hands and half bodies.  :-)  This drawer also houses the awesome Lego separators that I think were the hit of Christmas.  $5 a piece.  I'll take that!

This post has been Judah, Lego Master, approved.  :-)

Meat Storage: A New Method

A while back, I did a post to show you how I freeze my meat and stretch my chicken.  Well, change is sometimes a good thing to experiment with; and I'm a master at changing things up (a good AND bad thing).  I love the space-saving aspect of flat ziploc bags of meat.  But what I've learned is that it really doesn't work well for me since I have wire shelving in my freezer -- and not enough shelves.  Bags can not stand upright or else corners (or whole bags!) slip through the cracks.  Stacking flat is ok... until you barely brush against them and the whole stack slips apart.  Frustrating.  Irritating.  And downright dangerous to your feet.  (I can vouch for the fact that a pound of frozen hamburger falling on top of your foot HURTS.)  I had to come up with something new to see if I could use more vertical space in my freezer and reduce the amount of slippage that was occurring.

ARGH!  Dislike.  (Except for the ice cream...)

I had a coupon for a value pack of Glad containers which stack well and are not a huge investment if something goes wrong with them or I end up not liking the new method.  First step... wash 'em all.

I also tried out buying all of our meat for the month at one time (thank you, BJs Wholesale Club, especially for your low price on chicken... cuz it's insane everywhere else).  I've really enjoyed not buying meat every week!  Anyway, I had all my beef and chicken and all my washed Glad containers set up.  A pound of beef fit nicely in one size/shape, and a meal's worth of chicken fit nicely in a more flat, square shape.  At the wisdom of my mother and against my lazy will, I patted plastic wrap down over each serving of meat to help prevent freezer burn.  :-)

I promise I'm not trying to be a commercial for Glad brand... it just happened that way.

It didn't take very long to divide up all the meat, and I love how perfectly uniform stacks of [item] look!  I'm a sucker for organization.  ::dreams of closets like the Bed Bath & Beyond's towel area looks::

 And here's the way my freezer ended up looking.  I threw out what needed to get out, put all my bean ziplocs in the drawer, and just generally straightened things up a bit.  Look at all that vertical space now in use!  I'm still waiting to determine if I truly like this method long term, but so far so good.  I also REALLY like how I can just reach in and pull out tomorrow's meat, pop it in the fridge to thaw, and not have the slightest worry about a bag leaking raw meat juices (eww) everywhere.  Another bonus?  WASHABLE.  No more going through bag after bag after bag and buying more bags after bags.  And no, I will not wash ziploc bags -- that just negates the convenience factor they are intended for!  I'm not that un-lazy!  ;-)

Note:  Kathie has a freezer drawer which lends itself to flat ziploc bags as you can "file" them neatly.

Never-ending Laundry

I had to explain to JG the other day the quote, "A mother's work is never done."  Laundry is one of the reasons behind that saying!  I've attempted numerous methods to stay on top of the never-ending laundry in my home.  I've tried doing laundry ALL on one day which meant about 7 loads, and it was almost certain one or more loads would be left crumpled in a hamper waiting to be folded (for days...or in the washer or dryer...washer being the worst of the three...you know what I mean).  I've tried designating days for which type of load.  Yeah, that didn't work at all because life gets in the way.  I've tried doing one load a day, but I am too OCD about "properly" sorting laundry to just throw all the day's clothes/towels in one load. I've tried doing laundry on just two days, but some piles weren't big enough to do; and it just got too confusing.  Frustrating.  I've also never liked having to get three different hampers and take them to one central place to sort the loads and have it all overtake my laundry room.  Annoying.

SOLUTION!  Yes, I have found one that works really well for our family and might be worth trying for yours.  A solution that does not take up mountains of floor space, tells me when which load needs to be done, AND one that my kids and Hubz can consistently help with.  Woo hoo!  Walmart has laundry hampers that are tall, thin, and white.  Simple and organized looking.  I purchased three of them (approx $18 total) to place at the top of our stairs where we have a little landing area.  They come with stickers: whites, colors, and darks.  I put two "whites" stickers on either side of the whites hamper and so on with the colors and darks.  (I REALLY wish I had room for four baskets as I am a whites, lights, brights, and darks gal... but I will take the room I can get and compromise for now!)  This spot is very central to the bedrooms in our home, so my kids and Hubz can immediately (or when reminded to) take their dirty clothing to the hampers and sort them.  This means no dirty clothes littering the bedroom floor or bathrooms.  It also means teaching them how to sort laundry.  And it means that at a glance, I can see which load must be done -- each hamper is a great size for one load of laundry.  Hamper full?  Slide that baby into the laundry room (or have a kid do it!), throw it all in the washer, start it up, return hamper.  DONE.  No gathering hampers.  No sorting into piles.  No random hampers taking up space in bedrooms or laundry room with dirty clothes waiting to be washed.  No panic that this load was not done on this day.  No zillion loads in one day.  Wash, dry, fold.  It is RARE that I have to do two loads a day.  I think this method is wonderful because it is more relaxed and flexible... and it runs me rather than me trying to control it.  If that makes sense.  :-)

(Towels are a different story -- I have one hamper in the laundry room for those.)

I.  AM.  IN.  LOVE.

Think Outside the Bag

Just a quick tip to think outside the norm when you're in search of something.  I have had the same small plastic Mary Kay bag for years to hold my make-up.  I've never really had lots of make-up, so I don't need much to hold it all.  But the bag has never fit properly in the drawer it needs to be in, nor does it keep it's contents upright or organized (which annoys this efficient-ista).  I had to get some new eye shadow today since one of my little sets has reached the point of crumbling to bits in the sink when I swipe my brush over it.  :-P  Extra tip from my Hubz: instead of having to buy a whole new trio, buy individual eye shadows to replace what is gone and keep the remaining eye shadow in the set (i.e. Almay for brown eyes trio always runs out of tan and purple shadow with PLENTY of dark brown left...).  So while I was on the task of buying make-up, I decided to "splurge" $8 and get a new container for my make-up.  Unfortunately, the store I was at was severely lacking in variety and seemed to cater to a certain group/style.  But it is SO rare I get to go shopping alone with a very loose time frame, so I didn't want to walk out empty handed.  Think, think, think!  After visiting the purses, luggage, Rubbermaid type storage, etc, I ended up in the office aisle.  And found the PERFECT solution!  A nice sturdy, compartmentalized black mesh desk organizer that slides perfectly into place in our vanity.  It has compartments for lips, mascara/liner, trios, blush, individual eye shadows, brushes, foundations, and a drawer that holds my loose powder perfectly.  All it took was a little bit of thinking outside the make-up bag!

What are some things you have used in unconventional ways?  Please share!

Freeze Your Meat & Stretch Your Chicken!

Is it just me, or has chicken been incredibly expensive as of late?  It almost never goes on sale anymore -- I even talked to my butcher about it a few months ago.  It's not just me.  He had noticed it, too, and didn't really have a good explanation other than the economy and oil prices.  However, in God's goodness yesterday, Matt brought in a random newspaper that's been sitting on the sidewalk for a few days.  It had the Safeway ad in it which revealed that they were having their last day of a BOGO sale on ground beef, chicken, and pot roast!  Woo hoo!  I admit, I felt like I needed to explain to my cashier and other customers why I had 4 four-pound packages of ground beef, 4 packages of chicken, and 2 packages of roast in my cart at 8:30pm.  It was a good sale, and I had a just-off-bedrest-but-still-pregnant friend who wanted a piece of the sale, too!  Stop looking at me like I'm a voracious carnivore!  :-)

Obviously, buying that much meat at one time means freezing it!  I thought it would be a good opportunity to share how I freeze my meat to save freezer space and stretch the chicken.  (First video post for this blog comin' up!)  By taking advantage of this sale, I saved about $40.00!

For ground beef, I use my little kitchen scale and quart-sized freezer bags.  It's a very simple process.  First, take out as many bags as you will need and flip the tops inside out.  This reduces the amount of contact your icky hands will make with the outside of the bags.  Take your hand jewelry off, and wash your hands.  Weigh out a pound of beef.  Put it in a ziploc bag.  Repeat until all the meat is measured out.  Wash your hands well!  Then, flip the bag tops back up.  Mash each flat, getting all the air out and being careful when you get to the tops to not get any meat in the "zippers."  When you're finished, stack 'em up and freeze.  Once they are frozen, you can stand them upright in a container for organization or just leave them flat 'n stacked.

Bags and scale ready!

Hubz was my photo/videographer.  Can you tell?  ;-)  Thanks for the help, Samson.

Eight meals just waiting to be cooked!

Now for the chicken.  It has always bugged me that chicken breasts seem to be hard to cook evenly because of the varied thickness.  One end is thin while the other is a big bulge.  And a whole chicken breast, for me, is a bit too much to eat.  And chicken is EXPENSIVE!  And, for whatever reason, I can not stand the taste of reheated chicken (esp. microwaved).  Something happens to the flavor, and I just can't eat it anymore.  So I try to avoid chicken dish leftovers.  All of those things added up to me one day figuring out how to butcher my chicken in order to stretch chicken dollars and avoid lots of leftovers I won't eat.  The portion sizes of the chicken may be small for our "American" serving sizes, but they are truly more appropriate for what we should be eating.  Hungry hubby or boys?  Just let them have two.  The sides of your meal should also be substantial enough for good nutrition and will lessen the need for a huge chunk o' chicken on your plate.  Instead of trying to put it into words, Hubz videoed me so you can SEE it done.  Any questions, just ask!  :-)  (Ps - I've never purchased boneless thighs before, and that is way different than butchering chicken breasts for stretching and storing.  No video on those!)  (Another Ps - Hubz said I could make the videos all spiffy with Movie Maker.  But I didn't wanna wait!)

Chicken stacks ready for freezing!

Jump on the Pinterest Bandwagon!

Proverbs 31:27 talks about how a godly woman does not eat the bread of idleness -- in other words, she is not lazy nor does she spend bulk amounts of time on meaningless things.  I would not go so far as to say we should never watch TV or catch up on Facebook -- there is a time and a place for relaxation and interaction with others.  I'm talking about spending too much time on things like these.  Have I prefaced this post sufficiently?  :-)  Ok then.  Let's go!


If you are a home manager and you're not on Pinterest -- get with it, girlfriend!

I am not one to usually shamelessly advertise such things; but when I find a gold mine, I get behind it!  For those of you who may not have gotten the memo on what it is, I like to describe Pinterest as an online cork board.  Once you have an account, you can create different "boards" for whatever interests you.  Download the "Pin It" button for your browser's toolbar.  Then, you can "follow" your friends and they can follow you.  Or you can look at the entire Pinterest community for whatever suits your fancy.  You can "pin" anything from other Pinners or from anywhere online: encouraging posts, recipes, humorous photos, Christmas gift ideas, party decor, fashion, crafts, front doors, sewing, cool nature pics, silly sayings, hair style how-to's, pantry organization ... *brain explodes thinking of all one can pin*

Whew.  Ok.  So why is Pinterest so amazing?  Because if you remember you saw that really cool tip somewhere...somewhere...oh, where was it??  Just go to your Pinterest boards, click on that pin, and viola! It takes you right to the page you found it.  Can we say TIME & SANITY SAVER?

Danger, danger!  If you are an idea-holic like I am, Pinterest can easily suck vast amounts of time away from your day.  It can certainly become a too-much-of-a-good-thing situation.  So be careful and controlled.  Use Pinterest as a tool.  Don't let it use you.  And in my opinion, the only way it is your tool and not a time-waster is this... USE WHAT YOU PIN.  Sure, I have a few boards to store quotes, verses, and pictures I like.  That's fine.  But if that's all your Pinterest account is made up of, then it's probably a time waster (unless you spend even more time going back through all those quotes and pictures...which means you're probably wasting more time.)  Pin things that will help you be a better home manager.  Try out some of those resourceful ideas and recipes.  Go back to the gifts lists when birthdays and Christmas come around.  Get crafty and beautify your home with cheap but cool art ideas. Organize those tough places.

If you have no one to invite you to Pinterest, let me know and I'll hook you up!

My favorite pins:  a quick and easy way to hem pants (oh my WORD... I'm a pants hemming fool now!), an entire board called "Virtual What Not to Wear" in which several women have helped me find my personal style now that I am through with havin' babies and nursing, future quilt ideas (yeah, whenever I have time for that again!), organization tips in all areas of the home.....  Ok.  This is not a good list to continue.  Because I'll end up wasting time by telling you about all my boards!  :-P