Momma VS. Toys

So the playroom (i.e. basement) and I finally battled it out. Ya know, I was just DONE wading through toys and dress-up clothes strewn all over. Are you up on your Berenstain Bears reading? Well, I about had the same meltdown that Mama Bear had over the kids' room...big box ready to clear it all out and pitch it!

Instead, I've opted to try and sell it! During my hemming and hawing over exactly what to do with all the piles of plastic, I ran into my friend Jennifer at the park. Just so happens she bought the Here We Grow Again kid's consignment sale franchise and was gearing up for their first sale (details will follow). And so began the clearing and the organizing like never before...we've even packed up all the baby things now that we're done (Lord willing) with newborns!

Our van is loaded and ready to roll to drop off approximately 275 items tomorrow morning!!! Clothes and books and toys and baby equipment out the wazoo!


I really think everyone is happier with our nice and livable playroom now...see all their pretty smiles sitting on my side-of-the-road-find loveseat? (BTW I'm going to slipcover it for my bedroom one of these days).

Zane is discovering all kinds of new fun toys that were before hidden in the masses...here's his first look at a yo-yo. Hmmmm....

All the toys are sorted in to baskets, boxes or fabric cubes and I had a ball making laminated labels with clip art to tie on--with pretty ribbons, of course! (Yeeeee....don't you just LOVE the hum of a laminator?) I think the best part is that I actually had all the containers, just repurposed some things to make them work.

When we refinished our basement 7 years ago, I had Eric turn the space under the stairs into a playroom. My mom's best friend's house had one of these and I have some of my favorite childhood memories playing under there.

This would be the alternate entrance....

And here are all the nice neat toys...believe it or not, it still looks about like this three weeks later. And we've played down there a lot! (Oh, that shelf just happens to be another side of the road find!--a waterbed headboard that I panted white.)

I suppose there is still a lot of play equipment, but someday we'll be ready to set up the ping-pong table again!

Well, hopefully this was a little inspiration to clean out your toys before the Christmas reboot OR I've talked you into heading out to the Here We Grow Again sale this week to buy more fun stuff for your kiddos! It's actually a great place to get a head start on Christmas shopping!! The sale opens to the public at 7 a.m. this Thursday at the Crystal Ballroom/Roadway Inn just off 71 Highway and 155th Street. Saturday is the half-price day and you can shop from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Happy Shopping...or Organizing!