MOPS

Your home is your haven, right? I mean, a place to get away from all your worries. RELAX. Okay, well, maybe not anymore. :) I don't know about you, but my children certainly have a way of cramping my style when it comes to housecleaning. Here are just a few decluttering ideas I have either personally used or have heard of/seen friends use that seem worth mentioning:
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Shoe Organizers
These are nice because they are clear so you can see what is in them easily. They have several spaces in them and they do not use up valuable space that could be used for other things.

A few ideas with a shoe organizer

Barbies: Buy a long, clear, plastic shoe organizer and put each Barbie in her own pocket. This could also work for action figurines, although most boys don't mind a big piled up box of action figures. :)

Kitchen utensils and spices: Hang on the inside of your pantry door for easy to read spices, or easy to get to utensils.

Mittens and gloves: Smaller children use lower pockets and older children use upper ones.

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Tablecloths
Does your child love to play with a ton of toys all at once, and then leave them for you to clean up? (of course not) ;) At playtime, pour the toys from their container onto a picnic tablecloth on the floor. When your child(ren) are done playing, carefully lift the cloth and pour the toys back into the container while your child picks up the stray pieces. Setting limits on where your child can play keeps you from finding toys in the kitchen cupboards and in your hamper. (or does that only happen at my house?)

A few other ideas with the tablecloth

Playdoh: Instead of having Preston play with playdoh at the table I lay a picnic tablecloth on the floor in the living room (while Keely naps) and let him play on the tablecloth. Until I did that I would always find little balls of playdoh on the floor later, or smashed to the bottoms of my socks. :)

Painting: If you have a carpeted area under your table, put a tablecloth under your table instead of on top of your table. These obviously will wipe up very easily.

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Children's Art
What to do with the artwork your darling lovingly crafted...hmmmm...before you find a place for it in the big green box outside by the curb, consider these:

Hang them from a clothesline: Hang one in each child's room and use clothespins to display the most recent drawings for their favorite work.

Use as wrapping paper: At the end of the year pick ten drawings to save and use the rest as wrapping paper.

Transport it in tubes: Save the cardboard tubes from paper towels, wrapping paper and posters to store or transport your child's prized artwork.

Photograph: I have also heard of people taking pictures of their children's work and doing a bulletin board or scrapbook with them. (takes up lots less space)

Frames: I have seen a few of my friends take the pictures they liked the most and frame them to decorate the house.

Gifts: A friend of mine takes the pictures her daughter draws and puts them in envelopes and lets her daughter decide who she wants to give it to and then they send it to the relative or friend.

Create place mats: Cover them in contact paper and use it as a place mat or play mat.

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Some pictures of ideas
Having a box (bench that stores things) in our living room has been fabulous. I got this idea from a friend who had a toy box in her living room. I look forward to the day when I can store blankets nicely folded in here. In the meantime, though, it sure is handy for throwing toys into when I have to clean up fast because someone is coming over.

I just love this thing. Stores books great! Boxes are handy for "hiding" things that make the room look cluttered.

Lastly, I saw this idea today at the library and had to make one for Preston's room. Take a box and wrap it. Use it as a bookshelf. It's that easy. I was using bookends and the books kept slipping, so I loved this idea! Currently I am storing Preston's Christmas books in this box wrapped with Christmas paper. It also got him really excited about his Christmas books that five minutes before he cared nothing about. :) Gotta love preschoolers!