K is 19 months old and currently loves doing puzzles. He also loves to take EVERY puzzle piece out of the bin, throw them and kick them around, hide them and NOT clean them up. So, to save our puzzles (and my sanity) I've been looking for some new ways to store our puzzles. This is what I've come up with:
I bought a clear plastic tub and some mesh zippered laundry bags from our local dollar store. I then placed each puzzle in its own bag, zipped it up and stacked them in the bin.
This was easy to do and super cheap. And now our problems are solved! When K wants to play with his puzzles we just take all of the bags out of the bin. Since he can see which puzzle is in each bag it is easy for him to choose. And since all of the pieces are stored together we can do one puzzle at a time and easily clean it up before we start a new one.
And of course, when K decides to dump everything out of the bin so he can sit in it I don't need to rush to get those pieces picked up before they go missing. Instead, I can grab my camera and capture cute shots like these:
I love this so much that I'm now using the same technique to organize my felt board pieces. Hope I've given you some organizational inspiration today.
I love this idea. Looks like I'm off to the cheapo shop!
ReplyDeletelove this idea.
ReplyDeleteGreat tip!
ReplyDeleteThanks for linking up with What are little boys made of?
Jenn: Awesome! I've used ziplock bags when the girls were older, but the mesh are just perfect!(safer) I love the photos of K at the end. I just want to squeeze those adorable cheeks- he's precious.
ReplyDeleteWanted to let you know that I'm sorry I haven't been able to pass out the award you gave me. I do want to, but I haven't had time to select the blogs I'd like to give it to. I'm going away to the mountains tomorrow, so I won't be able to get to it until next week. I didn't want you to think that I didn't appreciate you taking the time to pass it along to me. I do! Take Care and enjoy your day!
Jen from Creative and Curious Kids!
Great idea! i need to do this! :)
ReplyDeleteOh I need those too! It looks like they fit most puzzles which is awesome!
ReplyDeleteI just got a new "Featured on The Activity Mom" button. Awhile ago I featured your Eggstravagant Easter Activities. If you'd like a button, feel free to grab the code from my blog.
Either way, thank you for such great posts and the inspiration!
Great idea! I love the idea of the mesh zippered bags! The picture of K with his head in the tub is too cute!!!
ReplyDeleteHow cleaver! I love this idea! Thanks for linking up to Hoo's got talent!
ReplyDeleteAwesome idea. I am so going to do this too.
ReplyDeletegreat idea! hate missing puzzle pieces!
ReplyDeleteWow! Excellent idea! I must try this, my kids are making a complete mess of their room as soon as they find the puzzle bin. Come to think of it - maybe I have to mesh-bag all of their belongings according to their kind in order for me to keep some resemblance of order in there...
ReplyDeleteLove this idea! In my home we tend to end up with those little stray pieces being found and placed in the mouth! Hopefully this will elongate our puzzle's lives!
ReplyDeleteI love the mesh bag idea!
ReplyDeleteExcellent idea! I'm definitely going to have to use this. Our puzzles drive me insane! We're actually missing the letter J in our alphabet puzzle.
ReplyDeleteNow that was a genius idea!
ReplyDeletefor quicker clean up take a perm marker and put a colored circle on the back of each piece and the board! And then assign each puzzle a different color for when there all mixed together.
ReplyDeleteThis IS amazing!!!!
ReplyDeleteI love your organizational tips!! Love them!
My son loves puzzles. (autism) So to help this facinated 9yo we are going to do this and take a pic of each one to print and tie on the front of the bag to make it easier to see which puzzle can be chosen! Plus being a huge fan of melissa doug puzzle boxes, the tip to put a color shape on the back of each piece then the puzzle board just in case for random flying pieces.
ReplyDelete