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Important Things to Remember While Teaching Your Kids to Cook

November 4, 2019 by

Involving your children in chores is a great way to teach them new skills and spend some time bonding over trials and errors. I have always been an advocate for inculcating positive habits in children from a young age, knowing the basics of cooking is one of them.

Knowing how much effort goes into a certain task can only be learned when you actually do it or are a part of it. As the kids start growing, it is our responsibility to teach them everything they need to be independent. Change is inevitable, we are not going to be there to provide for them all their lives even if we want to.

cooking

Knowing how to cook also makes sure that an individual will have more healthy meals. We should provide them with the knowledge and tools to begin feeding themselves so that later they don’t have to struggle with takeouts and fast foods. Here are a few things you should keep in mind when introducing kids to cooking.

Safety First

Kitchens have a lot of potentially dangerous pieces of equipment that your kid can hurt themselves with if not careful. Make your first lesson about safety. Teach them how to hold the knives – from the handle and not the blade even if all they are going to do with it is passing it to you.

Hot stoves, sharp knives and peelers, heavy iron woks, big rolling pins – there are a lot of things that can be considered dangerous if played with. If your kid is too young then you will most likely only include them in mixing stuff, keep them away from the main area then. Have them seated at the dining table. If they are actually going to be helping you in cooking then a thorough lesson is important.

Don’t scare them though. Be vigilant when they start out as your tiny little helpers but don’t make them feel overwhelmed. Use a cheerful voice and smiling eyes to keep the mood light. Because if you are worried, they will sense it and mimic too, they won’t enjoy the experience, and that is the main goal along with learning.

Teach Them the Correct Terminology

Kids usually have their own special name for things, especially for words they cannot pronounce. It is an instinct to dumb things down for children, but you don’t need to. You will be surprised at the ease at which children learn new terminologies.

Use the correct words for tools and techniques so that they pick it up and don’t have to struggle later. If they are learning something new, they might as well learn it correctly. They also feel proud – when they use something they recently learned – correctly. This helps boost their self-confidence and makes them feel proud of themselves.

Use Rewards

baking

If your kid isn’t interested in cooking, use rewards to persuade them. This isn’t just a hobby. Cooking is a skill that they need to learn to be independent. It is one of the basic survival skills. They don’t need to be restaurant quality chefs, they just need to learn how to feed themselves. Learning all the basics is more than enough.

Use their favorite shows or dishes as rewards for them helping you out in the kitchen with food preparation. You can also let them choose the dishes. This makes them more interested in the process. Don’t focus on just the healthy recipes, they will be bored real quick. Sprinkle in a mixture of healthy recipes and treats to keep it interesting.

With cooking, try baking because most children enjoy baking more than cooking. You can alternate the dishes with one being their choice and then the other being your choice.

Remember Your Goal

The above point brings me to this point. It is easy to get caught up in wanting to teach your kids all the dishes you know or experiment with new ones altogether. You should remember that the main goal here is to teach your kids one of the necessary skills that they need to survive and also to boost their confidence and self-esteem.

Knowing things makes an individual feel confident in their ability to do things and learn stuff. Cooking is one of the tasks that kids often relate to adults. Them being included in the process makes them feel important and like an adult.

It isn’t necessary for them to make top-notch dishes. They should just be learning something after each cooking session. Adjust the lessons according to their interests. If they aren’t interested, don’t keep pushing them to learn more complicated stuff. Let them do things at their own pace. Most importantly, have fun together.

Final Thoughts

What you basically need to keep in mind is that the whole idea behind teaching your kids to learn cooking from early on is to teach them an important skill that will help them become independent, boost their self-confidence and self-esteem, and help you bond with them. Just have fun with the process instead of treating it like a chore.




5 Fun DIY Halloween Costume Ideas for Your Kids

October 28, 2019 by
Halloween means getting ready for the trick-or-treat shenanigans. Halloween costumes can get expensive and more often than not finding something that makes you and your kid happy can be difficult. Make your own costume or you’re thinking of a Harry Potter character costume isn’t difficult. Here are some ideas to help your kids make their own costumes.
 
halloween

1. Baby Shark Baby Costume

If you start singing as soon as you listen to Baby Shark, then you are well aware of how the tune had taken over the internet a while back. Dressing your kid up as one of the annoyingly funny Internet meme cultures can be a fun idea. Kids anyway look adorable in shark costumes.

All you need is:

  • Grey hoodie
  • Pink, white, and black felt
  • Hot glue gun and hot glue sticks
  • Grey footie pajamas

2. Donut Costume

Kids love dressing up as desserts. They also look adorable in them and most desserts are easy to replicate at home using felt and basic clothes. You can dress your kids in basic beige overalls and then for the donut – draw a circle on the cardboard, cut to shape, add tan or brown felt for the donut. Add other colors to glaze it to represent your kid’s favorite one. Add velcros to attach the pieces of cardboard donut to your kid and you are done.

All you need is:

  • Round objects to trace
  • Cardboard
  • Pencil
  • Scissors or Craft knife
  • Tan or brown felt
  • Hot glue gun and hot glue sticks
  • Self-adhesive Velcro squares
  • Fabric glue and paintbrush (optional)
  • Any other color paint or felt for the glaze or sprinkles (optional)

3. Dragon Costume

Dragons are somehow one of the favorite toys kids will play with, one of their favorite characters they will draw and want to be. It is actually easy to make a DIY dragon costume if your kid is okay with not going into too much detail. You can get a onesie in the color that your kid wants their costume to be.

Take bubble wrap and roll it into a tapered tail shape, you can also do that with cardboard and then cover it with felt but bubble wrap gives a more realistic feel. Use a duct tape the same color as the onesie and cover the tail with it to match the costume. Make spikes and attach the tails and spikes to the onesie or top and pants that you choose. You can also add face painting if you want.

All you need is:

  • Bubble wrap (or cardboard)
  • Color onesie or top and pants
  • Color Duct tape
  • Scissors
  • Self-adhesive Velcro

4. Unicorn Costume

Unicorn is one of the most popular mythical creatures especially for little girls who are in an all things glitter and sparkles phase. All this costume takes is an all-white outfit and a unicorn horn to make your kid happy. You can DIY the horn with some foam or by making a cardboard cone or felt cone stuffed with cotton and covering it in glittering then attaching it to a headband. Cut two ear shapes and attach them to the headband as well.

All you need is:

  • Off-white outfit
  • Cardboard or felt and stuffing
  • Glitter
  • Headband
  • Hot glue gun and hot glue sticks

5. Medusa Costume

If your kid is going for a costume party or a competition. This is one of the easy ways to make a creative outfit for cheap and with minimal efforts. No fancy crafting is required. Buy tons of plastic snakes and/or rubber snakes depending on how realistic you want it to look. Attach the snakes with zip ties or hot glue gun to the headband to make snake hair. Do the same for the neckpiece. Add some eye makeup and you are done. If you want you can spray paint the headpiece in a uniform color. Pair it with a dark gown and you are done.

All you need is:

  • A dark gown
  • Plastic snacks and/or rubber snakes
  • Zip ties or Hot glue gun and sticks
  • Headbands
  • Scissors

Final Thoughts

Making costumes can be a fun process. Make sure to involve your kids when you make their costumes. This gives them a chance to be creative and to wear their creations. When they are a part of the process, they feel proud of the costume and it makes Halloween more fun for them. Costumes are supposed to make you happy, putting efforts into their own costumes and watching their ideas come to life is sure to make your kids happy.




Why You Should Develop Positive Habits in Kids Early On

October 21, 2019 by

The importance of habits is something that all of us know all too well. Positive habits can make your life while negative can ruin it. Developing positive habits early in your life can help you function better later in life.

Which is why it is important to teach and inculcate good habits in your kids. If your kid is struggling in an area then take steps to help them rectify it. You know what their weak points are, the next step naturally is to start making changes to turn those weaknesses into strengths. One step to doing this is reinforcing good habits without it being a strain on the kids.

Child prepare for school

Introducing good habits in their life needs sheer determination and consistency from your side as well. They are kids, they don’t understand the importance of practice and routine. The kind of habits you inculcate in them since their childhood will dictate the quality of their life. The way you live your life has a huge impact on how you work, so it is obvious that how you work has a huge impact on your success.

“Your beliefs become your thoughts; Your thoughts become your words; Your words become your actions; Your actions become your habits; Your habits become your values; Your values become your destiny.” -Mahatma Gandhi

Our habits have the power to change the narrative of our lives. They directly contribute to the outcome of the work we do, the progress we make. It is crucial to recognize the areas we need to work on and then find ways to make it right.

It is also in your and your child’s best interest to create habits that will help them attain your goals. These habits have to be developed by identifying the various ways which will be used to achieve your end goal – like said before, turn your weaknesses into strengths.

Healthy Reinforcement is a great way to make a new habit stick around and also get work done – use rewards as rewards work well with children who cannot yet see the big picture. Rewards are a sure way of getting work done because it gives them something to look forward to at the end of the task, it can be their favorite snack or an extra hour of TV.

It is a sweet driving force. When you can see something for yourself in the end, you feel more motivated to complete the work. Children are no different because they do not understand the importance of habits or the way they shape their lives, it becomes necessary for them to see a gain that they understand.

Incentives or rewards are a great way to motivate yourself to finish the task at hand. When you have something to look forward to, it becomes easier to run the last mile. When you work on developing a habit or learning a new skill, the results aren’t often quick.

No sight of results can dim your mood, and you can feel demotivated, everything can seem pointless. Kids anyway have a shorter attention span. You have to avoid that feeling, and that can be done by setting rewards for your kids for completing a difficult task or achieving a small milestone.

Trust me; it will work like a charm for the things your kid needs that little extra push to the finish. This motivation is the most lucrative one to oneself. You can use the same trick for yourself too. The activity that you usually do to procrastinate can be used as a reward instead – killing two birds with one stone.

“Sow a thought, and you reap and act; Sow an act, and you reap a habit; Sow a habit, and you reap a character; Sow a character, and you reap destiny.” -Samuel Smiles




5 Awesome Shoe Storage Solutions for Small Spaces

October 14, 2019 by

If you are anything like me, you love shoes more than you love clothes. My love for shoes means me outgrowing my shoe closet every once in a while. No matter how many times I purge my shoe collection, I always seem to have more than I know what to do with.

I tend to collect a lot of shoes over the years and kind of hoard them, so, storage can be a bit of a problem sometimes. If you live in a space that isn’t big enough then it definitely can be a problem.

shoe

In such cases, you need to size down on your shoe collection and I know that can make you feel sad because some of them were expensive and some of them have memories attached to them and some of them are your favourites and whatnot – any reason to keep those babies will do – every reason under the sun is used to not donate or throw away the extra pairs that you haven’t worn in years.

While it is important to declutter your space and get rid of things you no longer use or if Marie Kondo is to be followed – the things that do not bring you joy – and you definitely should be putting your energy into that, it still is smart to find storage solutions for the things you have and today I will be sharing with you some very effective hacks for doing so.

1. Under the Bed Shoe Storage

Use the space under your bed to store as much stuff as you can fit. Instead of just throwing your shoes under the bed with no organizational system and letting them take up a lot more space than needed and also letting them collect dirt, use under the bed shoe storage organizers that are available easily.

When we can’t see all the options we have, we tend to forget the existence of some of these shoes, the see-through top of storage boxes will help you fight this problem. This is a great way to store shoes in a compact manner and also protect them from dust.

2. Under the Stairs Shoe Storage

Try to incorporate this when you get a new house or are remodelling and you will have so much neatly tucked away storage space. This is one of the smart storage designs that has been popping up everywhere because it is useful for utilizing spaces that might otherwise go to waste and giving you more storage in small places.

3. Store your shoes in a ottoman

This is a creative storage solution for small spaces. When you do not have a lot of space you need to think out of the box and create extra storage space where there wasn’t. Functional pieces that can serve multiple purposes are always a plus.

Store your shoes in an ottoman that you anyway will be using for additional seating purposes. This way the shoes stay hidden and are also protected from collecting dust.

4. Storage Ottoman bench

The basic ottomans get the deal done but if you have a large collection then you can opt for benches, especially if you have an entryway. This can double as shoe storage and seating.

5. PVC Pipes Shoe Storage

PVC pipe shoe storage racks are easy to make and are inexpensive as well. They add a hip vibe and depending on the style you go for, you can paint them to match the colour palette of your room.

Like a full wall shelf of books, you can have one with shoes, they can look like really cool expensive installations. You can display your beloved shoes in an artsy fashion.

Final Thoughts

Don’t forget them after stowing them away, take care of them and they will serve you well. Similar to loving your space, you need to learn to take care of it as well. While all these hacks are great, decluttering, rearranging periodically, and dusting is important to increase the lifespan of your shoes and to maintain their condition as well. 




5 Clothing Articles From Your Wardrobe to Rock During Your Pregnancy

October 7, 2019 by

Being pregnant doesn’t mean you have to leave your little fashionista self behind. Don’t just head out and buy maternity clothes just because. Pregnancy is one of the life-changing experience women go through, feeling good about yourself is a huge help during the whole thing. Women get self-conscious because of how much their body changes.

wardrobe

Fashion is supposed to make you feel good in your own skin. So, no more baggy, oversize, super-flowy maternity and postpartum clothes in the name of being comfortable. You can be comfortable and feel stylish with the clothes you already have. Find the latest styles of maxi dresses online to complement your postpartum wardrobe.

Go ahead, feel cute, take millions of pictures of your bump. Have the time of your life!

1. Flannel Shirts

Flannel shirts are one of the evergreen pieces that never seem to go out of style. They are trendy and comfortable. Comfort is the key when choosing clothes during your pregnancy. If you already have shirts that are a bit more fitting and won’t cover your bump then you can use them to layer up over a t-shirt or camisole.

If you are buying a new one, definitely size-up on it. Even after pregnancy, baggy flannel shirts can be easily styled. They are supposed to be baggy by design. One style element that women you want to show off their bump go for is buttoning up just the top few buttons of the shirt – when layering up – and leaving the next undone for the bump to be in clear view.

2. Jeans – Skinny or Cropped

Just because you are pregnant, you don’t have to get rid of your love for skinny jeans. There are many jeans that are made to accommodate bumps. Skinny jeans come with a wide stretchable waistband that let you have your favorite style while not compromising on comfort. You can balance the bump with a nice skinny pair of jeans.

If you have low rise jeans in your wardrobe that sits below your bump, then you can wear it too. Cropped jeans and boyfriend jeans are great options when you are starting to show. Otherwise, opt for maternity special pants that you can anyway wear after your pregnancy too.

3. T-shirt Dresses

T-shirt dresses are a very loved addition to the fashion industry. Taking the comfort of t-shirts and converting them into dresses so that we can finally just wear dresses instead of having to pull up pants whenever someone came home.

It becomes even more practical with a bump, just slip it over your head and pair it with a comfortable pair for sneakers and you are good to go. A cute daytime look at your disposal. Not to mention, peeing won’t be much of hassle with a comfortable dress like that. What better way to combine looks and functionality.

4. Pencil Dresses

Suppose you have a party to go to, or if you are just feeling like dressing up, you don’t have to ditch form-fitting clothes. Pencil dresses are a great way to show off your bump with sophistication.

A color block dress with a bump adds class to the look, you can also go for patterns that usually don’t make your bump the center of attention. Make sure to get a dress in a stretchy, breathable material.

5. Coats

Although we have talked about embracing your bump, not everyone likes showing off their bump. If you are like that and like to be discreet with your fashion choices. Depending on the weather you live in, a coat is a great option.

The oversized coat is a great way to hide the bump in style. Faux fur coats are bulky in themselves so they work well. You can use your everyday coats to layer, just keep them unbuttoned or untied and it will make a fashion statement.

Final Thoughts

Before you head out to shop for cute maternity clothes, don’t forget to raid out your closet first. In the initial months, you will anyway be able to wear anything in your wardrobe. When the bump starts showing, go shopping in your own closet.

You will be surprised at the number of clothes that still fit you. Separate all your loose and baggy t-shirts, tops, and sweaters, skirts with elastic bands, pajamas with drawstrings, leggings, yoga pants, coats, maxi dresses, and anything made of stretchy material.

Store all the other clothes in the back, and create a new closet for yourself with these clothes in the front. This will help you have many options without shelling out money for clothes that you won’t wear after your pregnancy.




How to Choose the Correct Life Insurance

September 23, 2019 by

One of the important things to figure out as you start living your life, taking responsibility, is choosing the correct life insurance for yourself and your family. Once you have decided to invest in life insurance, comes the difficult part of choosing the one for you. You must learn the basic steps about how to select the right product from the different life insurance plans so that you can get a plan that covers what all your needs.

life insurance

There are a lot of life insurance policies available in the market, it can be overwhelming. What you have to keep in mind when looking is your goal. The goal here is to invest money in a plan that will secure your life and your family’s life without any stress to you. If it is a matter of getting coverage for entire life, go for whole life insurance, but if the requirement is for a relatively shorter period, then consider term life insurance. Here are some of the steps you should be taking.

Know Your Needs

Calculating the life cover you need starts from knowing your needs. Make notes of all your income sources, the number of dependents, your expenses, debts, and any other liabilities that may occur. Once you have the requirements and base data down, it becomes easier to choose a life insurance plan that fits your need.

You now have the data needed to make an informed decision. Now, you need to zero in on the purpose of your insurance. Is it an investment? Is it for the financial security of your family? Is it a retirement plan? This will give you more of a filter to go through the plans and narrow down your options.

Know the Advantages

Every plan is going to have different benefits, while the core plan can be the same, additional benefits will most likely be different. Compare all the life insurance policies based on term, whole, child and endowment to see which one gives you the maximum benefit. Getting life coverage and financial security against death to the family is usually what people look to get at an affordable premium rate for a predetermined time.

The Investment

The premiums to be paid that varies from policy to policy. The payment of the premium can’t default so you need to pick a plan that works the best with your income sources. You need to be regular with your payment to reap the benefits of the policy.

Take Advice

While everything is available on the Internet, it can still get pretty taxing for some people. If you are confused among options, then taking advice from an expert is the best route to take instead of just choosing one of the options. Most policy providers will send you an expert or representative who will help you understand the nitty-gritty and will also help you calculate the life cover and the sum insured.

Final Thoughts

A risk-free life is never a guarantee so you have to smart and secure yourself with life insurance, especially your family. With the market filled with hundreds of insurance policies with different plans and different benefits, selecting one can become cumbersome.

You just need to have a clear idea of what you need from the plan and then keep on narrowing down your options. Once you have zeroed in on few, you can talk to experts to help you make an informed decision.




Why Inculcate the Habit of Writing Every Day in Your Kids

September 16, 2019 by

Writing is one of the most beneficial habits to introduce to your kids, in terms of education as well as self-growth. Writing isn’t only meant for professional writers and poets, or people who have a good command over the language, or people who know things. Every person has thoughts, questions, ideas – every person has a story that they need to pen down. 

Art of writing

Writing isn’t as difficult to make a habit as people believe it to be. While starting out can be difficult, once you get the hang of it, you can easily write a few lines daily. As people grow up, one of the things on their resolutions list usually becomes writing more, that never happens. Grown-ups tend to have more secrets that they don’t want people to know, they fear others reading the diary, so the activity is often left out. That’s not the case with kids though.

For kids, writing in a diary is easier. It gives them an opportunity to learn to put their thoughts out clearer and also makes them acknowledge their own feelings. Think about it – how are real writers different from the others? The difference lies in their stubbornness to write every day until it becomes a habit. Writing. as an act, not a gift, it is a self-regulated habit. 

Writing is a serious exercise to declutter the mind and focus on things that actually matter. Writing gives the kids an opportunity to look deeper into our minds and understand themselves better. Even adults struggle with that. If they are already used to processing their emotions, it becomes easier as they grow up.

The other reason why practising writing is important for kids is that it improves their English. Grammar, new words, punctuation – everything becomes better with more practice. Your kids start to develop a tool belt of words and phrases which they can use not only on paper but in their daily conversations as well. When they have good vocabulary, it becomes easier for them to communicate effectively.

How Do You Get Your Kids to Write?

  • Tell them to start a notebook or diary and write about their day or about the things they like. 
  • Tell them to write down their opinions on some issue like their dislike for some vegetable, or an incident at school, a good-day account, a poem, or a past memory. 
  • Set a time and keep a reasonable duration for them to enjoy the process. Half an hour to an hour is ideal for a beginner. Make sure they stick to the given time and not make excuses. 
  • Even if they don’t have a topic to write about, make them commit to the time and don’t let them get up from the chair until they write something. WRITE ANYTHING. Even if it’s how much they wish they were watching cartoons instead of sitting here.
  • Keep a word limit as well. It helps them start small in the beginning, gives them a goal to work toward.

Final Thoughts

Like any other habit, writing needs commitment and practice to turn into daily practice. Writing daily will help your kids communicate better not only in their personal life but will also help them reap the benefits as they grow up because communication is at the root of everything. And even the best struggle with words.




5 Advantages of Introducing Toy Rotation

September 9, 2019 by

Last week, I talked about how toy rotation can help you tame the chaos that toys create – in your house and in your life. I thought it was a good idea to talk in-depth about the advantages it can have for you, your home, and your child. Honestly, the advantages are more so for the parents, let’s face facts – toddlers don’t care!

marbles

Anyway, there are lot of advantages of introducing this method in your playtime routine or the way you manage the playroom and even your budget. Let’s get to them one by one.

1. Less Clutter

When all the toys are out at the same time, it is easy for the child to keep pulling out toys whenever they get bored with one. And they do get bored quite easily so you end up with no floor space to walk. Have you ever stepped on legos? If yes, then you know the pain. The toys can be ruthless to us. It sure makes your life easier to have fewer toys accessible.

2. Budget-Friendly

When your child is born and as they keep growing, you are bound to receive many toys as presents – add those to the overly enthusiastic shopping you did when you were pregnant. You anyway have way too many toys than your child could play with. So, why not store some and keep only a few out and when the child starts getting bored, you can bring out the stored toys and they will have new toys to play with.

Store the ones they were already playing with, chances are that they will forget most of them and you can reintroduce these toys later. Yes to saving money by not having to buy new toys.

3. Ahh! Organized Playroom

Keeping the playroom organized can be a task. When you have kids keeping the whole house organized can be a task. They are little hurricanes, wreaking havoc wherever they go.  Limited number of things lets you keep the place organized and also lets you store the toys after playtime. It makes cleaning up easier and it’s also easy to remember what is stored where.

4. Secret Weapons – Bribes!

Bribing isn’t good. But, there are some days, when all you want is a little peace and quiet. Having ready bribes to keep the tiny minds busy can be a savior. On difficult days, just get out one new toy from the storage and hand it to the kid to leave you alone, or maybe to make them put on the dress you got them to take cute pictures, or to maybe make them eat their vegetables.

5. Rewards

I am a firm believer in rewarding good behavior. When they do something particularly nice, having gifts handy can be a great thing. It helps boost their morale. It also encourages them to do more things that will help them earn new toys. This also makes them appreciate toys more because they know that they weren’t just given the toys but they earned it. If they have worked for the toy, they will obviously love it more and take care of it more.




The Smart Art of Toy Rotation

September 2, 2019 by

It is very easy to collect more toys than your kid can play with. The first few years are when everyone goes crazy with buying things for the baby. Toys being a huge part of the cute shopping spree. As a result, your baby accumulates more toys than they can play with and you can store. This constantly keeps the house in a disarray with toys strewn all over the place.

remote control car for kids

Toys come as presents from all over the place. Some you purchase while pregnant, some you get at your baby shower, some are gifts from friends and family, and some you don’t even know where they came from. Knowing how to tame the collection is important to stay sane.

This is where toy rotation comes in. It is a way to store away some toys and only allow some toys to be played with and when your child starts getting bored with them and starts asking for new toys you can take out the ones you have stored and put the currently being played with toys in storage.

Too many toys get the children bored with having too many options. They don’t get to enjoy the toys to the fullest so it is a great idea to get them a small selection so that they can play with most of the toys. This also saves the house from being taken over by toys and managing the clutter becomes easier for you.

Try to keep out a mix of easy playthings and things that encourage imaginative play and hand-eye coordination, etc. Kids get bored with things easily so having a variety is a good idea and having toys stored away gives you a chance to have quick access to new toys all the time.

Use bins to store toys, usually, I would recommend clear bins so that you can see what toys you have. Try storing them in a place your kid can’t reach. Suppose you are storing the toys in an ottoman or under the bed that can be easy access to the kid then storing them in solid non-see through bins is a better idea. Because the point here is to hide the toys from the kids so that they get the euphoria of getting new toys.

Try storing the toys in categories so that when you are pulling out toys for their rotation, you can choose a variety rather than pulling out a bunch of same toys. This is a great way to keep young kids engaged. Until they reach the age where they can remember toys and start asking for it this is easy. After that, you might have to sneak in and get the particular toy they ask for. For this, I would recommend keeping their most favorite toy out at all times. Don’t include it in the rotation.

This means that you don’t have to keep spending money on new toys, nor do you have to scramble to buy gifts, and also you have quick bribe options available. *wink wink* 

PS, not that I think you need to add more to your collection, but how cute are these ride on trains?




Toy Storage Solutions for Small Spaces

August 26, 2019 by

If you don’t know how to say no, then you will end up buying more toys than you know what to do with. Space is an issue for a lot of people, and if you have kids, it becomes more of a problem – no amount of space is enough anymore. When you don’t have a dedicated playroom, you need to be extra mindful of the items you buy for your kids. They will always want new things, but as much as you love your kids, you will have to learn to draw the line somewhere.

Extra activities

With small spaces, you have to get creative to maximize the space you have. There are so many storage solutions specially designed for small spaces, or you can also hire storage space units from Wrexham for your ease. Here are a few that will help you keep your place organized.

1. Utilize Your Walls

This helps you keep toys off the floor, opens up space, and you don’t have to tip-toe around. You can add shelves on the walls and put baskets on them which can store the toys. Shelves are a great wall decor option. Try arranging wire baskets among memorabilia to give it a personal touch. When sprinkled with enough individual bits, the big storage bins on the shelves start looking like decor themselves.

2. Get Vertical Storage

In small spaces, utilizing vertical space can be a game-changer. Try pushing everything on the walls than the floor to have more space available to you. You can bring in tall drawers or cubbies to store toys – if you have more than one kid, then they can have dedicated drawers. Taller cabinets hold a lot of stuff and are also out of reach for small kids so you can put your things in the upper cabinets.

3. Door Storage Solutions

You must have come across over the door storage pockets that are meant for shoes. These can be great to store small toys, puzzles, colouring books, playing cards, and anything that isn’t bulky. This helps you keep things in sight and out of sight at the same time and also enables you to segregate small toys from bigger ones.

4. Invest in Ottomans

Ottomans are a great seating plus storage option for small spaces. They come in various sizes – from single seating to a full-size bench. They are available in various patterns so you can easily find one that fits in with your decor. Things that serve more than one purpose is always a good idea for small spaces. Furniture that gives extra storage is a necessity. You can store toys in ottomans and encourage kids to put it back when they aren’t playing. This puts away the toys, yet the toys are easily accessible.

5. Couch Decoration

When you are low on space, you should be mindful of the toys you buy. Kids love big toys, but can you store it is the main issue. Getting them one or two bigger stuff toys is fine. You can use those among pillows on your couch or bed. This way they can play and when they aren’t playing, it will make for some cute decoration.

Final Thoughts

No matter how many solutions you find, if you don’t purge the toys from time to time, you will end up with more than you can put away. Keep decluttering from time to time, and also do not buy many toys that are similar. Also, learn to say no to the cute faces if they already have a lot of toys. Give away the toys they don’t play with. Start toy rotation so that they get a feeling of playing with new toys.




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