Wednesday, September 19, 2007

What Works For Me: Organizing Coloring Books


I read this great little tip in my new favorite magazine, Real Simple. I've had kids for 12 years, so the pile of activity/coloring books we have collected is impressive. They are always a mess, though. Or the kids can't find them. And we have too many. My favorite new coloring book organizer is a cheap dish rack. Pick your favorite books out of the pile and put them in the rack. Anything that doesn't fit in the rack goes in the round file (when I worked at the law firm, this is what we called the trash can). Use the utensil cup for crayons and scissors.
One of my other, most favorite kid-craft organizers is paint buckets. You can get clean, empty, new paint cans for about $3.50 at The Home Depot. We have 1 for color pencils, 1 for pens, and 1 for paint brushes/paint. They fit perfectly on shelves. You can leave them just how they are or you can decorate them with paper. The one in the picture doesn't have a handle, but they do come with the standard paint can handle.

That is my contribution to What Works for Me Wednesday. For more WWFM tips, go visit Rocks in My Dryer.

25 comments:

  1. I really like this coloring book organizing idea. Very creative!

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  2. What a great idea! Thanks for sharing. Very creative.

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  3. very great ideas! thanks for your comment on my blog too!

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  4. Finally, a use for my old dish rack! I'll have to pull that out of the attic tonight.

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  5. Great tips! My son is finally interested in coloring (3 1/2) so we need a system like this!

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  6. That's a great idea!

    Manuela

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  7. What a clever idea! I am going to mention it to my daughter's daycare teachers and score some "good mommy" points to be redeemed on days when the hair brushing didn't go so well or Reid's face still has cereal. The teachers will think, "She can't be a bit scattered but remember the dish rack idea."

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  8. I'm diggin' the paint bucket thingy!!!

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  9. WOW! What a fab idea! I am making a note of this GREAT tip! Thanks, what a wonderful WFMW!

    Kiy

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  10. Using a dish rack is an AWESOME idea! I think I will add that to my shopping list this weekend!

    Thanks for sharing this great tip!

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  11. Hello! This really is a fantastic idea and totally qualifies for a Storage Star in my book! Send me an email to let me know it's okay.

    orgjunkie@hotmail.com

    Thanks!
    Laura

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  12. Well done on your storage star, Heather. This is a great idea :)

    Organising queen and
    Marcia's take charge blog

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  13. Congrats on the Storage Star Award! What a creative idea! I'll have to remember that as my little ones build up their collection. Oh & I also like the paint can idea. I've been wanting to scrap a paint can & will keep storage ideas in mind when I do.

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  15. Hi, I'm the editor of CanadianParents.com and we'd love to link to this in our upcoming Organization Month. Can you please email me: amanda.factor@rci.rogers.com. Thanks!

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  16. Excellent ideas, especially the dish rack one. I'm definitely doing that.

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  17. WOw I love that idea!! Makes everything organized and easy to find!! Thanks for sharing

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  18. Also, coffee cans work really well for storage. :)

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