Dresser tops

The dresser tops in our room had become the holding spot for things that didn't quite have a home, the drop off point for things "to get to later" and this was the result....

YIKES! Some of those things are baby things that have slowly been showing up. I'm not ready to set up for baby yet, but didn't feel like dragging bins out to put them all the way away either. So I grabbed a large basket to use as the temporary home for those sorts of things for the next two months or so. The rest of the stuff just needed some time, attention, effort, and a little thought to get it into the right spots....

YAY! It didn't take too much time to get these all cleared off, and the few things that did need to stay here are now in baskets so they look pretty! Noticing the little bed? Cleaning up that corner allowed us to bring an extra crib mattress in (doesn't everyone have one of those just lying around? No? huh...). You can read more about why its there here, but so far it has been used every night since placing it there.

Oh, and are you wondering where my six kids are, and what they are doing when I'm doing all of this de-cluttering and organizing? Are you concerned they have been left to their own to run-a-muck? Fear not! Generally the older kids have chores or school work they are doing when I tackel these projects, sometimes I have one or two of them helping me though. The little ones are generally napping, with me, or an older sibling is keeping an eye on them nearby (I can hear them!). This time Miss J and Mr. S were my runners. They put things away in the place they needed to go (outside of my room), or ran to grab things I needed. Kids like to have jobs to do and feel needed, and these to did a great job helping me! I also provided some quiet play activities for the girls which kept them busy for quite a while.

I'm linking to Organizing Junkie today!