Back to School Already?

Just a quick note to let you all know that I will be a Coach for an upcoming Back to School Community Challenge! It's going to be really great. You can sign up HERE to be a part of it. But, you start the challenge based on when your child's school {or if you homeschool} starts. It will start two weeks before they go back to school and run for two weeks after, to help you get ready!

Grand Prize Winners of the Organizing Revolution Challenge!

Wasn't this such a great challenge? So many of you jumped right in this month and joined this challenge. I know there were many more of you doing it along with us, but maybe just didn't post pictures! That's OK - the hard part is to take that first step and just doing something.

 

Go HERE to see the winners and prizes!

Clean it up and clear it out: Summer challenge link party is HERE!!!

This is it!  Today is the day!  We're linking up our kids' toy clean out!  Did you do it? I will feature MANY of your blogs and photos you email me - some will be on Facebook, but next Friday I will also do a special feature on the best or most popular!! You have FIVE days to link up from today...the party ends on Wednesday, August 17th.

Last week's post is HERE on how to help teach your kids to organize!







Here are a few things you should do:

1.  When linking up, use your URL from the specific post on kids' toy clean up {copy and paste from the top bar when you post}.

2.  This is a TOY clean up challenge, so anything unrelated will be {sadly} deleted.  But, we'll have more challenges in the future so be sure to keep it for another one.

3.  Even if you do not link up, go visit others to see what they've done - get motivated to organize spaces in your home! It's ALWAYS courteous to visit other blogs and not just link and run, too!

4.  Leave comments...tell people what a good job they did, visit their blog, tell them what you like best!

5.  I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE for you to be a follower or subscriber before linking up, but it's not a requirement.  Please DO use a link back to my blog and/or grab the button below!

6.  Don't have a blog?  Email me up to five pictures!

7.  Tell your friends to come and join the party!!!  Ready???

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Clean it up and clear it out: A summer challenge!

Our semi-annual tradition is to clear out toys in the kids' rooms!  We do it in June {for Adam's birthday} and January {for Rachel's birthday}.  

Adam's closet needed a little help, but it wasn't all that bad since getting his closet organizer!

We go through all their stuff and get rid of as much as we can! The idea is that if they don't get rid of stuff, they have no room for new stuff {you know, birthday presents?}.  But, I still make them go through it even if it's their siblings birthday - it's just every six months!

Adam surprised me by wanting to give up his magic set.

Adam is now old enough that he did virtually all of it by himself! I really was impressed - he got rid of a bunch of stuff that I didn't expect.

Rachel counting up one of her piles of books.

Rachel still needed help, but I limited my help and had her really do as much as she could alone.  I stayed in the room but out of the way, and would give her a task and then step out whenever I could.

Deciding which ones are most important to her.

For instance, she had way too many books so I had her count them.  If she had 30 books, she could keep her 15 favorites and that was it!

The magazines are great to give away for another child to use them.

I also had her sort and organize her own stuff.  It's so simple, but sometimes just teaching them basic stuff helps a lot.

Trinkets....bleh!<

Then, there is the trinkets...

Big brother helping out!

Yep, those are terrible too - I had her count the total and let her keep about 1/4 of what she had.

Her brother stepped in to help - which she was glad to have - putting all the CDs back in their cases.

Working together organizing...so sweet! This Momma is PROUD!!

In the end, they both got rid of a ton of stuff! We put it all out at Backyard Thursday that week and let them have first crack at all the kids' stuff then the leftovers went to charity.  My kids were SOOOO excited to give away all their old toys!

They did this all on their own - happily!

Here is your challenge: Before the end of THIS summer get your kids to go through ALL their toys - don't do all the work yourself - you must teach them.  It may take a short time for several days, or one really long day! Next week, I'm going to reveal how things are looking now in my kids' rooms! 

I am going to have a LINK PARTY {yes, finally} on August  12th, with a party button below, for everyone to link up their toy clean out! If you don't have a blog you can email me  pictures of YOUR kids' rooms.  I'll post a feature the following week {August 19th} of the BEST clean ups! Don't worry, if you don't have kids, there will be another challenge coming in the fall! AND, you can still clean up YOUR bedroom!

Parties:

Tater Tots and Jello
Serenity Now 
Iheart Naptime 
Don't Waste Your Homemaking
Ask Anna 
Organizing with Sandy
Heavenly Homemakers 
A Bowl Full of Lemons 
Thrifty Decor Chick
Far Above Rubies 
Women Living Well

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