Tips for de-cluttering and organizing toys in your kids' playroom

I have been re-organizing my kids' rooms during the past week. I have noticed a lot of mishaps on my behalf. It really should not take me a week to organize two bedrooms, however, it has and to be honest, I am still organizing. During this time, I have realized that a lot of this re-organizing could have easily been completed in steps or stages so I am going to share ten tips for de-cluttering and organizing toys in my kids' bedrooms.

1. First of all, get rid of toys when your child has outgrown them. Do not hold onto them (unless you are expecting or planning to have another child). Donate the old toys to any charity of your choice or a less fortunate family. One persons trash is another persons treasure.

2. Bins, bins, bins! Purchase colorful bins to sort smaller toys. This is a great way to introduce your child to colors and to have a clean play area for your child. I sort items in bins. My son has a bin for his crayons and markers, a bin for his Hot Wheels, a bin for his blocks, a bin for his flash cars, and many more bins. Bins are a great way to organize a room and they are very affordable, many dollar stores sell them.

3. Make a fun cleaning song to encourage your child to help clean and organize his or her play area. You can find numerous clean up sons online or on kids' television shows. My son loves the "Dora the Explorer" clean up song. This make children enjoy cleaning up and will give Mom some much needed help.

4. Toy boxes with book shelves are another great way to keep a kids' room organized. We have one made by One Step that we picked up at a yard sale for $5. We place the larger toys in the toy box and the books on the book shelves.

5. Prior to Christmas and Birthdays look through your child's toys. Both of my children are November babies so they get tons of toys for their birthdays and then a bunch more on Christmas. I have started to go through the toys prior to their birthday and the holidays to make room for the new toys that I know they will receive. This has really helped me to be more organized and get the rooms clutter free beforehand. It is much easier to go through the old toys without the new toys in the room.

6. Another major tip is to clean out the toy boxes when your children are not home. Children become attached to their toys even if they do not play with them. At least my children do. If you clean out the toys when they are not around, you do not have the child crying about keeping the toys and it allows you to focus.

7. Purchase a stuffed animal hammock. You can pick one of these bad boys up at your local Kmart and Wal-Mart for a few bucks. These are great. They hang from the ceiling so you have less toys on the floor. Your child can see all of their toys and if they want one, you can simply take it down for them.

8. Shelves are another great way to de-clutter a room. Shelves provide extra space that you may not have on the floor and are a classy way to organize. Shelves are also great for toys that may be collectible or are more fragile than others. Shelves are also fairly easy to install.

9. Under the bed storage is another great alternative for organizing a room if you do not have a lot of room. Under the bed storage is great because the room looks clean and neat and still provides adequate space for your child to play.

10. Last but not least, teach your children to pick up their toys and start from a young age. If you can make organizing fun, it will really help both you and your child in the long run. We sing and play games when we clean up and organize. We have races, I will tell my kids that I can clean up the room faster than they can and they love it and the room gets organized and cleaned in a jiffy.

Organizing a kids' play area is a chore, but if you use some of these tips it may become less of a chore. Cleaning and organizing is necessary, but shouldn't be an all day event. If you organize in baby steps, it will give you a lot more time to run around and play with your kids' rather than be cleaning their rooms all day. I hope that my tips help a few of you. Happy organizing!


Disclosure: I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Hot Wheels® blogging program, for a gift card worth $40. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

TRESemmé Fresh Start Dry Shampoo

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of TRESemmé for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

TRESemme has done it again.  They have created yet another line of incredibly hair care products.  This time it's line of dry shampoos.  A complete line of dry shampoos that revive your style’s look and feel on days you skip a shampoo.  Uniquely formulated to absorb excess oil and remove odor, the full line of dry shampoos rejuvenates hair without a drop of water. With a renewing burst of citrus extracts infused into every product, it leaves hair with a clean, fresh scent.

Dry shampoos are all the rage now.  I have to admit that I love dry shampoos.  I have incredibly curly hair that I like to straighten and I hate how the next day it needs to be washed.  Now, I just use my dry shampoo and magically my hair looks like first day hair!  I have always been a huge fan of Tresemme so I was very excited to see that they have came out with a full line or dry shampoos for every hair type.

The full line of TRESemmé Fresh Start Dry Shampoo includes:

o Strengthening Dry Shampoo: The formula, with B12 vitamins and keratin, helps strengthen hair and leaves it full of healthy body.

o Volumizing Dry Shampoo: The formula, with mineral clay and citrus, removes oil while injecting hair with salon-gorgeous volume.

o Smoothing Dry Shampoo: The formula, with Vitamin H & Silk Proteins, refreshes your straight style by removing excess oil, impurities and odor to ensure your smooth look lasts.

o Moisturizing Waterless Foam Shampoo: The formula, with Witch Hazel, Citrus, and Aloe Vera, refreshes your hair by removing excess oil, impurities and odor while moisturizing hair.

Being the awesome company that TRESemme is, they have included a few tips so that you get the best results from their amazing new line of dry shampoos.  Yes, TRESemme is thoughtful! 

Are you ready to try the new line of TRESemme dry shampoo?  I am!  TRESemme has shared a few tips on how to get the best results from TRESemmé Fresh Start Dry Shampoo

- Do shake vigorously before use and in between spray bursts for best results.

- Do lift sections of dry hair and spray lightly at roots

- Do spray in short bursts, holding 8-12 inches from head

- Don’t spray it like hair spray (all over and continuously)

- Do leave in for 1-2 minutes.

- Do use fingertips or a brush to distribute product evenly

- If clogging occurs, remove nozzle and rinse the nozzle under warm water, then reattach.

TRESemme has even included videos so that you can see how to rock their new products.  Be sure to check out the videos and get the most out of your hair. 

YouTube Celebrity Elle Fowler (http://www.youtube.com/allthat…) has teamed up with TRESemmé and created a tutorial to teach people how to use TRESemmé Fresh Start Dry Shampoo properly. I highly suggest that you check out these videos:

Top Hair Products for School

TRESemme has always been my "go to" brand for hair products.  I highly suggest that you check out their new and existing lines of products.  Salon hair at a fraction of the cost! 

Work It! Express Business Suits

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Express for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Just because you are at work does not mean that fashion and style do not matter.  First impressions are everything especially when in the workforce.  A first impression can either get you the job not get the job.  What you are wearing is a major part of a first impression.  Don't worry though, Express has got you covered! From the Executive to the Professional and even the Creative Professional, Express has the suits that every man/woman needs!

Express women's suits are incredibly stylish and also incredibly affordable.  The suits are very flattering and do not look like your typical bland and boring suits that we all despise so much.  These women's suits are amazing, you have to check them out for yourselves.

My personal favorite suit is the Women's Tweed jacket and Tweed pants. I love how flattering this suit is.  I love the material.  This suit just screams "hire me!"  I would definitely rock this suit to my job interviews. 

And just when you think it can't get any better, Express does it again!  You can enter to win a $500 suiting makeover from Express in the new Express sweepstakes  You can enter daily so make sure to bookmark the page or set a reminder on your phone. 

So now I must know, what are your favorite suits and why do you love them?  What would you use the suits for? Word, networking events, job interviews?  Please comment and let me know!  I love hearing from you!

Win It Wednesday: Weekly Wins

Hello everyone! I hope you have had a fantastic week loaded with wins! Here is my list for the past week.

I have started the "Win It Wednesday: Weekly Wins" post and will post a new one each and every Wednesday. I will post the items that I have won in the past week and hopefully hear of items that you have won.

With that said, in the past week I have won:

* $25 Ebay gift card ( @eBay )

That is my list for the past week. What have you won lately? Please comment below, I love to hear about your wins!

Win It Wednesday: Weekly Wins (very late)

Hello everyone! I hope you have had a fantastic week loaded with wins! Here is my list for the past few weeks.

I have started the "Win It Wednesday: Weekly Wins" post and will post a new one each and every Wednesday. I will post the items that I have won in the past week and hopefully hear of items that you have won.

With that said, in the past week I have won:

* A Sidral Mundet gift package ( @SidralMundet )
* $10 gift card to Mick Lite Sports ( @MickLiteSports )
* $100 Bealls gift card ( @Bealls )
* $75 Linen Table Cloth gift card ( @LinenTableclth )
* 2 pairs of False Lashes  ( @EyelureUSA )
* Vendetta Shape wear ( Carrie's Rambles )
* $50 Dick's Sporting Goods gift card ( Klout Perks )

That is my list for the past week. What have you won lately? Please comment below, I love to hear about your wins!