As our kids grow up, they seem to accumulate more and more stuff. But I’m not just talking about toys and clothes. All those little extras that our kids use and need everyday can start to take over! Today, I’m focusing on the kitchen and all those plastic cups and dishes that get piled up. I’ve got a great tip today that will keep those lids corralled and the plates from spilling over!
Angela mentioned the importance of storing kids’ cups and dishes within their reach in this post. Everyone’s happier when the kids can help get what they need! Mine even helps put his stuff away when I’m unloading the dishwasher. But what I struggled with for a long time was the actual logistics of keeping his cups and dishes organized. Aside from the sippy cups themselves, there are all sorts of other toddler eating accessories, like plates, snack cups, and bibs, and they were all just sort of flung in there haphazardly along with some other random items.
I was desperate to create some order but knew that large baskets would be unwieldy for Jack. Enter these wood bins I found at Michael’s! They’re labeled as vegetable bins and are $12 or $13, but I kept an eye on the Michael’s app on my phone and whenever a good coupon popped up I’d go get one. I ended up paying about $15 total. I put sippy cups and lids in one, everything else in the other. Bonus: there’s about ten inches of space behind them for me to store rarely used items.
Jack doesn’t have to pull them out to use them, which would have been a big problem with baskets. I can tell you right now that if I’d gotten baskets he would just pull them out and dump them on the floor before grabbing a cup and moving on to begging me for snacks and milk.
Just imagine that sweet face saying “Pease? Pease?” and try saying no, you can not drink an entire gallon of milk in one day. Then he’ll move on to begging for raisins. I swear that kid could live on fruit, milk, and cheese.
