It's simplified the amount of stuff I have within easy reach and it saves me time every day! Would a pill organizer help you be more organized and save you time?

For a number of years now, at the end of the year I spend some time thinking about my hopes and dreams for the coming year, and then I set my intention for the year by picking one word as my "theme." There are so many amazing words to chose from that it can be hard to settle on just one, so I like to pick words that I can take in more than one direction. Last year my word was 'compassion' and I spent time learning and practicing being compassionate with myself as well as finding tangible ways to show compassion to those in my small circle and also to the world at large. 

Sometimes I am surprised by where the word takes me. One year I picked 'brave' with the plan to jump into some new things that made me nervous. Not only did I start new things that year for myself, but when my husband was considering a big job change I felt really excited and enthusiastic about the ideas he was considering and encouraged him to quit his job and launch his new ideas, in spite of the financial uncertainty of the change. 

So what do you think? Does this sound like something you would enjoy and be inspired by? It's not too late to give it a try for 2018. Take some time to reflect on what you want to see in your life this year. Brainstorm a list of words and then sit with them for a bit and I bet one will rise to the top and you'll just know that it's your word. Once you've chosen that word, share it with a few friends and see if they want to chose a word of their own. Journeys are often more fun when we share them with others.

My words (yes, I cheated a little and chose two this year) for 2018 are 'listen' and 'play' and I can't wait to see where they take me this year. If you decide to do this, I'd love to hear what word you pick!

Stuffed animals! They are cute and cuddly and great for imaginative play but they seem to spread out everywhere and constantly need to be picked up and put away, only to overflow their space again. 

There are a number of options for containing stuffed animals that I'm sure you have seen or considered.  Depending on a child's age, number of stuffed animals, how often they use them, etc, different options are better in different situations. 

For kids who have a lot of stuffed animals but don't need to see them all the time, stuffing a body pillow with them is a great way to contain these soft toys. They can be accessed through the zipper when needed, but the rest of the time they are out of the way! This reduces visual clutter and also makes the room easier to straighten up when it's time to clean up toys because the majority of the stuffed animals stay inside the pillow case(s).

Here's a picture of a project I worked on this past spring. Before we started there were stuffed animals everywhere! When we finished, we had a few favorite stuffed animals out for regular use and the rest were tucked away in pillows that created a cozy reading area. Happy parents and happy kids - I definitely call this organizing project a success!

For a variation on this idea, you could also used an empty bean bag case to store stuffed animals. For kids who want easier access to their stuffed toys, the larger zipper on a bean bag chair might be better than that on a pillow case.

Hope this helps you contain the zoo in your child's room!

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