7 Tips for Lego Storage & Organization

I've known for years that when we had kids I wanted them to be Lego lovers. I have so many memories of playing and building Legos with my brother as a kid. And Legos have only gotten better with even more themes, kits, ideas, and pieces. Yet they've held on to their classic appeal for fostering some amazing creativity.

I was so determined to have a Lego loving kid in the house that when Big Brother was only 3 months old I couldn't pass up an amazing deal on a GIANT tub of Legos at a yard sale . . . much to my husband's surprise.

Flash forward 6 years . . . and while I'm still really excited about how much he loves his Legos I'm also a little surprised at how much our collection has grown. In addition to the original tub I bought he's been given many sets over the last two years for birthday and Christmas presents, purchased a few of his own sets, and been given hand me downs from neighbors and older friends.

About 6 months ago I knew we had to get our Lego collection better organized, they were everywhere! After several months of tweaking our system, we've reached a great place with how they're organized.

January 2016 Goal: Organize the Household Clutter

Last year we joined the Monthly Goals series and found it to be a great way to keep us motivated during the year to tackle a variety of resolutions. Rather than kicking off January with a whole list of resolutions, each month we selected a new goal and worked towards meeting that goal.

This year we're again excited to be joining in on the Monthly Goals series. I quickly realized last year that it was best for our family to focus on just one set of goals at a time, so each month we'll have a specific theme.

For January 2016 we're actually returning to a 2015 goal: 

Organize the Household Clutter

We spent the early part of the beginning of 2015 focusing on the goals of organizing and decluttering. I loved the changes we were able to make in our house. We redesigned household spaces, donated or gave away unused items, and in general had less clutter laying around.

Organizing Car Toys

At this point in the year there's a ton of great organizational items in the stores primarily aimed at college kids headed off to dorm rooms and kids headed back to school. But even though those items are meant for different places, they can have a variety of uses in our everyday lives too.

Organizing Car Toys

Lately I've been trying to organize the car. We like to keep a wide range of activities and books in the car for the kids, but often it feels like they take over the whole car and everything is really cluttered. It lead us to think about some new ideas for organization.

I've tried different containers before to contain the clutter, but our recent attempt seems to be the best yet: using a shower caddy! The small compartments are perfect for holding different objects and it fits evenly between the two car seats. 

We purchased our bin at Wal-Mart, it's made by Sterlite and cost about $3.50 at the time. It came in four different colors. Big Brother picked the blue first. 

Inside the bin there are five compartments. In the back compartment we have space for different coloring and activity books. 

In the front bin we hold small picture books and a few board books. 

In the larger side compartment we have a few toys primarily for Little Brother; a small etch-a-sketch, flashing ball, toy cars, and something that makes noise (either a phone, car, musical instrument, etc.)

On the other side of the bin there are two small compartments which are perfect for holding crayons and markers for Big Brother. 

We still keep a few larger picture books and activity books in the pockets on the back of the seat. I also keep at least one small stuffed animal in the car, as you never no when someone might need a little cuddle from something.

Both the kids and I are pretty excited about how organized their stuff is now. Me because it was no longer all over the car and the boys, Big Brother especially, because they could now see what stuff they actually have in the car. We went back a few weeks later for another one to create a similar set up for Daddy's car. When we were there, Big Brother asked for a third to organize the art supplies he wants to keep in his room. He created this set up when I was at work when one day all on his own, pretty great huh? 

What is your favorite "back to school" item for organizing household or car stuff? If you're a blogger, I'd love to see your link in the comments below.