When my kids were small, I solved the crayon problem with a visit to Pier One, where I bought a gorgeous wooden box that I knew would be pretty on my living room coffee table. We placed the crayons inside that box. That way, they were always handy but hidden in plain sight, and they were easy to put away once they weren't being used.
Click here for an example of the wooden box.
If you don't have a coffee table (or do but don't have room for a pretty box), choose a drawer or cabinet where the crayon box can always go, one that is located very near the couch, since this is obviously where you are in the habit of keeping the crayons.
As for the diaper bag, this brings up a whole set of challenges. It's been so long since my kids were babies (my oldest will graduate from high school this spring!) that I confess I'm not an expert on this. I do, however, remember being out with the diaper bag and reaching inside for something important—only to find that I had used that item up last time and never replenished it. With that in mind, I'm thinking that the best storage place for a diaper bag isn't just somewhere convenient but also somewhere very near the items that go into that bag—for example, hanging on a peg close to the diapering table.
If the baby's room is very far from the door, however, this won't work because it will be too inconvenient. Therefore, I would suggest making room for the diaper bag in the same place you keep your purse—but be sure to post a small list there of things that need to be added to the bag before going out again, such as diapers and wipes. If you really wanted to be efficient, you could keep extra packages of diapers and other items there as well, to pull from.
Moms, do you have any other good ideas about where to store a diaper bag—and how to keep it freshly stocked? If so, post your comments here.
When my daughter was in a portable car seat, I always kept the car seat and diaper bag in her closet. When we were going somewhere, I would put her in the car seat and add in the diapers/wipes/change of clothes, etc.
ReplyDeleteNow that she's outgrown that car seat, I still keep the diaper bag in the closet and load it before we head out.
Every Monday I - honestly, my middle son, age 9 restocks my 9-month-old son's diaper bag. I keep a list IN the bag of what needs to go in there. He goes through the list and restocks it for that week.
ReplyDelete