People always talk about how much stuff babies come with. And when you have twins, that means double the stuff, right? Well, baby stuff is a walk in the park. Just wait until they get a bit older and start accumulating toys. Seriously. I don’t know why scientists spend so much time and energy in the lab trying to figure out this whole cloning thing. Just study children’s toys. They seem to keep multiplying no matter what I do to try and stop it.
Case in point: tub toys. I happen to share a bathroom with my two favorite toddlers, and it seems like lately their toys have invaded every square inch of flat surface we have. Not that I really need that flat surface. I broke up with my flat iron months ago, and I haven’t seen my hairbrush since last year sometime.
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But, I really would like to have a (relatively) clutter-free bathroom. I set out on a quest to tame the tub toy clutter.
Here comes the fun part, where I share with you the chaos from my life, leaving you feeling a bit better about your own clutter. You’re welcome, I guess. Here are the “before” pictures.
We had the usual piling up of toys around the ledges of the tub. Fairly normal.
Then comes the dysfunctional part. Somewhere, in the completely irrational part of my brain, I decided that it would be a good idea to store tub toys in a drawer. Just toss everything in the bottom drawer, and the kids can access them. No problem.
Well, there was one problem. You can’t put wet toys in a drawer. I mean, you can, if you’re into mold and mildew. I wouldn’t recommend it. This meant that the toys had to dry out before being put in the drawer. I would lay a towel out on the bathroom counter, and set the toys out to dry.
80% of the time, the toys never made it into the drawer. The end result was a bathroom that looked like this:
I am so ashamed.
Then I started thinking. I needed something BIG that would hold all of our toys. Not some dinky mesh bag that sticks to the wall. I would need like five of them.
Enter the hero of this project: The Dollar Store Laundry Basket.
Have you met my friend yet? No? You’re missing out. The dollar store laundry basket is a total life saver. I have 5 floating around my house at any given time. Aside from the obvious laundry duties, these little baskets are perfect for organizing toys and kids clothes. And they’re a dollar!!
I just threw all of the toys in the laundry basket and then threw the basket in the tub to hide behind the shower curtain.
Not quite. We had a drainage issue. Water still pooled up at the bottom of the laundry basket. We needed elevation.
Enter my other friend: the dollar store pool noodle.
Aside from summer pooltime fun, the pool noodle has many other great uses. Cut a noodle into thirds, and you have an instant boot form to keep your boots standing up straight. They also come in handy for the occasional sword fight with your son who has seen too many episodes of Jake and the Never Land Pirates.
I busted out the scissors and hot glue gun. I simply cut 5 slices of pool noodle and hot glued them to the bottom of the laundry basket. Boom! Done!
Ok, let’s recap:
Supplies
- one dollar store laundry basket
- a pool noodle
- scissors
- hot glue gun and glue sticks
Step One
Cut 5-1″ slices of pool noodle.
Step Two
Hot glue those pool noodle slices to the bottom of the laundry basket (evenly spaced, of course).
Step Three
Flip over the laundry basket, and fill that sucker with toys.
Step Four
Keep the filled laundry basket in the tub to allow wet toys to drain and dry before your next bath time adventure!
That’s it! How easy (and cheap) was that?!?!
I keep the basket in the bathtub, conveniently hidden away behind the shower curtain. I obviously take it out when I shower, but that’s no biggie.
After the twins have their bath, clean up is a breeze. I just drain the water, set the laundry basket in the tub, and toss all the toys in the basket.
The mysteriously self-replicating toys are now contained, and I have my bathroom counter back! Order is restored! Now, if I could just figure out a way to clone myself…
Want even more dollar store organizing inspiration? Check out my dollar store bathroom organization tips!
I never would have thought of the pool noodle. That is an awesome solution. Of course, I’m a “mean” mommy and my 3yr old only has a ducky, two squirt toys, and two cups to play with in the tub. 😉
(visiting from the This is How We Roll Thursdays link-up)
Hahaha… mean mommy! I’m more of “pushover mommy” 🙂
I am a huge fan of dollar store baskets! Especially since there is a Dollar Tree within walking distance. It really does help divide up toys and we’ve put together a loose toy rotation with the baskets. So many possibilities!
Oh my gosh, I can’t imagine what I would do if I would walk to the dollar store… and we do the same thing rotating toys. Dollar store containers are the best!