Organization

We've got big changes going on around here. First off, we've got a baby coming in 6 weeks. Jonas turned two and has officially grown out of the crib stage. So we are bumping Jonas from the nursery and Owen is happily welcoming Jonas in to share his room.

. . . And we've decided to give letting the boys sleep together a whirl.


It's currently still in it's trial phase, but looking past the 1-2 hours that it's been taking them on average to fall asleep together at night, our nighttime visits from both boys have actually decreased. After the first couple of days we are now receiving an average of one nighttime visit between the two of them (a great improvement).

So if the boys are going to be in the same room (which they are--even if we decide to put them in separate beds) we need to get the room organized for two boys.

So while walking around in Target last week we saw this bin shelf on sale for $22 off, and I said: that's perfect! It fits two boys worth of jammies, socks, underwear, and diapers, with room for more.

The best thing I like about this idea of bins is that it will be very easy for the boys to manage themselves. If laundry has been cleaned and I hand them each a pile of socks and say, "Go put these in your sock bin," they know exactly what to do with them. There's no dresser drawers to pull out and jam socks into and leave hanging half open, or just throwing them in to whichever drawer has space instead of an assigned "socks" space. (I think I'll put pictures on the bins of what goes there so they can tell even when they are empty.)

Also, if we say the to the boys, "It's time to get ready to go, please go grab a pair of socks," once again they know exactly where to go and get them for themselves. Our boys are old enough for responsibility and accountability--more for Owen, obviously--and we need to help facilitate that.

And, on the other hand, we (I) also need to be reasonable about my expectations for maintaining order in a household of BOYS! Open bins of socks and underwear may not get my boys' room into any high design magazines, but if it is going to work--that's what we want.