keep the kids play room clean for their benefit

Today I cleaned the play area of my toddler. What a big difference it made in how she played.

I am not always on top of keeping my place totally clean, but I would not be embarrassed if someone came over. However, I deep the deep cleaning when Thanksgiving came around. After the holiday, I places on picking up a bit. The kid's room and living room were just littered with toys. As the toys piled up, the less interested she was in independent play.

Today I had enough of wading through the lake of toys and cleaned up. Everyone I do toy clean up, I sort them in general categories.
- books
-stuffed animals
-stacking (block, stacking rings, cardboard bricks)
-things that take batteries
-smaller toy in a bin
-balls


I acquired a 7 ft shelf and it is now on it's side making 8 cubbies for her to access.

Today after putting her toy into the cubbies, leaving the play area floor clean, she was more content to play on her own. Now she can go a pick out the toy she wants and has room to play.

I love to play with my little one and frequently am on the floor playing with her. The independent play gives me a chance to do dishes and other chores. When her toys were every where, she was so clingy that I felt I couldn't get anything done.

Now I see where being neat is very beneficial to all in the home.

DIY Reusable Diaper Soaker-liner

This is a quick tutorial for how to make your own soaker-liners for use with cloth diapers. As children grow, so do their bladders and my child seems to soak right through her diaper and cover each time. These soakers help prevent leaks.

Materials:
Flannel
Soaker material (terrycloth or natural fiber batting)

The amount of fabric you buy depends on how many you want to make.

For this tutorial, These soakers have 2 inner layers. You can have as many layers you want, but the more layers you have, the bulkier the diaper will be ultimately.

I used terrycloth for the liners here because I found some on sale. I cut prices 8 inches by 6 inches out of the terrycloth. With folding the terrycloth in half lengthwise, you wind up with prices 4x6 inches. At this point you will want to do an edge stitch on your sewing machine or server. Now the inner part is done.
( I did not do an edge stitch, and after washing they all frayed.)

For the outer layer, we are going to make flannel pockets, rather then sewing all the layers together. The reason for this is that in the wash, the liners will wash and dry better. We use flannel for the outside layers because it will be softer, than the terrycloth, agents the skin for less irritation and diaper rash.
Cut the flannel into 9 inch by 7 inch rectangles. Edge stitch or roll hem along one of the 9 inch sides, this will be the open top. Fold in half lengthwise (like the terrycloth), if you have a pattern flannel, make sure the pattern winds up on the inside. Stitch the side and bottom. Turn right side out, and you're done.

If you decide to have it all one piece, just put one "inner" into the pocket and stitch closed.

I Hope you liked this easy tutorial. I spend less then $10 for 15 of these, where as you could spend up to $5 a piece for one.