Some ideas I've had...

I'm always looking for creative ideas for solving everyday problems, so I thought I'd share a few I've had.  Some of them have worked better than others.  Some of them sound like something that would be in a Family Fun or Parenting magazine.  But since I don't read any of those types of publications, I can claim them as purely my own. :o)

I've shared about the Art Cart before when I was on my organizing binge last fall.  It has been a pretty good way to attempt to corral and organize all of Emily's papers and other "projects".  It doesn't stay super organized, and really needs a good sorting at least once a month, but Emily does know where things are supposed to go and where to start looking for things she wants.  It also sort of works as a motivational tool.  We've said on more than one occasion at pick-up time, "If it doesn't fit in your art cart it needs to go into the recycling or trash."  Emily also has another shelf on a nearby bookcase to keep containers of art supplies and binders of print-outs and other acquired coloring pages.  There is also still a container of "controlled art supplies" on top of the fridge. ;o)

What do you do with the birthday cards your child(ren) receive?  Do you put them in a scrapbook?  Do put a rubberband around them and throw them in a box to save for them to decide what to do when they're older?  I've found a way to let Emily enjoy them year-round.  We put all her birthday cards in a picture tree holder (I don't know if that's the technical term) and put them in her room.  She often takes them off, looks at them and rearranges them.  By the time her next birthday rolls around they have been enjoyed enough that it's easier to discard them to make way for the new ones.

Do you ever come home with the sturdy but weird-shaped boxes from Sam's Club that you used to carry your purchases home?  I once had an idea about repurposing them.  I bought a roll of contact paper from Wal-mart and covered a couple.  They turned into instant table.  Or a doll bed.  Or a dog house (complete with a sign and mailbox).  Emily has found multiple uses for them.  Lincoln prefers to use them as stepstools since he is still light enough for them to easily hold him.  I would highly recommend getting a non-descript, non-repeating patterned contact paper, though, because it takes a lot of little pieces to get everything covered and the seams would be impossible to match up.  I picked this one because it reminded me of laminate counter tops. :o) 

After I started allowing Emily to play computer games I felt like I had to come up with some kind of a system to regulate computer time other than my whim and fancy.  I thought up this idea in November.  Emily & I made a little pocket holder to hang on the fridge along with a bag of 15-minute "tickets".  Every morning that Emily got dressed, made her bed and brushed her teeth with little or no prompting, she would earn one ticket to redeem for 15 minutes of computer time.  This seemed to work at first because of the novelty, but it was only a week later that the sound card went out in our old computer and there was no motivation to earn or use tickets.  I've kind of used it off and on since then, although it has morphed into whenever Emily wants to play computer games, she makes sure she did the jobs and lets me know.  Then I let her play for awhile, but not necessarily with a timer.  So this was one of those seemingly brilliant ideas that didn't necessarily pan out as hoped or expected.

My parents were great at coming up with all sorts of creative ideas and motivational tools, but they'll be the first to admit that for every one idea that worked there were probably several that didn't.  Everything has a limited lifespan, too.  So we continually go back to the drawing board.  Maybe I should start reading more magazines. ;o)

What are some creative ideas you've seen/tried?