Never Pick up Another Toy!

(associerge.com)

We've developed a system called the "Lazy Mom Cleanup" system...that ensures that I never have to pick up the kid's toys.  A friend taught me this when I was a young mother.  All you have to do is organize all your toys into sets in boxes. (Cardboard, plastic, whatever).  Then you get rid of all the miscellaneous toys that don't fit into the sets.  After that, you put all the sets neatly in a closet, and put a hook and eye lock at the top so the kids can't open it.  (or a room that locks).

walmart.com

Now you are ready.  When the kids want to play, you open the closet and let each one choose a set.  They will play with it, and then when they want a different toy, the rule is that they have to put the first set away and they can choose a new set to play with.  This really works because putting away toys is not so overwhelming for the child when they only have a small set to put away.  The locked door ensures that the kids don't get into all the sets and dump them all over.  I haven't picked up a toy in about eight years.  It really works! Voila!  A much cleaner house with no effort!

(freshome.com)