Day 1: 40 Bags Challenge

   Today was the first official day of my 40 bags in 40 days challenge.  I did really well!  I started with my kids' art drawers and cleaned out 2, yep 2, bags of garbage!

   My tips:
1.  If all the pages in a color book have been scribbled on, throw it out.  My kids will not color a page if it has the slightest bit of a scribble on it anywhere.  So why have them sitting around taking up space and collecting dust!  My daughter actually went through a phase where she would draw one line on a piece of paper and that was an amazing piece of art ;) I couldn't tell her it wasn't, being an artist myself I didn't want to squash any creativity she might have no matter how big or small.  She soon changed out of this phase and has moved on to more elaborate pieces, and now my husband has plenty of fire starter. 

2. Don't keep markers that aren't quite dried up!  They are not worth keeping, mostly because no one will end up using them, or they will be a constant frustration that isn't necessary.

3. Old broken crayons that no one wants to use can be remelted into neat tye-dye color patties that are way more fun to use.  This also makes a good craft for kids on a rainy day.  Here's how its done.....
                 Materials:
                                  Crayon pieces and muffin pan (I like to use an old tin that is reserved for crafts
                                         only).
                 Instructions:
                                 Break crayons into small pieces and remove all paper from crayons.
                                 Fill spaces in pan 2/3 full (have fun be creative with the colors we like to make
                                      rainbows)
                                 Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
                                 Bake for 8-10 min or until crayon pieces have fused into one piece.
                                 Cool at room temperature for about 5 min.
                                 Place pan in freezer for 20-30 min.  this will make the patties condense and
                                     make it so they slide right out of the pan.

4. This was done easier without my kids being home.  I have cleaned out the art center before when they were home and we argued a lot over what was staying and what was going :(

5. Designate and LABEL drawers.  Each of my 3 kids has 2 drawers, one small one for utensils, and one large one for coloring books, and notebooks.  When they know which ones are theirs and can see the other drawers are labeled for something else they tend to be better at keeping things where they need to be.

6. Don't keep junky pens and pencils that only work when they feel like it.  I like my mechanical pencils and Bic pens and the old faithful No.2 pencils ;)

7. Keep pens and pencils in a can, or in a drawer organizer. I can never find a pen when I need one.  My cans have been working great for the last 2 years, plus they are organized this way instead of laying all over the place in the bottom of a drawer.

8. Duplicate coloring books are not a necessity.  These are great to give to Grandma to keep at her house for when the kids come visit, or they are great to donate to a daycare, preschool or even a church(depending on the content of the coloring book).

After cleaning out the art drawers I even had one set of seven drawers completely empty!  I am now moving thing into it that I need to have more organized and more accessible.  For instance my coffee maker sits on the top of this particular set of drawers and the top drawer works great for my coffee filters and my bags of Starbucks coffee.