Life with a newborn and life with a toddler are two different realities, but both require you to transform your space. I remember when my son was born, I focused more on baby-proofing my home by locking hazardous items away and ensuring there was nothing he could choke on floating around. While that is still a priority, my once tiny baby is now a tornado, aka, a toddler on the go. As he’s growing up, I’ve been looking for ways to organize my space so that he can be independent and I don’t have more messes to clean. I’m talking about objects that make tasks like pouring his own cereal, putting his shoes away after an outing, or helping put groceries away easier.
Brightroom, Target’s first storage and home organization owned brand, was a solution to this problem. They have more than 450 products, and a few caught my eye as they looked ideal for organizing my space. Here are a few products I tried and what I think of each.
Plastic Food Storage Containers: $7-$10
When your child becomes more independent, it’s certainly bittersweet. While I’m ecstatic that he can now prepare his own cereal, I’m not ecstatic about the mess. I thought of trying out the two different sizes of the Brightroom clear plastic food storage containers so I could ditch the cereal boxes and my son could easily pour into a bowl with less spillage occurring. I opted for the their food storage container and kitchen organizer.
Considering these containers come at such a low price point, I was expecting something thin and light. However, I was pleasantly surprised when these sturdy containers arrived. While I made the mistake of not ordering the containers with a snap lid so he can easily pour, I love the quality and will be ordering the correct ones. I am pleased at how neat my cabinet looks without all the cardboard boxes.
17″ Gray Tapered Basket – $30
I’m borderline obsessed with open space, so I get rid of everything that doesn’t feel essential and takes up space in common areas at home. For that reason, I only have one laundry basket in my house. Now that I’m allowing the little one to help me with laundry, I want him to learn to put his dirty clothes in his own hamper and also carry them from the dryer to his room after they’ve been washed. I thought this gray tapered basket would be perfect as it matches the color scheme in his room. The material looks like it’ll hold up and it’s a modern sleek design, which makes the daunting task of laundry a tad more exciting.
4-Tier Shoe Rack – $48
Remember the thing I mentioned above about space? Well, I never got a shoe rack because of that. I put my son’s shoes at the top of his wardrobe, but that means he can’t reach to put his shoes away when he needs to. I ordered this brass wooden shoe rack from Brightroom and it exceeded my expectations. It’s both aesthetically pleasing and practical for my son to use in his room.
Plastic Kitchen Organizer – $7
I ordered two 4.5″W X 10.5″D X 4″H plastic kitchen organizers without realizing they weren’t containers with lids, but still managed to make good use of them. I only had a single clear bowl for the vegetables that stay outside of the fridge, so I used these to store my plantains and sweet potatoes. I don’t have an amusing toddler story to go with these items–just some good old DIY.
If you have a deep-seated feeling you can’t shake that your home needs to be more organized, then it probably does. Nothing a few modern containers and storage bins can’t fix!