Share the Love: Bulldozing a Path to Clean-Up Time Peace

**THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED. RANDOM.ORG CHOSE JANELLE AS THE WINNER**

I dread the beans.

All one million and one of them, with the tiny red bodies, some speckled with white.

We keep said beans around because I love the hours of imaginative play that unfolds whenever I pull the container from the highest closet shelves, giving my little boys free reign to plow their cars through bean-barded highways and the green light to sink their army men into the tall mounds they've piled on the floor.

But I dread the aftermath of the beans because convincing two young boys, ages 2.5 and 4.5, to clean them up is like herding cats; I end up finding piles of beans everywhere for days and weeks and sometimes months or picking them all up myself.

Apparently, such is life with growing boys; as my little ones have grown older, taller, bigger, it seems that the toys they deem interesting and captivating keep dwindling in size.

The beans are just one of many sets of toys that contain pieces smaller than my pinky nail. {Play Mobiles, anyone?}

While those small toys are loads of fun, they are painstaking to pick up after they've been spread across the play space of the living room.

Ironically, the very afternoon I received an request to review the Toydozer, a tool that aids in picking up such small pieces, I had actually spent a good chunk of time on my hands and knees wishing for such an item while picking up piece by piece all the beans scattered around the kitchen floor.

After that serendipitous moment, I immediately agreed to give the Toydozer a few test runs during clean-up time and share our findings:


Awesomeness:

* My oldest son happily uses the Toydozer as a "garbage truck" while he's scooping up all the pieces of his lincoln logs, beans or Duplo pieces instead of arguing with me for 20 minutes about cleaning up his toys.

* It's simple design allows my toddler to effectively "play" with it before and during clean up.



* I easily gather all remaining pieces they've missed in about 60 seconds flat instead of individually picking up all of the pieces

* There are color choices, which we find an essential part of toy selection, and this is NOT just a tool; it is a toy! {Please don't tell my kids this is a clean-up tool or it will lose some of its appeal!}

* It's sturdy and stands up to abuse at the hands of bull-dozing boys.

*It's not just meant for clean-up time; it's used during active imaginative play, too.

* Coupon code! Use BLOGGER20 with your readers for 20 percent off at Toydozer.com 

Deterrents:

* Because of its simple design, the $18.99 price tag might cause parents to reconsider the purchase. However, anyone who has picked up thousands of beans on her floor for 20-odd minutes four times during the span of a day would likely consider it a good investment.

Want one of your own?
Toydozer offered to give away one dozer! Simply leave a comment sharing which of your little ones' toys most necessitate the use of the a Toydozer.

If you'd like extra entries, you can like Toydozer on Facebook and follow Toydozer on Twitter. Please leave a comment for each to earn the extra entries.

This post is part of a Toydozer blogger outreach campaign. Participating bloggers have been provided with a complimentaryToydozer to review and have been compensated for their time. This giveaway is open to U.S. and Canada residents 18 and older. A winner will be randomly selected Friday, April 20, 2012. All opinions expressed are my own.

Share the Love: Blue Sky 2012 Planner Giveaway

*GIVEAWAY CLOSED. Congratulations to Kristina, who Random.org deemed the winner.*

Last week, I sat down in the living room to begin penciling in commitments and deadlines for the month of December {because I don't care what anyone says: paper planners are the best organizing tool ever}, but then immediately was beckoned into the kitchen to aid in a water-pouring endeavor gone wrong.

While I was gone, little E Van Worth went all Starry Night on the month of November.

My "newly designed" current Blue Sky Planner

 And that made me a little more eager to welcome in December with all of its events and lists and to-dos even if only simply to get a clean page on which to write. {Also, beauty. December is a beautiful month! Also, how is it already December?}

Sometimes it just feels good to make a clean start. Most of us welcome the freshness the New Year brings, but I feel that way about months and weeks and sometimes even days, too.

How about you? Want to turn the page and open to the blank slate of a brand-new year this January 1?

The generous people at Blue Sky have offered to give away an organization set, which includes a super-functional and easy-to-use day planner in the beautiful, sleek Egg Press design that I'm really digging.

Simply leave a comment with your email address included and share with me your favorite way to ring in the New Year. And, no, you are not required to say "with a new planner!"


The winner will be randomly chosen by random.org Tuesday, December 6, 2011. 


Winner must be 18 years or older and live in the United States. I was not monetarily compensated to host this giveaway. Blue Sky sent me several day planners and calendars to check out and use in 2012. All opinions expressed are my own; as always I only share products I use in my own home from companies I respect. Plus, I thought one of my friends might like to receive a complimentary planner set for the new year! 

Five-Minute Friday: Welcome

There's nothing tidy about this well-lived in space we call home.

It's almost always dusted with little pieces of Earth around the doorways, signs that small feet have shuffled in and out at least a dozen or more times during the morning hours.

Almost always there are toys strewn across the wooden floors, carpeting and stairs alike, little crumb trails from two busy worker ants who've been hard a play all afternoon.

The bathroom vanity bulbs are forever on, shedding light across the scattered toothbrushes and various toothpastes.

At least a small pile of dishes always lines one edge of the counter, glasses branded and marked with small fingerprints.

Tall prairie grasses always line the flower beds, sharing space with bright yellow lillies, trying to disguise the fact they are weeds.

And chairs are never all perfectly placed around the table because two tiny people are constantly rearranging and transforming the furniture into more useful things, like ladders.

I've struggled with all but shutting and locking the doors to the outside world, weary of welcoming anyone into this space where I spend more time living and enjoying than I spend cleaning and organizing.

But as the days pass, and the children grow older, morph and all the dust and dirt stay the same as it's always been, I've pushed myself to invite despite the mess.

Because, I have to imagine, nothing says hello, lays out the welcome mat for acceptance and friendship, quite like simply being who we are.

And, right now, who we are is loud. And laughter-filled. And passionate. And emotional {for better or worse}. And messy.