keeping track of all those pieces...

[NovelMama]

We have a big lidded wicker cube in our family room where we keep dd's toys. Obviously nothing ever gets nicely packed away, just dumped in there willy-nilly. I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas of how I can keep all the pieces of each toy together when they get tossed in there so it's easier for dd to get all the pieces out. For example, stacking cups, stacking rings, a puzzle...everything is too big for ziploc bags, which are my usual solution for such a problem. When dd is older it'll be easier to have things put back nicely, but she's only 17 months, so we've got a ways to go before I can expect that. :)

[hey mommy]

I use lots and lots of those rubbermaid type shoeboxes, both big and small. Puzzles(not board puzzles, but real puzzles) get put in those too and the box thrown away. I have several that have hinged lids and that works great for the puzzles.

When I get DS' room organized, I'll take a pic. of them all. I have tons.. All the legos go in them, the pieces to the cars that you can put together go in them.. I even have a large box for all the lincoln logs(need to get a bigger one since we've recently added more to our collection). And since the boxes usually stack, they get stacked together on a shelf.