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Organization

How to organize dishes for kids so they can find what they need (and even help put them away!)

March 18, 2021

If there is one area of the kitchen that is the most difficult to keep organized, it’s all the plastic cups, plates, bowls, and silverware that belong to the littlest inhabitants in our homes.  Kid dishes tend to accumulate over time, so once your kids are toddlers you are swimming in a sea of mismatched plastic.  

The cupboard or drawer holding these items can get junky real quick.

But there is a way to fight disorganization and keep this cupboard in check.  After 7+ years of motherhood, I feel like I’ve cracked the code on organizing kid dishes and it’s time to share my secrets.

Keep reading for my best tips (and hard-earned wisdom) for taming the plastic.  

This post contains affiliate links.  As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualified purchases.

Gather every single item on the counter and put like things together

You can’t organize something if you don’t know the full extent of the problem.  Even though kid dishes are brightly colored plastic, they tend to end up everywhere: mixed with the adult glasses, hiding in the Tupperware, and thrown in with the silverware.  

The most important step is to gather all of it and place it on the counter.  Only now can you actually SEE what you have.  From here you can group like things together.  

organizing kids dish drawer

Make some decisions

Now that you can see everything you own, it’s time to make some decisions about what to keep and what to toss.  I always go group by group and pick out the items I know we like, use, and can easily wash.  Everything else is donated. 

Sometimes it helps to ask yourself probing questions to help identify which items you can let go of: 

  • Do you have 10 different sippy cup types from desperately searching for one your child will drink from?  It’s time to pick the one or two styles they like and donate the rest. 
  • Are any of your plates scratched up, stained, or warped?  Don’t feel bad placing those in the donate pile.  Plastic is sensitive to heat and pressure and easily damaged.  It’s OK to replace as needed. 
  • Do you have too many cups or water bottles?  Consider reducing the number to something that will still satisfy your needs, but will also save space in your kitchen for other items.  

We had over 8 water bottles for 2 kids.  That seemed excessive to me so I decided to pare that down to the minimum that would work for our family.  That worked out to 3 water bottles – one for each kid plus a spare.  

Don’t be afraid to replace or adjust as kids age

Kids will outgrow items as they get older.  At some point, baby spoons become rarely used as you reach for the larger toddler spoons.  Sippy cups give way to real cups.  It’s OK for your collection of dishes to change over time. 

Consider packing up items that aren’t being used anymore to save for future kids.  Sometimes creating space for items you currently use is better than holding space for items you don’t. 

Select a low drawer or cupboard for organizing your kid’s dishes

While it may seem counterintuitive to put cups and plates in a drawer, this is one of the best hacks for organizing dinnerware for kids.  Not only is it one of the few safe items in a kitchen (hello, it’s not breakable!) but it puts the items at their level.  

It encourages independence when kids are able to grab a cup or bowl for themselves.  As they get older they can help prepare snacks or set the table as a way to gain responsibility.  We have started asking our 7 and 3-year-old to help unload the plastic items from the dishwasher and both are able to do this task. 

organized kitchen drawer of kid cups and plates

Use smaller bins to divide the space

Plastic is light and easily knocks over or slides around.  In order to keep the space organized, use smaller bins to divide up the drawer or cupboard.  

I love love love IKEA and pick up a few of these Variera bins each time I go.  I find so many uses for them, but in particular, they work well in my deep IKEA cabinet drawers.  

I used two large and two small bins to divide my drawer into compartments for plates, water bottles, cups, bowls, and bibs.  Each item has a home and the bins keep the items together so they don’t slide around. 

I even use smaller flexible plastic organizers inside the larger bins to corral loose items like sippy cup lids, plastic silverware, and straws.

kid dishes in a drawer

our favorite sippy cups / plastic utensils / bibs / snack cups

Even if you don’t have a deep drawer, the same concept can apply to cabinets.  All kid items can go in a bin and then be placed on a shelf that is easily accessed.  

Stack plates and cups vertically

If you need to maximize space in a small kitchen, vertical stacking can help.  Just like with organizing baking pans and food storage containers, if you stack and flip vertically you can fit a lot more in a drawer.  

Plates can be flipped on their side and stored in a smaller bin to keep them vertical.  This is especially helpful if you have different types of plates, like divided and regular.

For sippy cups that can stack, like our Take n’ Toss cups, I like to separate the lids from the bases and store them in small dividers.  This makes it easy to grab a cup and a lid and know they will work together.

Ikea bins organizing kid dishes

divided plates / blue plates / miracle 360 cups / waterbottles

For cups that can’t be stacked, like our Miracle 360 cups and Thermoflask waterbottles, I find it helpful to keep the lids with the cup.

Let’s take a look at this drawer in action:

@smallishhome

Organizing kid dishes! #kitchenorganization #kitchenstorage #organizingtips #kidsorganization #homeorganization #parentsoftiktok

♬ ABC – Jackson 5

Remember, you don’t have to put up with unorganized cabinets overflowing with plastic kid dishes.  The trick is to minimize your collection to what you actually use and vertically organize what you keep.

This is guaranteed to bring a new sense of calm to something chaotic.  And couldn’t we all use a bit of that in our lives?

Did you know I share my videos on Tiktok and Instagram?  Come check them out and give me a follow if you’d like to see more.

Happy organizing, friends!

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Hi! I’m Lisa and I dig smallish homes. I believe they bring families together and provide a constraint on the accumulation of stuff. I’m obsessed with rethinking room design and storage solutions in order to live the life I want in the house I have. I hope you stay a while!
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Only three more sleeps until Christmas and I’ve Only three more sleeps until Christmas and I’ve literally just crossed the last thing off my to-do list.  All the planning, shopping and prep work is done and I’m ready to enjoy the next few days.  If you need me I’ll be eating a gingerbread cookie (or two) while drinking cup after cup of coffee.

Before I go, I wanted to share a few pictures of our minimalist holiday decorations in our living room/ dining room. 

This year we tried something different and cut our own mountain grown tree and I’m LOVING the change.  Even though it’s real skinny, it has the nicest placement of branches and is truly a beautiful tree.

The delicate branches can’t hold heavy lights or ornaments, so I reused the white crocheted snowflakes  and matte black balls from last year, along with a single string of copper LED lights.  So simple, so easy, but still beautiful.  Just what I needed this year.

Wishing you a very happy holiday!
The crows are back! The best decorations are the o The crows are back!
The best decorations are the ones you are  EXCITED to see each year. The ones you instantly pull from the box and start placing in your home. They don’t need to be fancy, or new each year. They just need to bring joy to you and your family. ✨❤️
Surprise! We bought a new home!  And sold our ho Surprise!

We bought a new home!  And sold our home!  It’s been a whirlwind and I’m exhausted.

We are incredibly lucky to have bought our neighbor’s home FSBO.  It’s larger than our current home by ~700 square feet and is a split entry home with most of the living space upstairs and a bonus family room/bedroom in the basement.  

While the rooms (and closets!) are still small, there are more of them.  There will be room for office space for both my husband and myself, a bit more storage, and even a laundry room/mudroom (woo hoo! No more garage laundry for me!)

So what do you think? Do I need to change my name from smallishhome to sortofmidsizehome?  No matter what, I’ll continue to share how I maximize storage in small spaces, because, well, that’s my life and my passion!  

Be sure to check out my stories for a walk through of the new house.  Don’t miss the avocado green tub and original 1960’s kitchen cabinets. So many projects ahead of us!
Hey there! It’s been a while! I’ve had a lot Hey there! It’s been a while!

I’ve had a lot on my plate personally these last few weeks and have had to drop all social media as a way to stay sane and focused on the path ahead.  I love this community, but I just couldn’t give it the time it deserved, so I took a break.  Hopefully you understand. 

I’m trying to ramp back up but could use your help.  What spaces are you having trouble organizing?  What kind of videos would you like to see?  I appreciate each and every one of you and love hearing your suggestions.  It’s what keeps me going when I start to feel stuck!

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Only three more sleeps until Christmas and I’ve Only three more sleeps until Christmas and I’ve literally just crossed the last thing off my to-do list.  All the planning, shopping and prep work is done and I’m ready to enjoy the next few days.  If you need me I’ll be eating a gingerbread cookie (or two) while drinking cup after cup of coffee.

Before I go, I wanted to share a few pictures of our minimalist holiday decorations in our living room/ dining room. 

This year we tried something different and cut our own mountain grown tree and I’m LOVING the change.  Even though it’s real skinny, it has the nicest placement of branches and is truly a beautiful tree.

The delicate branches can’t hold heavy lights or ornaments, so I reused the white crocheted snowflakes  and matte black balls from last year, along with a single string of copper LED lights.  So simple, so easy, but still beautiful.  Just what I needed this year.

Wishing you a very happy holiday!
The crows are back! The best decorations are the o The crows are back!
The best decorations are the ones you are  EXCITED to see each year. The ones you instantly pull from the box and start placing in your home. They don’t need to be fancy, or new each year. They just need to bring joy to you and your family. ✨❤️
Surprise! We bought a new home!  And sold our ho Surprise!

We bought a new home!  And sold our home!  It’s been a whirlwind and I’m exhausted.

We are incredibly lucky to have bought our neighbor’s home FSBO.  It’s larger than our current home by ~700 square feet and is a split entry home with most of the living space upstairs and a bonus family room/bedroom in the basement.  

While the rooms (and closets!) are still small, there are more of them.  There will be room for office space for both my husband and myself, a bit more storage, and even a laundry room/mudroom (woo hoo! No more garage laundry for me!)

So what do you think? Do I need to change my name from smallishhome to sortofmidsizehome?  No matter what, I’ll continue to share how I maximize storage in small spaces, because, well, that’s my life and my passion!  

Be sure to check out my stories for a walk through of the new house.  Don’t miss the avocado green tub and original 1960’s kitchen cabinets. So many projects ahead of us!
Hey there! It’s been a while! I’ve had a lot Hey there! It’s been a while!

I’ve had a lot on my plate personally these last few weeks and have had to drop all social media as a way to stay sane and focused on the path ahead.  I love this community, but I just couldn’t give it the time it deserved, so I took a break.  Hopefully you understand. 

I’m trying to ramp back up but could use your help.  What spaces are you having trouble organizing?  What kind of videos would you like to see?  I appreciate each and every one of you and love hearing your suggestions.  It’s what keeps me going when I start to feel stuck!
⁣I woke up today and saw it - 10K. I’m in sho ⁣I woke up today and saw it - 10K.  I’m in shock. ⠀
⠀
I’m so grateful for each and every one of you who chose to follow my account and watch me organize my smallish home. ⠀
⠀
My goal has always been to share my love of organization and design - while hopefully inspiring others to show their own home some love. ⠀
⠀
No matter how small or large your space may be, I hope you are able to walk away with a few ideas of ways to maximize the space you have.⠀
⠀
In the meantime, I’ll keep working space by space in my own home, adding functionality and order that fits the needs of my family and the space that I have.⠀
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I’d love to know what you would all like to see more of - let me know in the comments what you’d like to see me tackle next!⠀
⠀
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#10k #10kfollowers #organizationmotivation #motivation #simplifylife #simplify #organizedmom #organizing #homeorganization #declutter #diyorganizer #diyorganization #smallhomeliving #getorganized #stayorganized #letsgetorganized  #tidyhome #mysmallishhome #lessismore
⁣It’s a rainy Monday here and all I want to do ⁣It’s a rainy Monday here and all I want to do is drink mugs of hot tea nonstop.  But tea can be a tricky item to store!⠀
⠀
When it’s in the box, you never know how many tea bags are left.  But take them out of the box and they slide all over the shelf!⠀
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Using some sort of small, clear, lidded container keeps the bags together and helps you see when it’s time to restock.  Bonus points if the containers can stack, allowing you to store multiple varieties in a small space. ⠀
⠀
These containers are from Target, but any food storage container will work. Even the cheap plastic food storage containers from the grocery store. ⠀
⠀
What is your favorite variety of tea?  I’m a big fan of English Breakfast if I need a little caffeine boost (which I’m definitely in need of today!)
⁣Do you ever have weeks where you just can’t g ⁣Do you ever have weeks where you just can’t get back on track?⠀
⠀
Where you feel tired, and all you see is work that needs to get done?⠀
⠀
It can be hard to figure out where to start.⠀
⠀
I’ve been struggling to get myself moving the last few weeks after experiencing a family emergency that knocked the wind out of my sails. ⠀
⠀
But I know it’s time to turn things around.  Here are my go-to steps for getting back on track: ⠀
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1️⃣Get those machines working for me.  I always get the dishwasher running and then start a load of laundry.  It makes me feel productive and gets the momentum going for the rest of the day.⠀
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2️⃣Grab a pen and a notebook, plus either a glass of water or a cup of coffee, and sit down.⠀
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3️⃣Take everything in my head and write it down.  Everything that needs to be done, everything that needs to be bought, every card that needs to be written, bills that need to be paid, people I need to message back.  I write it down so it isn’t in my head.⠀
 ⠀
4️⃣Circle one thing that I can do now and finish.  Maybe I only have 10 minutes, but in those 10 minutes I can pick up a room, put away laundry, or go through a stack of paperwork.  Anything that will make progress on my list but Isn’t too big of a project that I can’t finish.⠀
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5️⃣Once I’ve done just one thing, I try to reward myself with some sort of self care.  It can be anything that makes me feel good - going for a walk, stopping in at a store, looking at a magazine, or maybe just scrolling on my phone for a few minutes.⠀
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6️⃣Then, I look back at my list and prioritize in order of importance.  I’ll choose the task with the highest priority and start working down. ⠀
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While this process works, it sometimes takes a few days.  I just keep repeating it over and over until things start clicking again. ⠀
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Getting outside helps too.  Fresh air and movement seem to do a world of good.⠀
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How have you been feeling lately?  Are you crushing that to-do list or are you feeling like you need like 3 clones of yourself in order to get it all done?⠀
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Photo by @callimechemphotography

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