Fix It Box

Find It and Fix It

I don’t know about you, but I have limited time with three kids and a myriad of pets in our household. And something is always breaking.

The big ticket stuff (like when the kitchen sink pipe broke and flooded both the kitchen and the basement – on Mother’s Day no less) I let my husband handle. But that leaves me with all the toy and clothing repairs. I got tired of pulling out my sewing kit and stitching up stuff with holes only to discover five minutes after I finished that something else needed a button reattached.

Instead, I got smart – or lazy, depending on your perspective. I designated an empty disposable diaper box (Honest diapers have the cutest patterns!) and started chucking anything in there that needed repair but not urgently. From new batteries to a tree that fell off the wooden train station, any broken bits and pieces went straight to the box. When I had five or forty minutes without my kids pestering me (usually because they aren’t home), I dig out a few things that need similar repairs and go to work. Some things require glue, others need thread and scissors, and some require real creativity.

But no matter what they need, I can find the stuff and the pieces. It can take weeks if not months (in which case I often donate the toys or clothes if my kids don’t notice or care) for me to get around to it, but in the meantime, it all stays in one place. My kids know to check the box for missing items, and don’t gripe about the delay in fixing, either.