The Christmas Aftermath

I always start out the Christmas season with lots of enthusiasm... putting up the tree the day after Thanksgiving, decking my halls, planning my contributions to gatherings, wrapping the gifts just so, grinning like a fool in the middle of a department store when they play a holiday song from my high school band days. Then about a week before Christmas, I'm just over it. When the hubby brings home a gift that needs wrapping, I'm slinging gift bags around and wondering if one that's only a little birthday-oriented would pass, flipping the radio off because I CANNOT handle one more pop tartlet's histrionic wailing (Really, Christina Aguilera? You're THAT passionate about everybody being home for Christmas?), and avoiding most public spaces because I think we all know that there's a definite point at which pleasantly contagious holiday cheer turns to something akin to road rage.

So now that Christmas celebrations are over, I'm ready to move on with life.

But thanks to our very generous family (and I really am grateful - do NOT read any sarcasm into that), we have a lot. A LOT. of new toys. The facts:

1. Most of these toys have to make it back our apartment 1,400 miles away... somehow. The easy part will be stuffing some of them into the suitcases. The frugalista part of me is pained by the idea of shipping some of them, but that will have to be part of the toy evacuation plan as well. And then we'll leave some behind that they're a little too young for that can be brought in small installments with visiting family.

2. We're not set up for this many toys at the apartment. Some organization is in order. I'm now in the market for the cheapest, easiest-to-stuff-in-a-moving-van toy storage system.

3. I think it might be the Itso system at Target. It's a cube system with available fabric bins and doors, which is essential since I like to hide mess. I know that the toys will be in a big pile, but I don't want to have to LOOK at the pile.

Do you have a genius toy organization system or know of one? It would please me so.