The Dust Has Settled

Finally. Three days after our big Christmas morning and I've begun to, slowly, sort through all the gifts the girls received. You see, they have three Christmases- One on Christmas Eve with my family (my parents, sister and her family, brother and his wife, my uncle and my grandmother), OUR Christmas on Christmas morning after Santa has visited the night before and another at my husband's parents' house later in the day. By the time we arrive home on Christmas night we're all just too beat to organize anything, throw away boxes/packaging or to even pick it all up off the floor!!! It's such an exhausting process. Rewarding and sooo much fun, but exhausting.

In the past few days we've combed through princess dolls, fairy dolls, building blocks, books, musical instruments, games, clothes, tents, pull-string dolls and stuffed animals. It's outrageous- they don't know what to play with since there's so much and I don't know where to put it all!

My goal (wow, that's an intimidating word!) is to get some of their old toys put away into our growing pile of "old toys" in our basement. The next step will be to get all the new things onto the toy shelves...I just don't know how to do it!
So...I'm looking for ideas. How do YOU organize your child(ren)'s toys? What containers? What kind of shelving? Drawers? Any, any, any ideas are welcome. The hurricane has passed, but the recovery MUST begin! :)