Home Essentials for Keeping Order in Child-Filled Chaos

You've lived your life in a state of child-free cleanliness for much of your life. You knew the day would eventually come when a miniature, DNA-mixed version of yourself, and your significant other, would enter this world and set your life into disorder. It may seem like a home strewn with toys, clothes, partially ingested food and mud is the inevitable outcome of life as a parent - but it doesn't have to be that way. Here are a few home essentials for any modern parent looking to keep their home from descending into child-filled chaos - while still keeping the child(ren).

1) Toy chest. A plastic, rectangular savior for any home with a plethora of toys and not much space to keep them all. Place a toy chest in the designated play area (you've got one of those, right?) and sternly encourage your little monsters to return their used toys to the bin when finished. The beauty of the toy chest, beyond keeping your home organized and strewn-toy free, is that these simple boxes come in a variety of shapes and sizes, not just florescent blues and reds with princesses and mutated turtles on the side. Plenty of toy chests don't look like toy chests, which is perfect for those looking to maintain a certain decor. A perfect example of this is like the full width pull out drawer incorporated into the bunk bed at the right. That's a lot of storage!

2) Bunk beds. You've successfully raised your children to the age where they can finally manage to sleep in a room, and bed, of their own. The downside? You've only got one room for them. What may look like a design and space nightmare, has a quite simple solution. Today's modern bunk doesn't carry the same sort of "awww, mom" stigma that they one did. There are fun, modern, and most important of all, space saving, bunk beds for all room sizes and budgets. It will buy you some time to figure out a solution for when they are teenagers, knocking down your door for their own room.

3) White board organizer. This is a popular trend for modern parents today - and for good reason. Teaching your children the importance of staying organized with not just their possessions, but with their time, can't be stressed early enough. A white board where the day's activities, meals, etc. are spelled out in a way that children can understand will go a long way toward minimizing surprises (and surprise tantrums). Let the children have some input in areas you feel they are ready, slowly giving them experience in planning out their own lives. Size and location of the white board is up to you, but a central location is key, making the board an important part of the home.