Puzzle Storage

For awhile now, I have been enjoying the Works for me Wednesday blog bazaar hosted at "Rocks in my Dryer" and this week I decided to join in the fun.

My WFMW tip is about puzzle storage. My kids have enjoyed puzzles in the past, but the puzzle boxes almost made me give up on puzzles. The cardboard boxes they come in always fall apart, take up so much room in our closet, and lend themselves to losing pieces. Once pieces are missing, my kids lose interest.

Here are two new solutions that are REALLY working for us. The girls have enjoyed their puzzles so much lately, and we haven't lost a single piece in so long. The greatest benefit for me is the reduced space it takes up to store them.

The first solution was using a plastic pencil box in place of the cardboard box the puzzle came in.

I cut the picture from the old puzzle box and put it and the pieces in the pencil box. On the top of the pencil case, I use a Sharpie pen to write the name of the puzzle and how many pieces are inside. The girls like having the cardboard "card" to look at as they are putting the puzzle together. The pencil case is sturdy and smaller/sleeker than storing the old cardboard boxes.

I only had one pencil box in the house, so I decided to use Ziploc bags as temporary storage. The thing is they are working so well, I'm not sure I need to invest in the pencil cases. I just do the same thing: Cut out the picture from the original box and put it along with the pieces inside the Ziploc. I label the bags with the Sharpie pen and voila.....Puzzle storage that takes up even less space in my closet. It's easy for the kids to grab and easy for them to pick up. We're all happy and doing puzzles again. : )