Do You Put Daycare Away?

[Symphony]

At the end of the day or for the weekend?

I have a friend who puts away all the pack n plays and all the toys every night (into a storage closet) so she can have her house back. That sounds really nice, but a lot of work! I take down the beds on Friday afternoon and get them back out on Monday mornings. I also clean up toys at the end of the day, but with 4 kids of my own they are never all put away.

What do all of you do? Daily? Weekly? Vacations? Never? Just curious!

[AnythingsPossible]

Daily I put playpens away because I don't want them taking up space in my living room. All toys are shelved or hidden away in corners in the evening. If i have any extended time off, I cover the toy shelf with tablecloth, place a lamp on it and pretend there aren't toys under it! I try to de-daycare as much as I can without it being to much of a hassle. Definitely don't like having the playpens out though!

[daycare]

At the end of the day or for the weekend?

I have a friend who puts away all the pack n plays and all the toys every night (into a storage closet) so she can have her house back. That sounds really nice, but a lot of work! I take down the beds on Friday afternoon and get them back out on Monday mornings. I also clean up toys at the end of the day, but with 4 kids of my own they are never all put away.

What do all of you do? Daily? Weekly? Vacations? Never? Just curious!

I have a dedicated room only for DC so this would not apply to me. However, there is a small table in my eatimng area that the kids use for meals and I do put this away on Fridays so that my family can relax and eat in the dining area.

that does sound like a lot of work..

[lil angels]

I put away all of the things like pnp, toys and booster seats that are in my living area but I also have a daycare room that things stay in. The things in my living area get put away normally on weekends or if we have company coming.

[SilverSabre25]

In a way, I do put daycare away because naps happen in a dedicated room to which I can just close the door, and the playroom is my lower level and I don't have to go down there if I don't want to.

I don't use highchairs (take up too much space) and can take the booster seats off the kitchen chairs and stash them in a closet if I need to.

It is nice, feeling like I'm truly "off the clock" when I don't have to look at anything daycare related in the evening or on the weekend!

[SandeeAR]

Kids all sleep in an extra bedroom, except one and it is in my bedroom. I leave them all up. Put the saucers in the sleep room. If we are having company, I put the booster seats in that room too. If no company, I just leave them, as we only need two chairs.

Toys are all lined along one wall in the den and in from of the big tv. They are in black storage boxes/file boxes, not the rubbermaid stuff, so they look a little nicer. They just stay put. If we were having a party or just company other than close friends, I could move the toys all to the extra room in about 10 min.

I look at it this way. Daycare is 5 days a week, time off 2. I want the time off, not the time spent making it look like I don't have a daycare!::

[cillybean83]

i have my own 15 month old so i leave everything out...once he is too old for the pnp and stuff, it will definately get put away friday night!

[youretooloud]

I do every day.

I have a large playroom full of toys, art and equipment. I even have climbers in here. That room is where I store everything at night. It has double doors so I can close it off when I want to.

But, I also use both the family room and kitchen. So, every day, I drag out the big table, a small table, a high chair and two small chairs to the kitchen. I put a tumbling mat, a tiny climber and a small trampoline in the living room. (or I'll put a large group toy in there.. like Duplos)

Every day at 4:00, I put it back. I park all the bikes on the side of the house, and put all the climbers and slide in the rocks.

Before nap time, I put up four pack n plays, and after nap, I take them down.

It's a hassle, but if I call it "cardio" it doesn't seem so bad.

[Zoe]

My living room and dining room span across into 3 open areas, and I've got a bay window section of the room that is reserved for daycare toys. They get straightened up at the end of every day and even though I see them, they are not in an area I need when I'm "off the clock" so seeing it doesn't bother me. Plus my own children play with the toys whenever, I just make them clean it up when they're done.

My nap room is in our guest room. There isn't much need for us to use that room when daycare is closed, so again, it doesn't bother me seeing the crib and nap mats. Eventually, my husband wants to turn it into an office, so then I guess I'll pack up any portable cribs/pack n plays at that point.

I wonder if my point of view will change when my own kids are older and don't play with those kinds of toys anymore.

[heyhun77]

I have curtains on all my daycare shelves in the main part of our house so that I don't have to see all the toys at night and on the weekends. I fold up my preschool table and stack the chairs along the wall in the dining room so they aren't out in the way and I put the pack and play away after nap each day. You get into a routine after a few days to a week and then it's just part of your daily tasks.

It IS nice to have your house back at the end of the day. I'm doing a little more to disguise the daycare things during personal time. I have a sofa table of sorts behind my couch (actually a shelf) where I can store things and I just changed entertainment centers which eliminated some of the shelves where I was putting toys out to play so now I can watch tv without looking at toys. Of course we're watching tv less now because we cancelled cable (a whole other story).

[sahm2three]

At the end of the day or for the weekend?

I have a friend who puts away all the pack n plays and all the toys every night (into a storage closet) so she can have her house back. That sounds really nice, but a lot of work! I take down the beds on Friday afternoon and get them back out on Monday mornings. I also clean up toys at the end of the day, but with 4 kids of my own they are never all put away.

What do all of you do? Daily? Weekly? Vacations? Never? Just curious!

I put 3 of my 4 pack n plays away each night. Actually, it is a chore I have given my daughter who is 11. One pnp I keep up all week, which stinks, but it is one with the bassinet and changing table and it is a pain to put away. I was just thinking this morning that I might start just putting it away each night as well. It messes with my psychy to have daycare up all the time. I feel like I don't get a break. The daycare kids put all the toys away before they leave for the day, but the toddler stuff gets left in my living room all the time. I bought nice wicker baskets to put them in so it doesn't look as bad. I wish I had a main floor storage room or big closet that I could put everything away everyday, because I would take the time so that I could feel like I have MY space back each evening. I wish I could have a dedicated daycare area, but I don't.

[Sunny Day]

I have a spare room where the dck sleep and a walk out basement for my daycare room--most times, the doors just get shut and I walk away for the night/weekend. I have restaurant style highchairs that match my kitchen, so I just stack them in the corner and they're hardly noticeable. I also hate to admit it, but since I've been pregnant I don't even clean up the toy mess every night--its getting harder and harder to bend down and pick up all those toys and the whole room is destroyed within 10 minutes of the kiddies coming back anyway! ::

[Symphony]

I put 3 of my 4 pack n plays away each night. Actually, it is a chore I have given my daughter who is 11. One pnp I keep up all week, which stinks, but it is one with the bassinet and changing table and it is a pain to put away. I was just thinking this morning that I might start just putting it away each night as well. It messes with my psychy to have daycare up all the time. I feel like I don't get a break. The daycare kids put all the toys away before they leave for the day, but the toddler stuff gets left in my living room all the time. I bought nice wicker baskets to put them in so it doesn't look as bad. I wish I had a main floor storage room or big closet that I could put everything away everyday, because I would take the time so that I could feel like I have MY space back each evening. I wish I could have a dedicated daycare area, but I don't.

This is how I feel too, like I can't completely relax until it is all out of sight. I have a huge storage area, but I have to go down stairs to get to it and the more pregnant I get, the harder it is to go up and down them carrying pnp's!

[Blackcat31]

Nope, I close the door and drive home and do not set eyes on my childcare spaceagain until Monday morning!!! LOL!!


Sorry, this thread does not apply to me since I have a completely separate building that is 7 miles from my home.

[blueclouds29]

yes, i do. Most of the time on the weekends. When the last child leaves on friday i put away all the baby stuff! Makes for more room in our living room!