Wonderful Wednesday...Job Jar & Toy "Jail"

I wish I knew where I first saw this idea. I thought for sure I had marked it, but I just can't seem to find it anywhere. How in the world could I have found a great idea online and it is not on one of my Pinterest boards? I mean really. How is that possible? So if you are the brilliant creator of this idea...please, drop me a note so I can give you proper credit.

I found this great idea while surfing the web one day. The concept is simple: keep your children from leaving their things out all over the place. I don't know about you, but my kids don't leave things out anywhere. They are neat and tidy all the time. Yeah right! Obviously that is not true.

This has been a real problem at our house lately. It is literally driving me crazy. Something needed to be done. Just in time to save my sanity, I found the idea of a "Job Jar & Toy Jail."

The idea is simple, if the kids don't pick up their stuff when they should have...the stuff goes into "Toy Jail." It is a holding cell for toys. No nagging. No need to be constantly repeating myself. What becomes your "Toy Jail" depends on what works best for your family. The idea I saw online was a plastic storage bin. I am planning on using a storage bin that slides under my bed.

What do you do with the items in the "Toy Jail?" Your child can earn them back. This is where the "Job Jar" comes into play. The "Job Jar" is simply a jar with a bunch of jobs to choose from inside. I thought of jobs the kids could do around the house and printed them onto some cute paper.


Next I cut the jobs into strips.


When one of the kids wants to earn something back, they randomly choose a paper from the "Job Jar." When they have completed the job, they have earned their item back. I think this is a great way to teach them responsibility and even pride of ownership.


What I wasn't expecting was the excitement my kids had about choosing a job. I was trying to explain how this idea was going to work, and they wanted to choose a job to do...right then. I love it! If it weren't bedtime, I would have loved them to choose a job. We may use the Job Jar from time to time for a "quick fix" around the house.


I debated labeling the jar, but I didn't want to make it to "in your face." I want this to be a subtle reminder to do the right thing.


I really like how this looks with simple gray letters. The gray letters coordinate well with the paper I chose. I used my Cricut to cut them out of sticker paper. It would be easy to choose stickers or paint your words onto the jar.

It is funny how such a simple idea can bring so much hope for a more clutter free and peaceful home.