Tips & Tricks Thursday: "Free Toys"

 Welcome back to Tips & Tricks Thursday! This little corner of the blog is devoted to those simple ideas that make life better or easier in some way. :)

The Tip: Don't recycle those empty containers, just yet.

Kiddo received a play kitchen last Christmas and he loves it. He was also given some play food, but from the beginning, he's been much more interested in pretending to pour, shake, stir, and eat than to play with pretend food. His favorite kitchen toys, other than his dishes and utensils, are old containers. He loves to pretend to cook with coffee creamer bottles, parmesan cheese containers, spice jars, ketchup bottles, etc. They also promote motor skills, as half the fun is taking off the lids. As you can see, he also likes stacking them. Who needs blocks?

(Just kidding. We love blocks! Kiddo has three different kinds and he uses all of them.)

This picture was taken over the summer, and Kiddo is still using many of the same containers today. I love watching him use his imagination as he pretends to scoop and pour. His latest use for the containers is to make a "mixer" by stacking two bottles on top of each other. Then he makes a loud noise that sounds a little like a blender as he mixes his imaginary food. It just goes to show me that we don't need a whole lot of fancy toys for him to enjoy his play time. :)

Why I love it:

These "toys" didn't cost me anything, they're played with every day, and they can be easily thrown in the recycling bin when they are no longer being used. Total win!  

I love when I can take something we already have (that would otherwise be thrown out) and make it useful! It confirms to me once again that we don't need to buy a lot of fancy or expensive things to enjoy life. :-)

Have a tip, trick, or simple helpful hint to share? You are more than welcome to submit your idea here. I'd love to include it in a future post! 

I'm linking up at Tater Tots and Jello, Six Sisters' Stuff, A Bowl Full of Lemons, Tip Junkie, and Just a Girl and Her Blog