Today’s Large Family Organization tip comes from Sharon, mom of 6.
My tip is for cutting down on the number of cups the children use each day. Instead of giving each child a certain color, they each have a spot for their cup.
The cups are lined up on the edge of one of the kitchen counters, and we’ve written their names in pencil (it does smudge, but cleans up easily with a magic eraser when we want to re-write them).
After meals, they return their cups to their spots. One of my more independent children was doing this on her own at the age of 2.
This really cuts down on the number of cups I have to wash each day, and cuts down on the number of times they climb on the counters to reach the cabinet to get out a clean cup!
Amy here…
Can I get an AMEN! This is one of those things EVERY large household deals with. I have a friend who uses different colored electrical tape to mark the glasses and the spot. Since we rent, I’m not able to do this, but I wonder if there is a way to do something similar. Suggestions?
Now, it’s your turn!
Jacinthe says
My suggestion is to have a tray dedicated for the cups with the colored tape on the tray. This is similar to what I do.
I keep the tray on the table for meals and on the kitchen counter after the meals.
Amy says
That’s a great idea!
Suanna says
I have my kids cups labeled in the bathroom. I reuse the kid cups we get at restaurants/dollar section and write on them with a sharpie. For cups downstairs I encourage them to keep their water cup on the table at their spot (of course we empty it if we are working at the table to avoid spills). Then at the end of the day we put them in the dishwasher. The youngest ones have a sippy cup, rather than a regular cup and I’ll write their name on the lid if needed.
cheri says
we do the exact same thing, and i also have 6 :)…BUT…we cut a piece of paper the size of the side of the counter and put their name in pretty lettering,and decorate it and let the ones who wants to do their own do that, then i use packaging tape and tape over it folding over the 1/4 in left on to the top and bottom of the counter…stays for at least a year…unless little hand pick at the tape…run the tape the whole length of the cut out names, less picking, if you just tape over each name, lots of picking…trust me on this been doing it for 10 years :)…another way is if you put a piece of scotch tape on the counter you can use a sharpie right on the tape…this comes off too..but it works…LOVE LOVE tips from big mama’s…(big family mama’s:) enjoy your blessings today 🙂
Suzanne Gose says
I’ve tried water bottles, keeping them on the lazy susan on the table (we need it for school) and all kids of other things I don’t remember right now. Those small ones are now too small for my kiddos, but I”m going to try this idea, … We have black granite counter tops, so I think I’ll use masking tape to mark the spots… Until they get the hang of it. I’m looking forward to it – of course my 8 and 9 year old boys do the dish washing, so THEY’LL be the grateful ones! 😉
THANKS!
kristen says
Have different colored coasters for the cups, one for each child. I really like the tray idea, also!
Zanre5 says
This is brilliant! I babysit 2 more boys and every night at dinner the kids cleaning the table for dinner can’t figure out which are still good cups and which are the extras. I will have to see if there is a way to make this work for me.
Christy dR says
Actually, you could do it with pencil as she mentioned because you can clean it off before you leave. It does depend on the surface of the counter, but the magic eraser is amazing and can get even permant marker off..most of the time. 🙂 I guess it does make a difference what your rental agreement says, we aren’t allowed to make permanent changes without permission.
Holly says
You could also try a small piece of painters tape with each kid’s name written on it to mark each spot. It’s inexpensive, comes in a big roll, and should peel right off without leaving any mark or residue. =-)
Ginger says
We have a spot for all the cups, but each child has their own cup. Everyone has a lidded cup and they’re all different. Since they wash their own dishes, it does them no good to put their cup in the sink before they’re ready for it to be washed. We load them all in the dishwasher every night and run the dishwasher. The dishwasher gets emptied every morning before breakfast.
Carrie says
The tray idea is good… also, the coaster idea, but you could have the kids’ names on the coasters, or do their pictures for the littles, and laminate the coaster so the picture doesn’t get ruined. You could always have coasters on the tray (maybe glued on or something). Then that tray is ALWAYS reserved for cups, and you don’t risk having other stuff put on it.
In our house, the only one that really uses their cup for more than one meal in a row is the toddler, and sometimes dad or a big kid.
Amy says
Love all these ideas!
Su@TheIntentionalHomes says
I have a water bottle for each of my 5 kids. But when they are drinking something other than water, we use cups. I have a placemat that has these big dots on it (from Target). In each dot, I have written a kids name. This is where they are to put their cup when they are not using it. So it is the same idea as the names on the kitchen counter…but perfect for renters or if you want to move the collection of cups. Just get a placemat with dots. . or if you can’t find one, you could get a plain placemat and sharpie some circle dots on it. Just found your blog. . thru Women Living Well. . .can’t wait to look around. And can’t wait to link up.
abba12 says
My in laws line them up in order of age, but their kids are older. Another blog, it might have been smockity frocks, has a placemat with big apples on it and each apple has a name written on it. The cups go on the placemat.
Amy says
Ooooo! I love the idea of a placemat!
Bekki says
I used to have cup bracelets when mine were younger. I used stretchy string and letter beads. Each morning I slipped one on their glass for the day. We also had a couple that said guest1, guest2, etc. Mine are older now and they just keep them in the same spot.
kristen says
Also, a fantastic idea I plan to use, from a fellow mom of many (she has 5 girls)…each child has her own “klean kanteen” that they take with them everywhere…soccer, field trips, and use at home of course. They use different cups for anything besides water. The klean kanteen cuts down on clutter, encourages more water drinking, and teaches responsibility. My littles are getting their own for Christmas (they’re a little pricey). 🙂 I’m loving all these tips & ideas!
Wendy Gunn says
We have tried blank garage-sale style stickers, and masking tape with initials or name. Different colored cups in small size for littlest, and different colored in one size up for bigger also works. We drink only water at meals. Their own water bottle (which they pick out) for older children also works ok. Nothing works perfectly:) (Except semi-expensive plastic cups and a magic marker–I use this method when we have groups in our home.)
Amy says
Yeah, we do the magic marker thing too when we have groups in our home. We’re trying something right now based on some of the ideas here and something a friend of mine does…I’ll “unveil” it when I know it actually works for us! lol
Jen says
The cup situation can be crazy! A couple of years ago I ordered each of my six kids a smallish mug with their name on it. It has worked out pretty well, except a couple have been broken, but they have each found another cup to claim as “theirs”.
Amy says
That’s a fun idea!
Maureen says
Duh! Why did I not think of any of these ideas? This is the biggest pet-peeve of mine—washing so many cups each day! I will be implementing one or two of these suggestions.
Amy says
I agree! Even when I put away all but 8 glasses, they still manage to find more somewhere! lol
Megan says
I am so excited about this! I am following along!
Dawn says
We use the six pack of different colored Ikea cups for $1.99. We found a similar package at another store that has slightly different colors and stripes running the opposite way that we use for guest children. No matter where the cups are, we know who they belong to.
Amy says
Dawn, do you remember when I had you purchase plastic cups for me and send them to me? I only ordered 4 different colors…my mistake! lol
Dawn says
My memory is terrible, but Ikea’s pack has six colors in it. Dark blue, light blue, green, yellow, orange, and pink.
Amy says
You know what, now that I think about it, I only had you pick up plates and bowls. Can’t remember how many colors there were, but several of the kids eventually outgrew the size of plates. Sorry…my memory obviously isn’t all that great either!
Sidetracked Sarah says
We used to do that. For some reason, they all quit doing it and I quit enforcing!! I’ve been thinking about changing it up and painting chalkboard paint on glasses and labeling them each day with their names. I saw it on pinterest.
Connie, the daisyhead says
So funny! I just posted on my blog yesterday about our solution to the great cup problem. Great minds…
I linked up above…#6
Brandy C. says
We only have 2 children so far … but this is what we do in our home too. Both of our girls have a spot they keep their cup on the counter … that way no one is confused about which is their cup. The Birkey is on the same counter too … so they can fill their own cups with water {their preferred drink of choice}. Reduces number of “Can you refill my glass, Momma?” questions I get throughout the day AND they both love being able to get their own drinks lol
Sidetracked Sarah says
Adding mine in a little late! 🙂
Grainne says
Smockity frocks has a great idea for corraling cups in a rental – she has a placemat that lives on her counter with each picture on it labelled with one of her kids’ names – their designated cup spot.
Jenni says
Thanks to Amy and everyone else for the great ideas! We have a little family, yet the drinking cup issue haunts us as well. We now have a fresh “system” and fresh inspiration – so thank you again! 🙂
Madeline says
We have a milk bottle carrier for 6 tha tu haul water bottles up and down the stairs. We like a water bottle at night and first thing in the morning as we have a water routine. Ten sips upon waking before each meal and before bed. So we take up a little white wire carrier of six for water bottles.
We have one water bottle at home and one in back pack for school.
We have cups and yes the kids ask and I am such a culprit as well! Multiple glasses out per day. I don’t like the thought of keeping them out as we have such little space and Birkey is right next to sink so space is usually dirty dishes space. But I like the idea of a cup attached or near the filter. Also we keep a cup in the fridge water cooler insert area so that if anyone is really needing water it’s there. But I do get he question at most meals mom can you get me a cup of water?! And most of the time it’s from my oldest!!!! So I asked her before she sits down for dinner to get it herself.
We don’t really use a water bottle at the table. The kids prefer cups. And they do get them messy so I’d like to clean them after every use. But good idea to have a personalised cup to make autonomy and responsibility of it. I have some dishwasher safe stickers left over from school supplies and might add one or two to the cups so they can have one.