When I was a little kid, I loved my toy bin almost as much as I loved my individual toys. It was a toy chest shaped like an elephant, made out of bright colorful plastic, and with a whimsical expression on his face. Sometimes, after I put my toys away, I would sit there and talk to the toy bin as if it was alive. I admit I was a little bit of a weird kid, but I even named it. I think it was called Daffy or Duffy ? something like that. Anyway, I treasured it a great deal.
That is why I was so unhappy when my mother made me get rid of it. She had a reason, but at the time I wasn't willing to listen. One of the biggest reasons was that the toy bin was just simply too small for my toys. I was not a little kid anymore, and I had amassed quite a collection. My toy bears had been replaced by radio controlled cars, and I was getting too old or for such a little kid's toy chest.
Another reason, however, was that I was breaking my toys. At first, my mom couldn't figure out why. She thought maybe I had issues with aggression, but I seemed perfectly happy. It turns out that I just needed a toy organizer. Toy bins are fine for some kids, but for others they aren't the right solution. You see, if you are pretty scattered and don't know how to put things away properly, toy bins are not your friend. Once you get older, and not all your toys are soft and unbreakable, a toy organizer is a much better solution. That way, instead of throwing things in, you have to put them neatly on the shelf.
I was not a big fan of toy organizers, but my mom did her best to make the transition easy. Instead of getting a plain, functional one, she got one that looked like a clown. Essentially, it was a dresser with a clown face painted on it and molded animals on top. Although I pouted a little bit, I have to admit that I started to like it almost immediately. Not only was it bigger and better than my old toy bin, but it also showed that I was growing up. It was good to be acknowledged as a "big boy", and I soon decided to grow up and get used to the new storage bin for toys.
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