And why would we need to keep all that s***, taking up valuable space?
My husband had that look. I know I better have a very good explanation ready, to ease his punctual and organized mind. I’m not a hoarder, but in my husband’s eyes, I will quickly become one if he’d let me. Maybe he’s even right about that.
Anyway, the *** he’s referring to is a series of up til now, 7 big powdered toddler-milk tins. Number 8 will soon be added to the collection. They are, indeed, big. And noisy. But, I keep them for a reason. For a number of reasons actually.
1. They make a great musical instrument. If your children are small enough not to be able to open the lids, you can put beans or rice or lentils in it. Shaking gives an interesting sound then. They are great drums. Played with the hands, or with wooden spoons, or with anything that can be found. Which is a lot. Also, banging on the lid, the bottom, or the side gives a different result. So if your kid likes noise, and what child doesn’t, this alone is a great reason to keep them. It doesn’t explain why I keep all of them though…
2. They are the best building blocks. Really. Little Boy doesn’t care too much about building towers, but when our friends came over, their little girl has played with them non stop for about 50 minutes, and was very sad when she had to go home again. The tins are big enough to make it doable for little hands, they’re light weight, they make noise (did I mention that already?), and they are easily stackable because the plastic lids work as a kind of anti-slip. You could build towers with them, but they make great walls too. I think when my husband saw her playing quietly and happily with my tins, he decided they could say. Thank you again, little girl!
3. I guess you can use them for (color) sorting games by cutting a hole in the lid and painting the tins in different colors. Just be careful, because on the inside of the tin, there is a little rather sharp edge where the tin foil has rested on.
4. A bit in the same way, the could easily become piggy banks once your child can grasp the idea of saving money. If you have a few, you could make piggy banks for different purposes. I think the tins are very fun objects to decorate and turn the piggy banks into the most lovely creatures.
5. If you manage to leave the lids undamaged until they’re older, I think these tins will do a great job collecting those tiny bits and pieces of Lego for example. Or beads, or marbles, or little figurines. You see? I actually have a really organized mindset. It’s just real-life situations that try to prove differently. Tsk.
6. And somewhere on the world wide web I came across a picture of walking blocks. I’m sure those tins will makes some very lovely ones (again, decorating fun!). Don’t forget to make the lidded side the one you’re walking on. Less chance to slip and way less noisy.
Can you think of other child-friendly uses for those tins? I would be glad to discover them in the comments!
Songs of Home 
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