52 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • NOVEMBER 2018
INSIDE JOB
A SPACE THAT KIDS AND
BEFORE
BEFORE
AFTER
AFTER
BY RUTH BASHINSKY
Baby, it’s cold outside. Well, not
quite as cold as it will be getting —
but, the outdoor playdates or hangouts
for the kids are slowly moving
into the house with the start of cooler
temperatures and unpredictable
weather.
For parents, that means finding a
space in the home, free from adult
intervention for the older kids, that
will be a safe, comfortable and fun
environment for your toddler, tween
or teen.
With hopes to inspire and keep
your kids moving and off the video
games, the cell phone, and the television
remote control, we found
two creative, kid-friendly and
technology-free spaces that will
keep your child active and occupied
for hours.
WHERE THE WILD
THINGS ARE
This family in Roslyn wanted a playroom
that was safe for their growing
family. The old playroom located in
the attic was messy and disorganized
with toys strewn about and not safe for
a toddler and infant to roam.
This all changed when they
learned about The Toy Tamer, aka
Evelyn Cucchiara. In only one day,
Cucchiara and her husband Joe
transformed the 1,200-square-foot
attic into an orderly space.
Cucchiara, a mother of three, drew
upon her years of experience owning
a family daycare and a children’s art
studio. She says the concept behind
Toy Tamer is having the right tools
to help frustrated parents get back
control by creating a customized plan
that teaches behavior modification
that works.
Her system is called the SANE
Organizing Process.
• “S” stands for sort and get rid of
anything that children have outgrown
or broken.
• “A” stands for arranging the right
shelving and the right size bins.
• “N” stands for name, which is a picture
label placed on every shelving
cubby.
• “E” stands for getting everyone
involved, which means that when
the bell rings, it’s cleanup time.
Her concept, she explains, is not
color coordinated, but works off of
a child’s innate sense of immediate
gratification.
“While a clean playroom is wonderful,
that’s just the icing on the
cake,” says Cucchiara. “The real benefit
is that your kids learn executive
functioning skills that let them take
over the playroom cleanup, so that as
they get older they can organize and
run their own lives. It’s vital that kids
learn how to be organized at a young
age so that these skills travel with
them throughout life.
“Cleaning up for them now only
results in dependent young adults in
the future,” she continues.
Now, if Cucchiara could only help
adults.
There were five
dormer windows in
the space. Each dormer
became a separate play
area: a zoo area, a reading
area, a doll area and a
pretend play area.
The leopard
carpeting on the
trim in the painting of
the interior was done
before the project
began.
A gate was installed
in front of the open
staircase that was a
danger zone.
Toy Tamer used 18
storage cubbies from
IKEA, 66 bins, a table,
paper cabinets, chairs
and car racks.