Summer brings sunshine, freedom, and the inevitable chorus of “I’m bored!” from children everywhere. As a mom and entrepreneur, I’ve discovered that preparation is the key to maintaining sanity during these months. Today, I’m sharing my three-bin system that has revolutionized how we handle boredom in our household.
The dreaded “I’m bored” statement often comes just hours into summer break, leaving parents scrambling for activities or reaching for screens as a quick fix. Instead of reactive parenting, this three-bin strategy creates a proactive approach that empowers children to manage their own boredom while giving parents precious moments of peace. The beauty of this system lies in its simplicity and effectiveness—three designated bins that serve different purposes and moods.
The first bin is the Boredom Buster Bin, filled with quick, low-prep activities that children can easily access when boredom strikes. Think coloring books, sticker pads, Mad Libs, pipe cleaners, and card games like Uno or Cover Your Assets. This bin serves as the first line of defense against boredom, offering immediate engagement without requiring parental setup or supervision. For younger children, water painting boards that reveal colors and then dry to be used again are perfect additions. You might also consider adding parent-child journals, which create meaningful connection opportunities while keeping little hands and minds occupied.
The second bin—arguably the most valuable for busy parents—is the Busy Box. This is your golden ticket when you need to take a work call, fold laundry, or simply breathe for a moment. Fill it with activities that promote quiet, independent play: puzzles, sensory bins, kinetic sand, lacing cards, or Legos. The secret to maintaining this bin’s effectiveness lies in rotation—switch out the contents weekly to preserve the novelty factor. Children are naturally drawn to “new” things, even when they’re simply rediscovering toys they haven’t seen for a while. This rotation system keeps the Busy Box fresh and engaging without requiring constant new purchases.
The third bin addresses children’s physical energy needs—the Backyard Fun Bin. When kids are bouncing off the walls and everyone needs a reset, this bin becomes your saving grace. Stock it with outdoor essentials like sidewalk chalk, bubbles, water balloons, squirt guns, and bug-catching kits. Anything that encourages children to go outside, get loud, and burn energy belongs here. This bin serves as both an energy release valve for children and a noise-control strategy for parents who need some indoor peace.
The key to making this three-bin system work effectively lies in how you present and manage it. Make the bins accessible but not overwhelming—allow children to choose from one bin at a time rather than dumping everything out at once. Regularly rotate items between bins or introduce new dollar store finds to maintain interest. Most importantly, present the bins as special resources rather than last resorts. When children view these activities as privileges rather than punishments for being bored, they’re more likely to engage enthusiastically.
This summer, free yourself from being the entertainment director at a camp you didn’t sign up to run. With these three strategic bins, you can reclaim some sanity while fostering independence in your children. You might even get to enjoy that cup of coffee while it’s still warm—and in the world of parenting, that’s nothing short of miraculous. If you implement this system, I’d love to see your setup! Tag me on social media and let me know how these boredom-busting bins are working for your family.
Resources:
- 5-Minute Meditations for Kids Podcast
→ Listen on Spotify - Simply Piano & Simply Series
→ Available in the App Store & Google Play - Duolingo Language App
→ duolingo.com - Time for Us Parent-Child Journal
→ Available on Amazon – Volume 2 Link - Volume 1: Time For Us
- Screen Freeze Program
→ Get the Reset – Link
Weekly Newsletter for moms who lead like CEOs
→ Subscribe: FREE MOM BALANCE PLAYBOOK
Connect with Camille Walker:
Follow Camille on Instagram: www.instagram.com/CamilleWalker.co
Follow Call Me CEO on Instagram: www.instagram.com/callmeceopodcast
- MyMommyStyle.com
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- Email: callmeceopodcast@gmail.com
Camille: 0:00
So the idea is that you don't fill it with everything that you have all in one week, but that you say this is the busy box and you rotate what's in there. So you want to make an impact. You're thinking about starting a business, sharing your voice. How do women do it that handle motherhood, family and still chase after those dreams? We'll listen each week as we dive into the stories of women who know. This is Call Me CEO.
Camille: 0:39
Hello, my friends, it is Camille here with Call Me CEO and this is a special series I'm doing through the summer, called Summer Sanity Savers, because summer gets a little crazy. I'm filming this on July 9th, so we are into the second month of summer and already at the spot where my kids are saying I'm bored, which I am sure if you have children, you know this and you can relate to this. So let's dive into this a little. I have an idea of some boredom bins I'm going to share with you. This is not the only boredom buster I've done. In fact, I have a list that I'm going to link to below, where it's a list of reactions or things you can do if your child says I'm bored. And I have given this list to my children and said go through this list and pick 10 things so that when you have the thought I am bored, I will give you this list. Another funny way of doing this is, if they tell me they're bored, I say, well, figure it out, I'll give you, or I'll give you, something to clean, and that usually is a good motivator for them to figure out something they want to do to help them to not be bored. So for this idea specifically this is more for maybe younger kids that need more direction. They can't go through a list and read it and figure it out on their own. Mixing up the places and the people you are with is always a good idea. Doing swaps for playdates or having an opportunity to go different places if you can. But if none of those are an option and we're just simply looking at ways to fill the boredom, this is an idea that you can try. Take it with a grain of salt. If it works for you, great. If not, that's fine too. So if you've ever had three hours into summer break and they're already saying I'm bored, this one's for you. Because what if I told you that with just three bins, you can keep your kids busy, happy and out of your hair long enough to finish the drink in your hand. So I want to introduce this by saying this is episode three of the series.
Camille: 2:46
We have already talked about how to handle screen time. That's a big thing in our house. The last one that just aired was talking about how to theme your day so that you bring in different ideas and a little bit of novelty to the different things you're doing and a little bit of novelty to the different things you're doing. This is a more tactile approach to boredom. So the idea is that you create three physical bins where you fill them with things that'll help tackle boredom. Do these bins have to look any certain way? No, I'm thinking, if you're putting together these bins, they would need to at least be the size of, say, a storage tote. That's oh gosh. How big are they? Five gallons maybe, maybe a little bigger, but this bin is going to be filled with tactile ideas for them that they can do independently or possibly with you as well.
Camille: 3:42
Number one is the boredom buster bin. This bin is filled with quick, low prep activities that you can grab when your kids are bored. In this you're thinking of those very basic coloring books, sticker pad, mad Libs they still make them pipe cleaners a deck of Uno cards. Maybe it's filled with something that you've already done that your kids really like. That is like this. What I'm imagining here are card games like Cover your Assets is one that we really like. My kids also are older now so they can do phase 10, or maybe it's a small game like marbles I don't know, probably not marbles, unless they're older, because you don't want them choking. So just make it age appropriate Stuff. You already have stuff on hand that it's all in one place and ready to go. I actually have these water boards that I really like, where that's not waterboarding that's not what you were doing here. It's actually a board where they can use water and paint a flat surface that, just as it dries, it recreates Kind of like the Water Wow books, something like that. You're thinking of ideas that are easy to grab and go, so that when they say I'm bored, they go straight to this bin. This could be something that is all on your own or something that you can do with them, an idea that you can add to this boredom bin.
Camille: 5:12
Buster is my time for us journals. You can find that on amazoncom and look for time for us. It's a parent and child journal that you can do together, written by me, and it's a really fun way for them to use their imaginations as well, because it has a creative element within the prompts where they can draw or color. The prompts where they can draw or color. Hey, moms, if you feel like life is a nonstop juggling act school drop-offs, business calls, meal prep, trying to find a single moment for yourself I've got something for you. First, you need to sign up for my newsletter. It is free. I always include the episodes, what's upcoming, what is the takeaway from that week, and I will include a free recipe as well as, sometimes, activities that have to do with the upcoming events happening in today's world. But I have the mom balance playbook for free. It is a simple, practical guide to managing the mayhem of mom life so you can finally stop feeling like you're dropping the ball. It's time to bring more balance, joy and structure into your home without the burnout. And the best part, it is totally free. Head to camillewalkerco to grab your free copy now, or grab it from the link below in the show notes.
Camille: 6:25
Bin number two is going to be your busy box. This is for the golden everything. It's for the quiet, independent play when you need to hop on a Zoom, call, fold laundry or just breathe for a minute. This is where you're going to fill it with puzzles, sensory bins, kinetic sand, lacing cards or Legos, rotate items weekly so it feels new and you'll be shocked at how long it can buy you. So the idea is that you don't fill it with everything that you have all in one week, but that you say this is the busy box and you rotate what's in there. So that will take some planning on your part to try to keep the novelty alive. And, yes, that requires some forethought and can take some time. But if you present it in a way that it's something new, they may be excited about what's in there. And one thing that I just got that I'm bringing on with us to an RV trip is it's like a cross stitch, but you I can't even think of what it's called. I'll link to it in the show notes below. But it's almost like you're punching through with yarn and it creates these beautiful characters or animals or landscapes and they are so cute and many ages can do them. So think of something like that where it's busy, independent play where they can do something quiet.
Camille: 7:47
Bin number three is your backyard fun bin. This is for outdoor energy burn mode. Think chalk bubbles, water balloons, squirt guns, bug catching kits, anything that says go outside and get your wiggles out. And it's built in reset button for when everything and everyone just needs to get outside and get loud. Sometimes they just need time to get the wiggles out, and that can be really easy to do Now with these bins. I want you to think about accessibility and rotation. Let them pick from one bin at a time and switch out the contents every few days so that the novelty stays alive. And, yes, dollar store fines totally count. So with this little setup, these three bins become your summer MVPs. No more scrambling for activities or feeling like the entertainment director at a summer camp you didn't sign up to run. Like the entertainment director at a summer camp, you didn't sign up to run. These bins will help you get back a little time, a little sanity and maybe, just maybe, that warm cup of coffee or that special soda you're waiting to drink. If you try these three bin system, tag me on Instagram at callmeceopodcast or camillewalkerco, so I can see your setup.
Camille: 8:56
And if this episode helped. Please share it with a fellow mom who deserves a little less chaos in her summer. We'll see you next week for another sanity saving strategy, and make sure to share this with a friend, because sharing is caring, and I appreciate you being here. We'll see you next time. Hey CEOs, thank you so much for spending your time with me. If you found this episode inspiring or helpful, please let me know in a comment. In a five-star review, you could have the chance of being a featured review on an upcoming episode. Continue the conversation on Instagram at callmeCEOPodcast, and remember you are the boss.
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