Swoop Bag LEGO Storage Bags - Made in USA Organizer for Small Toys

You know how many great ideas come from the quick brain of an at-the-end-of-her-patience Mom? I doubt there are any solid stats on that, but I'd be prepared to bet it's a lot - and Swoop Bags are right up there on the list of Mother genius ideas.

In this case, the "mother of invention" was Sarah Kirk of Seatlle, USA. My guess is that she stepped on one LEGO piece too many in her bare feet... and so the Swoop Bag was born.

Yay for Sarah's housekeeping, despite a home full of playful boys and friends, and yay for the rest of us in the same situation! No one wants to stop playing and put away toys... but when all you need to do is pull up a drawstring, that's going to make cleanup time a whole lot happier for Mom and kids alike.

You may very well have seen other versions of the Swoop Bag in your own life, either handmade by your loving but frustrated mother, or perhaps something like the Lay-n-Go play mat toy storage bags - I'm showing some of those below, just so you can make an informed choice. My point is, a brilliant solution is just that, no matter the details, and I'm convinced that Swoop Bags are nothing short of simply brilliant.

When my brother and I were kids, my own mother made a big corduroy play mat to contain all our Dinky toy cars and Hot Wheels and other small bits of play gear. (I was big into wooden beads at one time, so you can imagine how those ended up in every corner of the house, before the playmat arrived!) After a while, when we proved totally inept at folding up the fabric mat around our toys without spilling them all over the floor, my mother did add a drawstring around the edge... but by then we were getting older and more interested in talking on the phone than playing with tiny toys... Anyway, you can see very clearly how the Swoop Bag concept would make the management and storage of small toys like LEGO so much easier!

Play mat and LEGO storage bag combo? Swoop one up, that's what I say!

Although there are other brands and similar products (Lay-n-Go is the next best choice), I'm big on the simple strong canvas in bright colors you get with the Swoop Bags. It's also reassuring that this is a home-grown American company so I don't have to worry about any weird chemicals in the dyes or that sort of thing, as tends to cross your mind (or my mind, anyway) when a product is sourced from some other countries that don't have the same health and safety standards as in North America. Especially when your kids will be using it just about every day.

Swoop Mini is your solution for travelling to Grandma's house or a sleepover - a selection of favorite small toys can be easily stored and carried in the drawstring bag, which opens up wide enough that any toddler can put away his own toys. Fantastic for car trips and plane rides, to keep your little guys happy on vacation without juggling a lot of small containers - just the one soft but sturdy storage bag will do the job.