Stop The Slaughter of Innocent Crayons With Crayola’s Desk Top Organizer!
Written: Feb 03 '03 (Updated Nov 09 '04)
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Pros: Tons of sections for storage of art supplies, nice assortment of Crayola products.
Cons: Not too crazy about the green color on the organizer.
The Bottom Line: Organized art supplies are just a few spins away with the Crayola Desk Top Organizer!
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| Freak369's Full Review: Crayola Spinning Desk Top Organizer |
My boys aren’t the most creative kids on the block but from time to time they manage to shock me with the things they create. I like to consider them mini-McGuyver’s because if you hand them a few paper clips, a rubber band, a few sheets of paper and some glue – they will come back to you a few hours later with some strange, space related piece of work. Since the art supplies weren’t getting used as much as they should it created a small mess in their playroom. I tried putting the markers, pens, pencils and other related items into plastic bins but that proved to be a real disaster when I tossed in a marker that was missing a lid. It wasn’t until I came across the Crayola Desk Top Organizer at the Crayola online store that I was able to relax when I heard the words “Mom, guess what we are making now”.
You might think that a desk top organizer is a basic, run of the mill item. In most cases it is – but not when it come to this particular item. It has tons of room for the basic stuff every kid uses and a small hiding spot for precious gems [Lego bricks], cash or most recently – girls phone numbers [life as I knew it ended when I found the name ‘Aimee’ and a phone number tucked into the secret compartment]. The organizer rests on a swiveling base that makes it easy to find what you are looking for without having to rummage through plastic containers or boxes of supplies. This hasn’t made my boys more artistic or have more of a desire to create things but when they get the urge – it’s a lot easier to find everything they need.
Crayola Desk Top Organizer
Measuring a little over ten inches across and six and a half inches high, this spinning organizer is a great way to keep art supplies neatly tucked in one spot. The main color is purple with a few splashes of green. Mind you, this isn’t “green” it’s more of a ‘puke green’ that I really don’t care for. I really wish these were available in different color combinations – or even one solid color but as it stands, you are stuck with the purple and green combination. The boys already had the Crayola Stack 'N Store Art Tower but that had slowly turned into a storage bin for paper, booklets and instruction sheets of all sizes and shapes. When I started seeing more and more markers, crayons and colored pencils laying around I went and checked out the situation with the other Crayola organizer and knew that something needed to be done. It’s bad enough stepping on Lego pieces – but the snapping of innocent little crayons under my feet in the dead of night was more than I can bear.
So far this thing has held up to a lot of use and abuse by the boys and the various animals that roam our house. The play area is a lot less cluttered and they seem to be a bit more responsible with the art supplies now that they have a dedicated place to put them when they are done. None of the interior dividers or sections have broken, bent or been damaged – and that sure says something for the design of the organizer as well as its durability. The only small complaint that I have with this organizer is the flip top ‘secret compartment’. It’s sturdy but it doesn’t stay open or click into place so you have to hold it open with one hand while you look for the goods that are tucked away inside. As I mentioned earlier, this is where I found the mystery phone number but the compartment is large enough to hold cash, coins, a small address book or wallet sized photos.
There are a total of fourteen individual sections to the organizer but I have to admit I was most impressed with the molded slots that are the perfect size for markers. Providing that you remember to put the caps back on them – this is a great way to keep them from getting lost. The two large sections that are located in the middle of the organizer are great for small rulers, hole punches, compasses, protractors and stencils. Storing these types of item in this section will eat up valuable storage space but at least they will be visible and close at hand when needed. The only thing about the larger sections that I really dislike is that they are wide open – meaning there is no way to keep the items in the section. It would have been nice if there were a closure or small half inch lip at the bottom to keep things securely in place. The sections that are located on the lower tiers of the organizer are the perfect size for erasers, glue sticks, pencil sharpeners and tape dispensers. You might have to play around with some items to find the perfect spot for them and I suggest that if you have any heavy items like bottle of glue or metal scissors that you place them in the largest slots on the sides to keep it from tipping over.
Products Included
The main product here is the organizer, consider the Crayola products a perk since these are smaller sized products. The 16 count pack of crayons makes for a lot of coloring fun however there aren’t the washable kind so keep an eye on the little artists in the house. The small colored pencils [yellow, brown, blue, green, red and orange] serve as a nice starter pack but you might want to keep these for in the car or when you are out and about. The plastic scissors are nice but don’t cut very well. These are all plastic except for the cutting blades and the boys almost immediately tossed these aside since they had trouble cutting construction paper with them.
I didn’t care for the package of glue that was included with this organizer because the bottle is pretty small and hard to handle effectively. The glue is non-toxic and washable and I put this aside for emergencies or if we should happen to run out of the Crayola Washable Glue Sticks that we normally use. All in all, the assortment of Crayola product included with this organizer is a nice starter pack for kids that are just getting into exploring their artistic side. As a side note, the package content list states that there is a small tablet included with the organizer however the one that I purchased didn’t have one.
Things To Know
This is a great spinning organizer for your kids desk or art area but if you have more than one child you might run out of space quick. This is great for markers, colored pencils, smaller crayon packages, scissors and glue sticks but larger items like rulers, hole punches and stencils eat up a lot of the room in the individual sections. Cleaning this isn’t exactly easy since there are a ton of little slots. I took some preventive measures and shoved coffee filters [unused of course] into the larger areas in case a marker leaked or was put back without a cap on it. To clean the exterior use a wet sponge, if that doesn’t work you can use a mild spray on cleaner like Fantastik.
The Bottom Line
The boys liked this so much that I plan on purchasing another one for them to use. Hopefully this will keep the markers separate from the colored pencils and crayons and it make it a lot easier to find exactly what you are looking for. From time to time you can catch these on sale at the Crayola website for about $13.00 which is a great price for the organizer and the products that you get with it. If you are sick of having art supplies all over the place or shoved in a plastic storage bin, why not check out the Crayola Desk Top Organizer. It looks great, spins effortlessly and holds up to a lot of use and abuse.
As always, thanks for the visit!
^V^ Freak ^V^
© 2003 Freak369
Other Crayola product reviews …
• Big MiniStampers • Doodle Pad • Watercolor Pencils • Art & Craft Brushes – 8 Count • Create-A-Kid • Collecting Keepsakes • Halloween Treat Pack • Halloween Boo Bucket • Washable Water Colors – 8 Color • Pencil Pouch • Crayola Crayons – 24 Count • Metallic Crayons • Superfine Markers – 5 Count • Gel FX Washable Markers • Tub of Fun • Crayola Sketch Pad • Point Tip Scissors • Sidewalk Chalk – Chicks & Eggs • Art & Craft Brushes – 4 Count • Twistables – 16 Count • Stack-N-Store Art Tower • Washable Water Colors – 24 Color • Sidewalk Chalk – Animal Assortment • Crayola Lap Desk • Click ‘Em On Washable Markers • Washable Markers – 16 Count • Alphabet & Number Pad • Blunt Tip Scissors • Spinning Desk Top Organizer • Crayola Online Store •
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): See Review
Type of Toy: Arts and Crafts
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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