My baby is so cute – at 16 months, he’s on the go all the time.  And one of the things he love most to do is open any kitchen cabinet he can, and pull out everything in it. Then he moves on to the next one.  Then to the coat closet, then the end table, then the next surface he can reach.  All day long.

Now you can imagine that this doesn’t make it easy to keep things neat.  Usually, he’s busy pulling things out in the kitchen while I’m carefully walking over and around those things while I prepare dinner- I definitely have to watch my feet.  And while it doesn’t bother me since it’s just a stage and will pass, it does make for a lot more work and clutter.  So when my husband thought of a quick and cheap way to secure the doors (I didn’t want to install special latches – we already have magnets on each cabinet door), I was thrilled.

Here’s what he did – he took some thick rubber bands, the  kind the broccoli comes wrapped with that he’s put aside, and simply fastened the door handles to one another.  If I want to open a cabinet, it takes me just a second to unwrap it, and another second to put it back on.  Very cheap, fast, and low tech. 

The baby’s been a little frustrated that he can pull the doors but they only open a little bit (because of the give in the rubber bands), but I figure a little frustration isn’t a bad thing to experience while you’re young. 🙂

Avivah