Captain Messmaker

how to keep the 22 month old from dumping... had the same problem. Hold onto the bin you are putting things into so he cannot dump it.
Are the bins able to be put up (after cleaning up) somehow so they are not accessable? Making it a "yes" environment as much as possible was really the only thing that worked for me. I only had as many toys out as I was willing to step over or clean up.
And too- as soon as he heads back over to the bins to dump them, stop him and redirect him to whever the new activity is... just keep redirecting. At this age- well any- they want to know how firm the boundary is- so they keep testing.

My 3 and 5 yr olds like to play "Mommy May I?" I will tell one of them to pick up the dress up clothes. The child asks "Mommy may I?" and I say "yes you may" and they clean up. Just give them one thing to clean up at a time (per child) and that seems to go pretty well.

They are young and they are learning what they can and can't do. Show them that they have to put the toys back in the toy chest when they are finished with them. Do a game where you let them dump out the toys and then they have to put them back up. Do this and it should help them learn that. It takes a while but it will happen eventually. Just take a deep breath and remember that it's a part of being a parent.

My nephew sings a clean up time song. He learned it at daycare. And it has helped him when he was younger and now he has taught it to his 2 yr. old brother who doesn't go to that daycare. I don't remember the song. But I'm sure if you make one up or even play a kids song off of the radio they will love to sing and pick up. As for taking them right back out maybe if you have something ready to distract the wee one. maybe to pick up and then go outside and play in the kids pool or something.

I think my little girl was 3 before she started cleaning up on her own. A lot of times it just takes me starting to dust, vacuum or pick up and she's right behind me cleaning up too. She's 4 now and does a great job at cleaning up and picking up behind herself, me and her brother. Make it fun like the previous post mentioned. Now my 14 month old son does the same thing your 22 month old does, pulls and dumps out everything. I am hoping when he gets older he will outgrow that...only time will tell. Give it some time and I think with the two of you as examples he'll follow suit.

good luck

My 2.5 and 1.5 year old loves the cleanup song. Sometimes they will dump their blocks again after cleanup is done - I just sit their and make them cleanup again (they don't like that, but they do it).