Do Your Kids Have Lots of Toys? If So, Implement These 4 Organization Toy Tips!
It can sometimes seem as though your kids’ toys are starting to take over your home. Every time you turn around, someone is giving them something new. Here are some ways that you can keep your home organized amidst the collection of toys.
Assess the Toy Collection
There comes a time in every toy’s life when it’s time for it to move on to a new family. Have your kids help you select toys that they no longer need or want to keep. This can be a good lesson in charity for your kids. Explain to them that there are other kids out there that don’t have as many toys as them. This can also help to keep your toy collection in check. Encourage your kids to select one toy to go for every new toy that comes into your home. This will help keep the allotment to a minimum
Create a Shelving System
Storing things up and off of the floor can make your home appeared less cluttered. Develop a system in which you can keep your kids’ toys contained. Use shelves and organizational bins to help keep it organized. Look into under the bed storage options as well. Some beds for kids come with drawers that can act as additional storage for all of those excess toys. This can allow you to keep a large majority of the toys that come into your home in a more organized manner.
Have a No Toy Space
Some homes can even end up looking like they’re being overrun with toys. For many parents, it can be hard to get their kids to keep toys in a designated space. That requires a lot of consistency of enforcing that rule. However, it can be pretty necessary if you tend to have people over and don’t want to have them sitting in a pile of toys on the couch.
To help with this, have the communal areas such as the living room, kitchen, and dining area be off-limits to toys being brought in. In the beginning of implementing this rule, you may want to have a consequence in place to help your children form this habit. For example, you could put all of the toys brought into those areas in a closet for the rest of the day. When you give them back the next day, explain to your kids that if they want to be able to play with them, then they should keep them in their room, playroom, or other designated space.
If your children are young and need to be entertained when guests are over, you may consider keeping a small basket with a couple stuffed animals and books in the living room. Whatever is in that basket, though, should stay there.
Try the Rotation Method
Sort through their toys and place a random selection into several half-slotted containers, like those from Packsize Now, LLC. Label the containers with a numbering system (try to have at least three or four different boxes). Bring out one container for each month. Once the month is over, collect the toys and place them back in the container. You will then move onto the next numbered container. Cycling through the toys can keep your kids more interested in playing with the things that they have in their collection.
Kids can only play with so many toys at any one time. It’s nice to have a variety available to help with their development. Keep the mess in check by investing in these organizational techniques.
Hannah Whittenly is a freelance writer and mother of two from Sacramento, CA. She enjoys kayaking and reading books by the lake.
Our house has a really small living space, so there are 0 toys that live in it. My older kiddos are more into electronics, so no worries with them, but the 4 year old is a different story! She’s allowed to bring out the toys she’s playing with into the living room, but when it’s time to clean up, they all go in her room.
I love that idea the idea of cleaning up as soon as she’s done playing. That’s how it should be!