Playing is extremely important for your child, but it can become a huge mess quick. Toy storage and organization will not only help you, but it will also help your kids actually play.
I Hate Clutter
If you judged me by my desk at work or the inside of my car, you’d think I may be a good candidate for an episode of hoarders. My husband can attest, if it doesn’t serve a purpose or isn’t put away, I’ll throw it away. So much so that whenever we can’t find something we both assume I’ve probably thrown it away. I hate clutter.
Never Say Never
Before I had children I swore I would never sit at the table and beg my kid to eat. I swore I would never let toys take over my house. After having three kids I’m going to definitely say “never say never,” but I do stick to those two goals. I have found a lot of hacks along the way if you like to read about them.
Different Types of Containers
My first attempt at containing the toy chaos was buying two large wicker baskets, similar to these, that fit the decor of our home.
These baskets fit underneath the end tables in our living room nicely. I noticed they still weren’t solving my problem. Over time they began to overflow with toys. At the end of each day I was left with a huge pile of toys to put back.
Another problem was that toys that had multiple parts were getting more and more mismatched. Pieces were missing and the toys were becoming useless because half the pieces were scattered all around.
One day I made a point to pay attention to exactly what toys my son was playing with. I couldn’t figure it out. He seemed to mostly be pulling all the toys out of the basket and then randomly picking up and putting things down. He rarely seemed to engage with, and actually play with any of the toys.
I decided that we needed a new system. I’d seen several blog posts about rotating toys. I wasn’t sure that would work, however the toys were becoming more overwhelming, and I needed to do something. After purchasing 12 containers from Amazon to start my process, 6 short and wide and 6 tall and narrow. (This is definitely doable with only 6 containers. I wanted to make sure I could distribute all my kids toys.)
I made a huge pile of all the toys in our living room. Then I started sorting them into each of the boxes.
I did my best to make sure each box had a variety of toys. It is amazing how much I could fit into each box. I’m glad I bought two different sizes because some toys would only fit in one type of box.
There were a few things that were too big for the containers. My plan for these toys is to keep them in the closet and bring them out occasionally. This way they maintain that “newness,” and are actually played with.
I placed all the boxes in a closet and only pulled out one a day. I noticed that my son is excited to see “new” toys each day. He has started to actually play with them.
I’m now also able to keep toys and their parts together. And best of all is I have a lot less toys to clean up at the end of each day. I emptied a couple of boxes to show how many toys I can fit in a box. Keep in mind my son still has access to his large toys, like his play kitchen and fire truck, and these are the only toys I have to clean up at the end of the day (I think I hear angels singing).
Update
As my kids have gotten older I’ve noticed a few shifts that needed to take place. We still use the toy containers. We probably have around 18 containers now. My kids started to request specific toys or specific containers. I lost a bit of consistency in my attempt to change out the containers each day. Another change that was made over time is the variety in containers. I started grouping toys a bit differently. One container may have a baby doll toys, while another has trains and cars.
Up Keep
I found that it is inevitable, toys pieces will get left out, misplaced, and lost. If my son has out one box and my daughter has out another, toys may get placed in the wrong containers. Sometimes toys are left out all together. I tolerate toys being put in the wrong containers (pick your battles). When I find toys that have accidentally been left out, I trash them, or place them in a junk drawer.
About twice a year, I pull out all the containers and line them up. I go through each container and purge toys. Occasionally I may get rid of toys that all the kids have out grown. I also try to remove toys that have similar duplicates, or toys that have lost too many parts.
Thank you so much for reading my post. How do you handle toys in your house?
Hannah says
This is exactly what I’ve been looking for! My kiddos have so many toys. I’m going to go through and cleanse some out, but for the rest definitely doing this! Gotta check out some more of your blog!
Preirna Prachi says
Just perfect choice to make. Kids need variety. They learn from everything. This post was definitely helpful. Wonderfully written.
Prosecco and Projects says
I dont have kids but I am going to pass this along to some of my mommy friends!
Jessica says
I don’t have kids but I need help with organizing my own junk lol. Great post!
Stacy Craft says
I literally spent 20 minutes today just staring at the junk that has become my entire upstairs. The playroom has become an entire play floor! AHHH. I am going to try out the toy rotation and see how it goes for my 2. I want to hear the “angels singing” too! LOL
Dana says
Yaaassss!