There’s a saying, “A place or everything and everything in its place.” Unfortunately, when it comes to children’s toys that “place” can be almost every flat surface in your home. If your kid’s toys have taken over and you have no idea where to even start putting things back in order, we’d like to offer a few tips and tricks to get the situation under control.
Make Sure They Know You’re Serious
Keeping toys organized is important. For starters, it teaches kids responsibility and the value of a clean space. An organized play space also means they can find what they’re looking for, there’s no more frustration looking for missing toys. Most important of all, keeping toys organized saves you and everyone else the hassle of navigate an obstacle course of toys or even worse, tripping over them.
Designate Toy Zones
With the right storage solutions in place, organizing toys will be a breeze. Give each type of toy its own storage spot. Have bins for blocks, baskets for stuffed animals and shelves for board books. This makes it easy for your child to put toys away in the right place and prevents a mishmash of toys accumulating all over the place.
An old dresser can be a great solution for storing and organizing. Be sure to label each drawer for quick sorting. A small game-sized table is ideal for things like Legos that have multiple small pieces. Add a tablecloth underneath to catch stray pieces. One of those over-the door shoe organized can be repurposed to holds smaller toys like action figures and Play Doh cans. Also consider putting up a pegboard with hooks to hang up puzzles, games, clothing items and more.
Use Labeled Bins
Get some sturdy storage bins or baskets and label each one with the type of toy that goes inside. Use pictures versus words if your kids are pre-readers.
For example, have bins for:
- Blocks and building toys
- Dolls and stuffed animals
- Board books
- Crayons, markers, stickers, etc.
Place the bins at your child’s level so they can easily put things away themselves. This helps make cleaning up a game and gives them ownership over keeping their space tidy.
Do Regular Purges
Fewer toys mean less mess and chaos. Go through your child’s toys every month or so to get rid of anything that’s broken or not being played with. Hint: Rotate a few toys out of active use by putting some in storage. It makes them seem new and exciting again. Anything that’s in good condition but not being used can be given to a neighbor’s kid or donated.
Keep Your Kids Involved
You’ll have a lot more success in keeping toys and games where they belong if you include your kid in the process. Have your child help you come up with the storage solutions and rules for their space. Collaborating instead of dictating will make them much more willing to pitch in. Making cleanup time into a game. Help them sort toys into bins by color or shape. Turn on some music and set a timer to make it exciting. The win-win here is that you’ll not only have everything organized, it’s also a chance to spend some quality time together.
We hope your journey to Finding Home is smooth and successful. And remember, no matter where you happen to be in the moving process, you can count on Mayflower to be with you Every Step of the Way®.
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