The Great Toy Cleanup: Strategies for Reigning in the Chaos

Do you ever feel like you live in a sea of toys? Does stepping on a Lego make you turn into the Hyde from Wednesday? Let’s talk about toy storage and organization!

Toys are so wonderful, educational, and encourage playtime for kids. After all, the playtime expert, Busy Toddler always says that play is the work of childhood. But if you are overwhelmed by toys in every corner of our house, we need a better solution.

1.  Time Limit on “unwanted items”. My number one toy nemesis used to be the “junk” that would come home from kid’s birthday parties. Plastic figurines, tiny slinkies, temporary tattoos, you name it. Now we embrace it. We play with & enjoy the goodie bag items for 1-2 days and then toss. Guilt-free. That is typically how long most of the attention those items will ever get before kids move on to the next thing. If you are allowing unwanted items to come into your home, you need to set a time limit on them and stick to it. We make sure we set expectations with our daughter, so we are on the same page prior to just tossing anything of hers out.

2.  Aged-out. It can be a sad day when your child has aged out of a toy, especially if it has become a sentimental item. For sentimental items, I like to keep one or two clear bins in my daughter’s closet, and when she outgrows an item that we simply cannot part with, we pack it away in the bin. For toys that are not so sentimental, we donate them to charity or to friends with kids that are at the perfect age to enjoy the toy.

3.  Rotate. Just like adults, children can be overwhelmed by the amount of “stuff” as well. Sometimes it is hard to even decide what to play with because there is just. too. much. Rotating your already owned toys each month is a great way to keep a child’s interest, while also cutting back on what is lying around the house. A great place to store toys not on rotation is on a top shelf in a closet, in a bin in the garage, or underneath the bed.

4.  Inventory. Is a toy broken? If you are truly going to fix it, take care of it ASAP, but be completely real with yourself. If you are never going to fix it or it beyond repair. Toss it, and don’t look back.

5.  Share your wishes with your family. When your child’s birthday or Christmas comes around you have many options to kindly convey to your family what your child actually needs. You can make an Amazon wish list with just the specific things that you think would be beneficial to your child (and your sanity!) and share it when family asks what your child wants for the gift. (Our family does this and it is helpful to both us and them!). If your child has all the toys they need, you can also kindly request gifts of experience. Think a ticket to the zoo, a kid’s cooking class, a train ride at the park, etc. If your child is okay with it and truly does not want anything, you can also ask for toy donations for children’s shelters in lieu of gifts.

6.  Don’t overthink it. While your friend, Suzie may organize her kid’s legos by color, that just may not work for your child and THAT IS OKAY! What works for one family may not work for another and vice versa. It may surprise you to hear an organizer say this, but it is absolutely okay for your child to just DUMP IT IN THE BIN! That is how our 3 year old’s playroom system is managed and what works best for her to be able to put things back every time. We have square baskets with different broad categories to make it easy. One basket for princess dress-up clothes, one basket for big legos, one basket for Play-Doh, another basket for doll house accessories, etc. It does not have to be hard, and in fact, it shouldn’t. The system needs to match the abilities and willingness of the child.

Quick Note: Because we use the “dump it in the bin” method, my daughter’s playroom shelves always look clean. From the outside, you just see nice baskets. It is the perfect compromise because my child is able to maintain this system easily, and I am able to create a beautiful shelf display that serves as a back drop during video calls. (My desk and the playroom are in one room…shocker!)

Go forth and conquer! May your patience and stamina be strong, my friends!

Are you just beyond overwhelmed with your child’s toys and cannot even fathom where to begin? We are experts at taming the chaos and would love to do the hard work for you! Our organization services are great in kid’s spaces, too! Hit the “send help” button below to contact us.