TOYS!!

[SHmama]

I'm sure that there have been many posts in the past about this topic,  but please bear with me...I'm new here!!  

So, one of my biggest organizing issues would have to be where and how to organize the toys in our house.  I have 3 kids...an almost 7 yr old ds and twin dd's who are 4.5 yrs.  We have been downsizing our toys a lot in the past few months, but I still struggle with how and where to organize what we have. Currently, the entire house is a playroom, and the toys end up in every room of our house.  We have an "official" playroom downstairs, but the toys migrate upstairs...into their bedrooms, the bathroom, dining room, etc.  I'm thinking this is somewhat normal, but with summer coming, and the kids being home all day, I am desperate for some order in here.  Can anyone share their toy organizing strategies?  

[mkksmom]

For us, it seems like the best solution is to have most of the toys in the play room. Then a few things in the family room, which I rotate. I also have a couple of things in the girls' rooms. Each toy, should in theory stay in the room where it lives. Now, they do still bring toys room to room, and i have to keep a canvas bag hanging on the railing for toys that need to go back up stairs. But making several toy stations does seem to improve things some. I have a 2 year-old, so it's not really realistic to send her up alone to play.

[Oliver's Mama]

Before you spend an ounce of energy organizing, first take a scrutinizing look at all toys and see if there is anything that can go.  Even if it's not your priority to cut back on toys, there are bound to be some that are broken/missing pieces or are no longer loved.  It's easier to organize when there are fewer things to organize.  If you still have a lot that you want to keep, start rotating toys.. find a place like your closet or garage and store a few boxes, then once a month or whenever swap some out.

I have a certain area of the home that is designated for play (my boys' room), and if there are toys anywhere else in the house they have a very specific home that they must be returned to at the end of the day, or at any time that I ask them to when things are getting out of control.  For example, in our main living area there are baskets for their books and their other living room toys must be stored in the play kitchen at the end of the day.

If the issue is getting the kids to keep things in place, if they leave stray toys out after you asked them to pick them up, then take them away for the rest of the day.

[Brees_Mama]

subbing.

I've been wanting to get two of these for stuffed animals http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004OR1DXS/?ref=ox_sc_act_title_1&ie=UTF8&m=A3W4YSGOME9MU6  and a bookshelf like this to hold toys and maybe canvas boxes that'd hold toys. http://ana-white.com/2010/01/creative-guest-knock-off-wood-bookcases.html  Lowes has a similar one that's already made and costs around $50-$60. 

As of right now I just keep out enough toys to fill a laundry basket and the rest go in the (locked) closet. I rotate them after awhile. It works and the kids actually play with what they've got out. I also decluttered a lot of them so that the closet isn't completely full of toys.

[Brees_Mama]

Originally Posted by Oliver's Mama 

Before you spend an ounce of energy organizing, first take a scrutinizing look at all toys and see if there is anything that can go.  Even if it's not your priority to cut back on toys, there are bound to be some that are broken/missing pieces or are no longer loved.  It's easier to organize when there are fewer things to organize.  If you still have a lot that you want to keep, start rotating toys.. find a place like your closet or garage and store a few boxes, then once a month or whenever swap some out.

I have a certain area of the home that is designated for play (my boys' room), and if there are toys anywhere else in the house they have a very specific home that they must be returned to at the end of the day, or at any time that I ask them to when things are getting out of control.  For example, in our main living area there are baskets for their books and their other living room toys must be stored in the play kitchen at the end of the day.

If the issue is getting the kids to keep things in place, if they leave stray toys out after you asked them to pick them up, then take them away for the rest of the day.

I completely agree. If it hasn't been played with in months or years then toss it. If it's broken and most certainly *isn't* going to get fixed, toss it. I'd recommend (if your child is older/5-6yo) letting them help. If they're younger maybe dig out a few toys they haven't saw in awhile and put them in another room while you declutter the toys.

Check out this thread http://www.mothering.com/community/t/367607/talk-to-me-about-toy-storage/0_40  it's old but it might have some good tips.

Edited by Brees_Mama - 6/5/12 at 7:35am

[SHmama]

Thanks so much ladies.  I think the real issue is that there are too many toys for me to handle.  Compared to most of our friends, we do not have a lot of toys.  But for me, it's too many. I totally believe in the "less is more" theory...especially when it comes to toys.  I think kids end up becoming completely overwhelmed and nothing really ends up getting played with (or valued...) I think the first step is to really do a sweep of the toys and keep only those that are really loved.  I'm constantly reading about the benefits of having fewer toys, and I think it's time for me to really re-evaluate what we "need".  The kids are GREAT when it comes to donating toys, so that's no problem. Thanks so much for the replies everyone, I'm feeling a little more inspired now!  :) 

[Brees_Mama]

Originally Posted by SHmama 

Thanks so much ladies.  I think the real issue is that there are too many toys for me to handle.  Compared to most of our friends, we do not have a lot of toys.  But for me, it's too many. I totally believe in the "less is more" theory...especially when it comes to toys.  I think kids end up becoming completely overwhelmed and nothing really ends up getting played with (or valued...) I think the first step is to really do a sweep of the toys and keep only those that are really loved.  I'm constantly reading about the benefits of having fewer toys, and I think it's time for me to really re-evaluate what we "need".  The kids are GREAT when it comes to donating toys, so that's no problem. Thanks so much for the replies everyone, I'm feeling a little more inspired now!  :) 

You're welcome. I can relate. I can't seem to find an amt of toys that I'm okay with. And I couldn't agree more about them getting overwhelmed.

You got this!

[OkiMom]

If you talked to your children and asked what toys they wanted to keep you might be surprised. I just went through my children's toys with them and they willing bagged up 3 large trash bags full of toys that they didn't want/didn't play with. I had NO CLUE there were so many they didn't want/didn't play with and some i would have never gotten rid of myself because I thought they adored them. Now the playroom is a ton cleaner..

As for the migrating toy issue.. We have it here too. A couple of hints that work for us..

- one toy or one bucket out of the playroom at a time. If another toy is wanted they have to pick up the first one, return it and grab the next one.

- a small bucket in each room (except bathrooms and kitchen) with a few small toys in it.. generally used for my youngest since hes a bit to young to understand the 1 toy at a time rule (hes 16 mo)

- puzzles and toys with pieces are kept up where they have to ask me for it.. Its a bit of a pain (specially since they LOVE puzzles) but it keeps them from being ruined by the baby. Again hes 16 months old, he doesn't understand why putting puzzle pieces in his water cup is a bad idea

- open ended toys, every toy we have can be used for multiple purposes. I don't get toys that can only be played with a certain way.

- Don't feel the need to keep something because its a gift.. My daughters gave away almost every Christmas present that they received from my in laws because they weren't things they wanted to keep/play with. I don't feel the need to keep things because so-and-so gave it to them. Please no one tell my in laws their gifts didn't even get opened, it would definitely not be appreciated!

- Outside toys are kept in the storage room outside or in a container on the porch. They don't come inside since I don't want the dirt coming in with them.

- we clean up several times a day.. usually we do daily chores in the morning, quickly pick up the toys before lunch or before we leave the house and then again before DH comes home for work. If the children refuse to help clean up it shows me they have to many toys to take care of them properly and the ones left laying around (with the exception of comfort animals that never get "put away") get packed up for 1-2 weeks. Ill bring them out again after 1-2 weeks to see if the children are now willing to help take care of them.

- if its broke it gets trashed immediately unless there is some emotional attachment to it (like a stuffed animal our dog tore up, I let my middle keep the shreds until she was ready to part with it.. took about 2 days for her to be ready to say goodbye).. My kids are pretty good about it and will bring me toys when they break. Ive explained that we don't keep broken toys since 1) they aren't good to play with anymore and 2) they could hurt the baby.. Since my son cut himself on a piece of plastic once before I could get it from him and both girls saw they realize its just not safe to have broken pieces laying around.

[alaskanmomma]

I have bins in the living room(my living room is HUGE, it's where most of the house space is..) and the play area is one half of the living room. I have a toy box for the big toys, and two of those organizing bin things.. cars go in one, animals in another, babies in one, etc. It makes pick up easy, and I hardly ever hear "Mom, where's my___________" I think I got one of the organizers from Target for $60(It has 12 bins) and another from Wal-Mart for $30(it's a lot smaller, and think the price tag was due to it being Dora *sigh*)