Hi everyone, I’ve had a rough week with some site issues stemming from being hacked. With the incredible help of Cathy at Desperately Seeking WordPress I’m back on track. However, now of course I’m feeling very behind and discombobulated (and yes I had to look up how to spell that!). I’m so thankful to have Julia visit here today, from Work, Wife, Mom…Life!, to share her toy organization system with you while I try to get myself re-organized 🙂
Living in a house that is under 900 square feet requires one to be organized and resourceful. Not having a play rooms means that toys run amuck in the living room. Until, we came up with a quick, 5 step, de-cluttered solution.
Step 1. Totes are your friends
Stock up on totes when they are on sale.
Step 2. Divide toys up evenly
If you have several groups of little people, split them up. If your daughter has five different play purses, split them up. Have several puzzles floating around? Yep… split them up.
Step 3. Place toys in bins
Tote #1
Totes #2 and #3
Step 4. Keep one and store the others
While our current toys are being played with…
the other 2 bins get stashed away under my daughter’s loft bed.
Step 5. Rotate toys weekly
We find that rotating toys every week works for us. You might be able to get away with longer, but mostly, if your kids get bored, it’s time to switch.
I love that the kids always have something “new” to play with. And it definitely keeps the toy clutter to a minimum.
Julia is a working mom of 2, loves a good cup of coffee in the morning and admits to wearing a ponytail every day. A lover of all things crafty, DIY and fitness, she blogs over at Work, Wife, Mom…Life!.
Life Lessons of a Military Wife says
Sorry you were hacked…that’s scary business! Excellent ideas! Once a child is old enough to understand actions and their consequences, I used to keep a bin for Goodwill in the garage…anything that wasn’t picked up before bedtime…was donated! I have a few more tips to add below…works for any size house…
http://lifelessonsmilitarywife.blogspot.com/2007/11/messy-messy-kids-rooms.html
Marcia Francois, Organising Queen says
OH MY WORD! Can’t believe you were hacked! How horrible – ughh!
are you feeling okay, Laura?
Sending you smiles and beautiful blue skies from Johannesburg, South Africa 🙂
Becky says
I have done this for 5 years and it works beautifully! We have all toys in bins and keep them in our basement. We rotate each week- or every few days and the kids are excited to see toys they haven’t seen in a while! Love this idea!
Melinda says
You were hacked??? I’m sorry that happened. It must be frustrating for you. I love your blog and read it daily, so much useful information. Hang in there.
Elisabeth says
awesome idea! I used boxes when I did this last week for my little one. (That was all I had and I absolutely HAD to do something about the toys right away. She seems to enjoy playing with a small amount of toys better then when she had more choices!
Jenn @ Beautiful Calling says
Great idea; I think we’ll implement something similar!
Shonda says
I totally need to find totes on sale and this would work so well for me as we don’t have a playroom either!
Enjoy Birth says
I recently blogged about decluttering my sons room. It isn’t easy, but getting rid of toys is a good option to and then rotating some helps.
http://enjoybirth.com/blog/2010/10/11/too-many-toys-what-is-a-mom-to-do/
I love the ideas of a total of 3 or 4 bins and rotating that way!
Cinella says
OMG!! I love this idea. We have smaller bins, but they don’t have any lids, so the younger baby likes to take out toys from there.. but I will exchange them for larger ones with lids! lol I will share this with friends and family. Seems like a great system.
Multi-Tasking Mommy says
I totally agree that rotating toys in and out is the way to go.
I also think that having at least one large “bin” is a great way to help younger children tidy up their toys easier.
More Than A Mom says
I like this idea. Having two young children of my own in addition to a home daycare, the house is getting to be over run with toys and I was trying to sort like with like. Having them evenly distributed as you suggest would take the sorting stress off of me and cleanup far easier and faster.
Petula says
Great tips for organizing toys. We have bins everywhere, which – for me – works for awhile, but I get so lazy with the rotation that I end of giving in and letting them have all of them back. 🙂 I’m like you though, small space so getting creative and organized is key. I just clean them out once a year, minimize and make sure everything fits in some type of tote or bin.
Rana says
I love this idea. I have three garbage bags full of toys right now. Some are being donated and broken toys are getting tossed. The rest are going to be put in a bin to bring out at a later date to play with.
Yoana @ Work From Home as a Virtual Assistant says
I just got done cleaning out my daughters toy bin yesterday!
I threw out 2 bags full of toys, and we were left with;
– 1 small box (it used to hold a kitchen blender) where she has her blocks.
– 1 smaller box where little toys are kept, such as her pony accessories, etc…
And the big toy bin where I put all her stuffed animals and bigger toys (like her doll stroller).
I was amazed that it took me such a short time, I’ve been putting it off forever 🙂
Erink says
I off to Target in the morning to get some bins…and then doing this! I can’t stand the mess anymore!
Thanks for the tip!
Melissa says
Love the tips! Thanks! We have a toy room that’s always a disaster. I’m going to try this to minimize clean up time.
Amandas says
Love this! When I was a preschool teacher, we did something similar in the classroom. It’s amazing how differently the kids play when they have some “fresh” materials to play with. I’ll definitely keep this idea in my Professional Organizer back pocket when I’m working with clients with small children. Thanks!