No, I am not kidding…have you looked around your house?  The toys are taking over your entire home and Christmas is right around the corner. How will all the new toys fit into their bedroom or playroom? They start out in a bedroom or playroom and before you know it, they’ve spread to every room in the house. It’s almost as though they multiply or come to life at night like Toy Story and invite friends to come for a sleepover!

If you take the time to organize the toys now, this will help give you some gifts ideas for Christmas and at the same time make room for all the new presents.  The key to organizing toys is finding a “home” for all the toys. Children can learn to put toys away if the method is simple and easy.

Start by clearing the clutter.  Gather all the toys together in the room you choose to have their toys instead of the whole house. Sort the good toys from the junk and either donate the things that are in good.  If you happen to find new toys, now would be a great time to donate them for Toys for Tots.  Repair any toys that are meaningful to them and throw away things that are trash.

Sort toys into appropriate bins and storage. Toys that are alike should go into the same bin. Power Rangers in one bin, cars in another…if you have girls Barbies in one, Little Pet Shop in another, you get the idea.  One little addition I would like to add is make sure if that you keep toys close to each other if your child plays with them together.  For instance if your daughter always has Barbie take care of the pets from Little Pet Shop, keep the bins side by sides so that clean up is quick and easy. If you feel that you need to a label your bins and your child is not reading, print pictures from the toy stores; laminate the picture and velcro it to the bin.

If space is a problem in their room.  Try hanging toy organization tools on doors. Over-the-door shoe hangers are perfect for organizing small toys, stuffed animals, Barbies or even Match Box Cars.

I use Ziploc Bags to store “accessories” from Barbie, G.I Joes, for organizing the pieces they don’t play with very often. Not only is less of a mess to clean up but hopefully your feet won’t get anymore on those small pieces.  Boy does that hurt, I swear Legos are the worst on your feet! I would suggest you place the bags in a bin on a top shelf and get them down when the child asks for them.  So many times, they just want to play with the person and really don’t want to change out guns or shoes.

Rotating toys is a great way to keep children entertained and interested in playing with their toys. Every month or so, rotate the bins so that your child has something new to play with.

Designate a time once a week for room cleaning. Everyday, your child should put their toys away, but once a week they could make sure that all of their toys are in the rights spot to prevent a future mess. “A place for everything and everything in its place.”

By Michelle Lehman, Organizing Solutions “Clear the Clutter”  www.organizingsolutions.info

Photo Credit © Hallgerd | Dreamstime.com

Tags: children, organizing, organizingsolutions.info, toys