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Organizing Tips for Taming the Toy Room

If you have children, you have toys. Tired of tripping over dolls, trucks, and blocks? Here are some tips on how to organize toys so they don’t take over your home.

Most parents admit that their children have too many toys, so the first step is to cut them down. When purging toys, divide and conquer by sorting them into 3 piles:

1. Damaged: toys that are broken or parts are missing (will be thrown away)

2. Outcasts: toys that children have left behind or never really played with (these will be sent to charities)

3. Favorites: toys that are enjoyed on a regular basis (these stay)

When you bring toys to charities, get your kids involved. Once they see the value of giving to the less fortunate, they may be more willing to let go.

Tips for storing toys:

o Having too many toys in the playroom overwhelms children as much as parents. You can reduce excess toys by twisting them. Get a large plastic container, label it “toy library,” and place a selection of toys inside. Put the lid on the container and store it in a secluded place for several months. Every once in a while, take out the toy library and swap the stored toys for other toys that the children get bored with. Old toys will look new again and attract the interest of the child.

o Organize the toy room into areas: the costume area, the doll area, the play kitchen area, the crafts area, the building block area, etc. This is the model used to keep kindergarten classrooms organized.

o When it comes to storing toys, traditional wooden toy trunks are not very useful. Most children empty them and climb on or small toys become tangled, damaged, and forgotten.

o Use small, clear, open plastic containers (no lids) on shelves and sort toys into similar categories to make finding and ordering a breeze. Label them with pictures if your child is too young to read. Small, lightweight containers with handles are easier to remove from the shelf.

o Make sure shelves are low (no more than 3 shelves high) so children can reach for their favorite toys. Secure the shelves to the wall with brackets to prevent them from tipping over.

o For older children, use resealable plastic freezer bags to hold small game pieces or puzzle pieces together. (Young children can cover their heads with the bags, which could be dangerous.)

o Use clothespins or trees to hang costume clothing.

o A colorful tackle box with dividers is an ideal way to store small doll accessories on top and favorite Barbie dolls on the bottom. Or use it for Lego kits. Its portability is an added bonus when visiting grandparents or staying overnight at a friend’s house.

o Children’s books generally do not have spines, so placing them on a shelf makes it difficult to locate their favorite books. Solve this problem by storing books in plastic containers with the title of the books facing the front.

Tips for keeping a tidy toy room:

o To keep the toy room tidy, have a 15-minute cleaning time every day and explain to the children that the alternative is to spend an entire Saturday cleaning. Set a timer and put on some of your favorite music to add an element of novelty.

o Do your part to reduce toy clutter. Loot bags brought home from birthday parties are often big culprits for clutter. For your child’s birthday parties, instead of handing out dollar store items that will end up on the floor, start a trend by giving $ 5. Movie or bookstore rental gift cards.

o When buying toys, choose toys that stimulate imagination and creativity so that children do not lose interest. Examples: blackboard, art supplies and paper, instruments, costume clothes.

o Ask family and friends to give your children the gift of an experience instead of a toy. This includes taking them to an amusement park, a movie, a concert, or paying for some music or sports lessons.

Take the time to teach your children how to keep their toys organized and the whole family will enjoy the benefits for years to come.

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