How many of you can relate to having a living room full of toys? Or should I rephrase that to, “a living room full of toys that rarely get played with?” That’s us. Our house has space, but not enough on our main level where my three-year-old and 10-month old have easy access to a room dedicated to toys. The toy mess drives me crazy, so of course, I had to research ways to cut the clutter.
Here is our constant state of toy madness.
Do your kids have trouble deciding what toys to play with? I know if I provide too many choices, it becomes overwhelming for my kids to pick, and they end up walking away. It’s a problem we don’t think should be a problem. We think, if we offer ALL these toys, surely they will keep busy all day. The truth is, too many options can cause overstimulation and anxiety for kids, making these toys unattractive or uninteresting. So in this case, think: “Less is more.”
So I decided that all of these toys needed a place. Whether that was in a container to rotate, donate, keep in the toy box, or toss–either way the mess had to go!
Is it a lot of upkeep and work?
Once it’s done, no! It does take some investment to purchase or round up the right storage containers, but once you have that, it goes quickly. Dedicate an hour or two to getting out ALL of your toys to organize. Once you have the toys in their place, it’s a breeze to swap them out! The upkeep is up to your discretion. Some people swap out every day, where others swap out every week.
How to start a Toy Rotation
First, start off with some storage containers. I used these Sterilite containers from Amazon. I have linked a pack of 6 for about $40 which I thought was pretty reasonable. I also used some taller containers for boxes that needed to pack a few bigger toys and books, as well as some smaller ones for toy sets with small pieces. My goal was to find containers that stacked nicely in a closet.
Items like train sets, farm toys, cars, Playdough, or Magnatiles-(our favorite)- should be stored in their own personal containers.
Next, lay out ALL your toys. Search every room for every toy. Store toys that your child has outgrown into a separate container or box before you start.
{Pro tip: Do this when your kids are either not home, or sleeping!} I organized all the toys by type. (Ex: balls, transportation toys, dolls, sets, musical toys, etc.) I then laid out all the totes and put in a couple of toys from each category.
Keep items like your Playdough, coloring books, paint, farm sets, and Magnatiles separate. These are something we get out on rainy days, when we are ‘bored,’ or when they are specifically asked for. It makes for easy, independent, clean-up when it is stored in its own container.
I do suggest leaving out some of your child’s favorites to have access to when they choose.
How does a toy rotation actually work?
1. Replace the toys in your toy box with what was in your rotation box. Store what was in the toy box in your rotation box. Rotate every couple days or each week.
OR
2. Keep the toys in the rotation box, in addition to what is already in your toy box. When it is time to clean up, all the toys that were in the rotation box go back into it and gets put away in the closet. The following day get out a new box!
Either way, the key is to keep all toys in their “place,” wherever you decide that is!
What’s in your Toy Rotation Boxes?
Here is a look into a couple of my toy rotation boxes.
I recommend using clear containers as it provides you with easy access to see what is inside. Labeling the boxes may also help to remember where those ‘special’ toys are.
I have toys for both kids in each box. If you have multiple kids, you could also entertain the idea of separate boxes–if you have the space, and your kids have a hard time sharing!
After a while, I have found that rearranging the toys helps keep things new and interesting. And I find it fun to throw in a brand-new toy (maybe something you saved from Christmas or a birthday) as a little surprise here and there. The key is to keep it interesting!
Here is a look at my final toy box situation. I attempted to organize toys in each bin. One bin for balls and sports toys, two bins for transportation toys, one for baby toys, one for toy sets, and of course one for those miscellaneous toys that don’t fit a category. I kept a few of our ‘favorites’ out on the top shelf, but plan to rotate these as well. All rotation boxes go in the hallway closet, or upstairs.
I am still trying to figure out what to do with all of those big ride-on toys and large farm equipment toys, but for now, they are lined up next to our stairs…which is still a work in progress! 😉
Please let me know in the comments your favorite toy organization hacks!!
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