With so many holidays, birthdays, and special events, we know that toy overload is a real thing in homes with kids. Fewer toys will help you and your child in the long run. While many playrooms and bedrooms these days can be stuffed with toys, is that really the best thing for children? Encouraging fewer toys in your home will result in more creativity, longer attention spaces, taking greater care of their possessions, becoming less selfish, and living in a tidier and more organized environment. Here are a few tips to organize your playroom.
Declutter
The first step to organizing literally any space is to get rid of the things you don’t want or need. Sort toys into similar categories and work through them with your child to see what toys they want to keep and which ones can be donated. Check out my post on purging with kids for tips.
Store “messy” toys out of reach
I can’t tell you how many games and puzzles we’ve had to throw away because the kids were too young to handle playing with it alone. I suggest storing things like puzzles, games, and paint out of reach of your kids. These are things that need a little more parental supervision to ensure all those little pieces don’t get lost or paint doesn't end up where it shouldn’t. Craft kits are another item we like to store up high to be used on a rainy day as a special treat.
Try a toy rotation
If there’s still too many toys for your play space, try a toy rotation. Find an area to store extra toys and rotate them in and out of the playroom every month or so. This will allow for some excitement over “new” things to play with while eliminating overwhelm. Overstimulation discourages play which is the opposite of what we want! Less is more when it comes to kids and free play. Creativity will spark when they are forced to figure out what to do with less. Extra space will give their imaginations room to soar!
Use broad categories
The point of organization is that everything has a place. Creating homes for our items help make cleaning up easier, especially with kids. When creating your play zones and categories keep them broad. For example, use the category dolls instead of LOL dolls and Barbie dolls. Use the category animals instead of sea creatures or farm animals. Broader categories limit confusion during clean up time. The point of organizing is to keep it that way and we want the kid’s to be responsible for cleaning up. Involve them in the category naming so it makes sense for them!
Label, label, label
Labels are the key to remembering where our items go. Use labels and pictures for each category in your newly organized playroom. This will make finding toys and cleaning up a breeze!
Pro-tip: Want your kids to remember where to put their bins and baskets of toys? Label the shelves too so they know where each bin goes.
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