Monday, December 27, 2010

How to Organize Your Kid's Toys and Keep Them that Way!


Do you ever feel like you are living in a toy store instead of your home? Are you kid's toys taking over their room or maybe even your whole house? If you feel this way, you are not alone! Many parents face the ongoing struggle of keeping the toys under control, especially after the holidays.

The good news is with a few simple tips and a little bit of time, you will be able to get a grip on the toy-extravaganza. Let us share with you what we have learned!

The first thing you need to do is to start sorting.

You can do this by pulling out all the toys your children have and organize them into categories - Throw Away, Give Away, and Keep. Many times we just keep collecting toys and most of them go unused because they are old, broken or your child has outgrown them. In these cases, they are just filling space.

You may want to get your children involved in this process, but just remember you make the final decision. If you’re child tends to be sentimental, you may want to do this when they aren’t home. Chances are if they haven’t played with it for months they won’t even miss it! For toys that you can give away, consider donating them to less fortunate children. By doing so, you can teach your children the joy of giving.

Once you have decided what you are going to keep, you need a way to keep them organized.

Start by categorizing into "toy types." For example: Games, Stuffed Animals, Art Supplies, Books, Lego's...etc. Then figure out what to store them in – selecting the right storage supplies is key. There are so many great options available. The Container Store, Space Savers, Clutter Free Kids, and iToyBoxes.com are great resources. So, do your research and put some thought into it. And be sure to label!

How about where to store them? Try to think about it from the perspective of your child. Will the toys still be accessible to them? Will it be easy for them to find what they are looking for? Will be it easy for them to put it away themselves? Of course, if it is something that is dangerous for the child to use without your presence, then put it in a safe place.

Probably the most valuable piece of advice we can give you is to train your children to pick up after themselves. This means less work for you and you are instilling practical training.

If you would like professional help to get organized, Simplify can help you. We have many resources that we would love to share with you. Please contact us for more information.

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