Also, I honestly feel like kids can get overwhelmed when there are too many toys to choose from. They end up just dumping them all out and then flitting around from one toy to the next without actually playing with anything. :(
Our solution with Levi's toys has always been to limit the amount of toys that he has to play with and to clean them up every night before bed so he can learn to be responsible. He is a fantastic cleaner these days and we are so proud!
However, just a couple weeks ago it seemed like cleaning up was taking an extra long time every night so I loaded up a handful of tractors/trucks into a large storage tub and hid them in the basement. He hasn't even noticed and the amount of toys now is a lot more manageable. I plan to rotate them back in and take a few current toys out in maybe another couple weeks.
We keep the toys that Levi is currently playing with in a storage ottoman in his bedroom.
Here's a peek inside:
There's a magna-doodle, a puzzle, a toy laptop, 4 or 5 vehicles to drive around and some building blocks. (And his tricycle is located conveniently nearby!) Honestly, he could keep himself busy with just this stuff for days.
He drags it all over the house and then we clean it up at night (putting it back in the ottoman). Every once in a while throughout the day he will ask for something that's in his closet and we will go get just that one thing out then shut the closet doors again. (And he can't physically open them himself.)
This is what the inside of the closet looks like:
We use the hanging shoe organizer (that I got at Big Lots) for various items (diapers, wipes, sheets, Baby Bjorn, stuffed animals, etc.)
And the bookshelf that we got with a wedding gift card at Pier 1 makes a nice organizer for his toys. There's a bin for "tools",
a bin for "cars",
a shelf for his books,
a bin for his wooden blocks,
large trucks and tractors out front where they can be easily accessed
and larger toys such as his race track and barn on the top shelf.
Above all that is another shelf where we keep the "Too Big" and "Too Small" baskets that I mentioned here as well as a few larger toys to rotate out occasionally.
This system seems to be working for us now. For other ideas on organizing Kids' Toys, check out my post from last year during the 31 Days to a Clutter Free Home series.
I think the key to keeping kids' stuff organized is limiting the amount that they have to begin with and then teaching them to abide by the organizational systems that are set up when it's time to clean up, just like with organizing adults' spaces. Cleaning up and sorting items will have to be something you spend time teaching and training them to do. But once they learn those skills, it should be easier to maintain a clean space.
For the rest of the 31 Days of Pinterest Projects series, click here.
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