How many times have you stepped on a Lego? Or walked into your child’s room and couldn’t believe so much damage could be done in just a matter of minutes!
When you have children, you have toys, which means Toy Chaos! I am not here to tell you it will ever be perfect. The reality is you have kids and there will be messes.
What I can do is share some ideas and tips on how to better organize the toys in your home, which will lead to less chaos and more peace!
Zone toy areas – Decide where in your home you want toys to be stored. And be clear in what areas you do not, for example; master bedroom, formal living and dining areas. Once you know where the toys are going to be stored, you will have less toys “floating” around in undesignated areas.
Reduce toys– Clear out broken toys, outgrown toys and toys that are no longer played with; donate, or save in a box for a younger sibling. Prior to any special event where the child will be getting new toys, go through the process again. Remember, less is more: the less you have, the less your family has to organize!
Rotate toys- Rotate toys every few months. Take half of your current toys and put them in a box labeled “Rainy Day”. When your kids are bored, bring out the box, kids love this, to them it’s like getting the toy new all over again. Rotate box contents every few months.
Contain toys the easy way- Make sure all like items are placed together. Make the containers easy for the children to get in and out of, but most importantly making it easy to clean up! Avoid using toy boxes or large bins. My experience has shown these become dumping grounds for all toys. These containers are only useful if only one kind of toy is placed in them. For example, all stuffed animals belong in the toy chest; all large trucks go into the large bin.
Make clean up fun- In order to maintain an organized toy area; you have to clean it up! And cleaning it up daily will make it easier to maintain. Make it part of your nightly routine. Get everyone involved, turn the music on, set a timer and make a game out of it!
Be specific in clean up– instead of saying, “go clean your room”… tell them to put all of their books on the bookshelf, go put the cars in the car bin. When kids have a specific task to do they won’t be so overwhelmed in doing the task. You can start this process with children as young as 2 Years Old!
Positive feedback- Give your children positive feedback. Tell them what a great job they are doing. Lead by example and celebrate with them. Talk about how nice it is to have a clean and organized room.
When we take the time to teach our children about organization, we are teaching them to honor their space. To appreciate the blessings in our lives and to take care our belongings.
We are teaching our children values that will last a lifetime! Happy Organizing!
Nikki Kinzer is a professional organizer and owner of Take Control Organizing, and proud mother of two. She helps individuals and families build new habits and discover the benefits of organized living.
Blog URL: www.takecontrolorganizing.com/blog/
Twitter: @TCOrganizing
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