Here are a few of my tips:1. Get large bins and rotate toys. So, for example my friend Janae has limited toy storage so she has 6 bins of toys that she puts out one at a time, as they get sick of playing with some toys, put them all in the bin and bring out the next bin. It is amazing how fun it is for them to rediscover their favorite toys, again. In my playroom I have one large tin bin for all the random and large things, so everything has its place.
2. Break it down. Braden used to pull out all his toys to find the tools he wanted to play with or he only wanted to play with Buzz. So one day I got about a dozen small bins, from shoebox size to bigger and put the toys by categories. They have changed in the past 2 years to accommodate what he plays with and what he doesn't use often goes into a bigger storage bin. I have them broken down into the following categories. "Cars", "Toy Story", cartoon characters, transportation (He used to have separate quad, motorbike, car bins, but this was easier), arts & crafts, electronics (like walkie-talkies, fans, really random things), Magnetix, tools, dress up and games and puzzles. In the downstairs play room we make sure that the toys are appropriate for Berk to play with, and anything that is too small goes up in his room to play with ONLY in there.
3. Label it! I did this with his clothing drawers so he could start to get dressed and help put the laundry away and the idea worked so well we moved on to toys... So I find a picture of what goes into the bin, drawer, basket and then also type the word so he can help learn the letters.
4. Sort it. We all get piles of McDonalds toys, broken toys or games that are missing pieces. So every time I have to do a big clean up I always have a trash bag handy. Also, before Christmas and birthdays I always make sure there is a few toys we give to D.I. to make room for the new ones.
What tips do you have?
11 comments:
My friend labels the bins for her kids too. It works out good because they can see the picture and put the toys in the right bins. It bugs me if my kids toys are all in random bins. Blocks are in one, legos together, animals together...and so on. I actually jsut HATE toys. It seems my kids don't really play with them and just dump them out. I have wanted to just throw them all way, but have yet to commit to that. One day I swear I will. Good luck with the organizing. Seems like you are on a good track.
Pay me and i'll organize it for you anytime you want! well, whenever i'm home of course
Hi Caryn!! You totally intimidate me. You are the ultimate mommy. I will be using those tips once Peyton is old enough to have way too many toys too. And your blog is awesome, I am new at this and could use some pointers to make mine pretty too. Lindsey (Rhonda's friend from the salon)
www.thebrownsfam.blogspot.com
Tips??? I think we're all learning from you! I like the rotation idea, but havn't actually done that yet...Hmmmmm.
Wow, I love organizing so this sounds so fun to me. I should have done the picture on the labels, that's a good idea. Now I have a negative amount of time so I'll just stick all this info in the corner of my brain labeled "Some day". Good ideas!
You look super organized to me. I am going to see what I can do to get my toys in order.
caryn--i need your email address since i made my blog for exclusive members only!
Wow, Rachel I feel so cool! I will call you tommorrow with it!
WOW! This looks awesome. Thanks for the tips. I love to have things organized too otherwise I get very cranky.
Ok you are so organized. I think I need to do that. Lets get the kids together. i dont have anyting for awhile. Except school. So give me a call
wow, youre organized. i need to be more like you.
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