We have all been there. Sitting in the middle of our child’s room, piles of toys surrounded us, wondering what insanity led to this moment. Wondering how we are going to crawl our way back out of the black hole that is toys. Worry no more! I am here to save you with this post “How to Organize Kid’s Toys”!
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First let’s discuss for a moment how we got into the situation we are in, surrounded by a sea of toys…most of which aren’t getting played with. Studies have shown children are easily overwhelmed with toys, especially when those toys do not ignite their imagination. Of course, each child is different, so what ignites one child’s imagination, may not do it for another.
How to Organize Your Kid’s Toys
I have read other suggestions that say to pile all the toys in the middle of the room and sort through them. This seems way too overwhelming to me. I tend to give up mid-project if it is too much to handle. Especially if you have many toys, this approach seems like it would go bad quickly.
How To Organize Kid’s Toys By Type
Organizing by type of toy allows you to see how much of one thing you have. Are there any duplicates? If so have all fights over the toy ended? Eliminate all unnecessary duplicates if possible.
How to Organize Kid’s Toys By Catagory
Gather all your action figures, Barbies, Legos, or other similar toys. If you have enough of that toy create a “category” of it. Set aside broken toys if there is not enough to make a category, and sort through them as well.
Try Not To Be Too Sentimental When You Organize Kid’s Toys
Trust me, I understand being sentimental about toys. For the first 6 to 7 years of my son’s life, I was buying toys based on my childhood memories. Just recently I’ve been able to give up the toys they had since they were toddlers. I am into vintage Fisher-Price Little People. However, we got good use from those toys for years, and it was time to make room, so we sold them off.
Allow Your Child to Have a Say But Set Boundaries
Set boundaries for your child, but allow them to have a say in what stays and what goes. For example, do you need to keep 5 of the same toy? Pick your favorite, best-quality toy and stick with it. Take into consideration what you have room for as well. Maybe present this to your child too. “You have room for only a certain amount of these toys. Pick your favorite one that is in the best condition.”
Choices Are Important
If your child is having a hard time giving things up, make sure you give lots of choices. Don’t push things too much. Observe for a while to see if certain toys are being played with, or if they are being left behind more often than not. Optionally, remove toys without their knowledge, and if they are not looking for them in the next several weeks or months, then you can feel safe to permanently remove them.
# 1 Tip: Only Keep a Few Catagories When Organizing Kid’s Toys
Over the years, our categories have changed a few times. For example, you may have one or two large categories. I will give you some examples of our categories throughout the years.
- Legos
- Trains
- Fisher-Price
- Playmobil
- Marvel/DC Action Figures
- Imaginative Play (dolls, doctor, food…)
- a few odds and ends like action figures or smaller figurines that don’t have a specific category of their own.
Currently, our categories are:
- Legos (take up a lot of space and require more storage)
- Trains (take up a lot of space and require more storage)
- Transformers (small collection, but a new favorite toy)
- Dinosaurs
- a few odds and ends like small figurines that still don’t have a specific category.
Try To Buy Within the Catagories
This is easier said than done when others may be involved in buying toys for your children. So consistency is vital when it comes to sorting through things that no longer get played with. Make it a regular part of your monthly cleaning schedule.
Don’t be too hasty when getting rid of things either. We have a large collection of train tracks, and they are a favorite of my boys, but they don’t get played with on a daily basis. However, they do get played with regularly and the collection is ever-growing.
What Do You Have Room For?
When figuring out how to organize kids’ toys, you need to make sure you know what you have space for. Currently, my sons are into Transformers. As their collection grows, I will see a need to eliminate or greatly reduce another category, such as the Dinos. We have not bought Legos in a while, but we have a good collection of them, and I have plans to grow the train collection just a bit more. Try living by a simple rule, when new toys come in, old toys need to go out.
What Containers Are Best for Storage?
I have been organizing things for years, and I have spent years looking for the perfect container. I have always opted for clear containers, something that can fit into a drawer. However, I had always been on the hunt for something that was uniform. I seemed to always have containers, upon containers, but they were all different. I had been looking for so long for the perfect storage that I had quite the collection of the wrong storage.
That is until The Home Edit came along. Or more accurately, came along at my local Walmart.
Why I LOVE The Home Edit Bins
In a previous post, I discussed how I use The Home Edit in my homeschool room organization. Mainly in my home I use the 10×10 bin and it comes with smaller bins that fit inside, but here’s the best part. They stack together. I love that they fit together so well, and are stackable. What is even better is that they are sold at Walmart. In my opinion, for what you get, you can’t beat the price. This line of products has become exclusively what I use in my home. Find your Home Edit bins here.
Here are other containers from The Home Edit that I recommend:
This is an example of all the things that can fit in one 10×10 container. Look how pretty!
Don’t Get Overwhelmed
All in all, it’s important to not get overwhelmed in the first place. Stick to a few simple rules for yourself and your family and you will be a pro at organizing kid’s toys in no time!
