I get this question {or some version of it} a lot.
“Your house doesn’t look like it has 2 kids living in it. Where are all the toys?”
Contrary to popular belief, I do not lock my kids up in the basement or keep them outside. In fact, they eat, play and make messes here every single day. Just like any other kid. We do have a ‘toy system’ in place to corral all the kid stuff in our house which helps to make picking up {or ‘redding up’ as Handy Hubby calls it} simple. Here are a few of my secrets for keeping toys in check:
1. Donate, separate and rotate. About 3-4 times per year, I {sometimes with the boys’ help} go through all the toys and purge. If it’s broken, missing parts or just not grabbing my kids’ attention anymore {young kids tend to outgrow toys quickly!} I get rid of it. Most items make it to Goodwill where I always ask for a receipt to write them off at tax time. A few things get passed onto neighbor kids who see the secondhand toy as new. Some people may have a problem with this idea, wanting to hold onto toys because they remind them of their kids or thinking the kid might play with it again someday. But I find happiness in knowing that our donated toys can make another child smile while keeping our house clutter free at the same time. {I do keep the rare family heirloom toy.} Whatever makes the cut and gets to stay in our home is loosely categorized: cars, trains, blocks, Knex, books, puzzles, games, etc. I try to keep like with like. I’m not military stiff about it; we don’t have labels or anything. I also try to keep what’s at kid reach to a minimum…meaning I put away a few items to rotate into the mix every couple of weeks once the boys have gotten bored of what’s available. I find the boys are more apt to focus on a few toys versus a gazillion. Simply keeping a handle on the amount of toys in our home makes it that much easier to create a space where kids, adults and style can live harmoniously.
2. Place toys in appropriate areas. In other words, I keep toys in the rooms/areas where I like my kids to play – mainly the family room and guest/playroom. I set aside one half of our guest room to act as a playroom upstairs. I hated the idea of only using this room in our house a couple of times per year when we had visitors. Now, it gets used weekly if not daily.
Believe it or not, my kids don’t really have any toys in their bedrooms. Instead, I store all their books in their bedrooms. My boys have always been great sleepers and it may/may not have anything to do with this. {Kind of the same reason Handy Hubby and I refuse to have a TV in our bedroom.} To us, bedrooms are spaces for downtime and sleeping…not playing. Same goes for the front living room in our home where you enter the house. I don’t like the idea of people tripping over toys as soon as they walk in, so I don’t store toys there. That’s not to say that we don’t get the occasional car or truck under our feet in the kitchen, living room or even dining table. But, for the most part, we’re able to keep the toys in appropriate zones out of the way of normal traffic flow.
3. Store toys in appealing baskets, bins and containers. Not only can this work to keep toys out of sight, but many storage options can actually add texture and interest to a room. For instance, I use a console behind our family room sectional for toy storage. The woven baskets hold toys and break up all the dark wood and leather.
I use baskets, bins and boxes all over the family room for disguising toys.
This corner may look unassuming enough but behind the chair is a fabric covered bin holding our Wii floor mat. {Yes, those are my toes.}
One bin in the TV console is assigned to kid DVD’s.
The ottomans that flank the entertainment console actually house board games.
The black and white geometric ‘book’ has a secret.
Card games!
Even our sunroom is in on the basket organization action.
The basket holds Lincoln Logs.
Truth be told, we do have toys in our house after all! You just have to know where to look.
4. Get rid of bulky packaging. As soon as a new toy comes into our house, usually the first thing to go is the packaging. {Don’t worry, we recycle.} All that cardboard is unnecessary. Once that’s out of the way, I’m usually left with a much smaller thing to find a place for, and I can come up with an alternative to the flimsy packaging that holds up way better.
For example, I use this linen box to house a solar system puzzle.
I cut the picture off of the original box and store it with the puzzle pieces for a quick reference.
5. Pick up as you go. If Layne & Everett have been playing cars all morning {a typical morning} and then decide they want to try Playdoh, I’ll usually say something like, “Okay, I’ll get out the Playdoh while you guys put the cars away.” That way we don’t have too many messes going on at once. In case you’re wondering where the Playdoh is…
…it’s in the bottom drawer of this cabinet…
Before bedtime at the end of every night, we make ’em clean up toys too. But I’ll be honest. We do have those nights when I’m just so ready for them to go to bed that I’ll forgo the toy mess until later. We’re not perfect!
6. Save large items for special days. Over the years, I’ve kept the kids’ kitchenette, pop-up tent and ball pit in our unfinished basement. I’ll bring one upstairs every month or so and leave it up for about a week. After that, they’re usually tired of it and back down to the basement it goes.
So, there you go. That’s how I keep toys from taking over our house. Maybe this makes me out to be a stickler, but I assure you my kids have plenty to keep them occupied. We rarely have the *newest* toy because there’s always going to be another *better* toy to follow. Half the time my kids prefer to move around the furniture and build forts anyway. Who needs toys when you have your imagination?
kid-friendly, organization