It seems like a never ending battle. Each year and with each child, the mess gets worse and worse and even more overwhelming. You stuff them into bins and boxes, but they reappear within hours. You know you need to pare down and organize the toys, but it so overwhelming that you don't do anything.
If this sounds like you, read on for five tips on how to organize the mess!
1. Wait until the kids are in bed or at school. As soon as the kids see what you are doing, they are going to LOVE each and every toy you try to pare down.
2. Gather all the toys in one place. That's right, bring all the toys that have been stuffed underneath the bed, in the bins and boxes, under the couch and in the closet. As overwhelming as this seems, it must be done. You need to know what you are up against!
3. Throw away the broken toys. Trust me, doing this first will give you the psychological boost you need to stay motivated. You still have a long ways to go!
4. Separate the rest into a give, sell, or keep bins. Do this quickly without overthinking. Don't give yourself time to overthink and change your mind. If your first thought is to give them away, then put them in the give bin.
5. Once you have done this, sort the rest into groups. Put like with like. For example, keep the markers, construction paper, and scissors together in an arts and crafts pile. Keep the Legos, building toys, and Lincoln logs together. Keep the costumes in another pile etc.
6. Pare down once more. Do you really need 12 boxes of 164 crayons? Once complete, sort into groups of now and later. Put the ones you are using for later in a bin and put in the closet or garage.
7. Instead of putting the remaining toys in baskets and bins, try putting them on a toy shelf instead. In our house, we have a 3 tier shelf for each kid. Each of my kids toys must fit on a tray on the shelf.
8. Set a toy rotation schedule. We rotate every 4-6 weeks. If there is an item my kids are still playing with, we keep it out until the next rotation.
I hope you find this helpful!
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