I need some major tips on managing toy clutter! Now that Jack's 1st birthday and Christmas are behind us we are inundated with toys. He has a toy box that is full. I have a basket in the living room that is full. There are toys EVERYWHERE. Aaaaack! Help!!!
Us, too! We've got toy receptacles in every single room of the house, and I'm not exaggerating! We've got shelves full of toys in the kitchen; a play "kitchen" and a craft center in what is supposed to be our dining room; a toy chest in our living room; a play area in the corner of our guest bedroom, and a "parking space" - for Inchworm and other ride-on toys - in our garage. And the sad thing is that - except for his birthday and Christmas - we hardly ever buy anything for the poor kid! Almost everything he's got is a hand-me-down from his cousins, and we're still overwhelmed by toys. I actually kinda like it, though, so I'm not complaining. But I'm sure my single friends are absolutely horrified!
Posts: 483 | Location: Way too far from home | Registered: 09 November 2007
Two things help me keep on top of toy clutter with two girls. One is bookcases (pretty white girly ones) in each of their rooms with baskets and organizer cubes positioned on each shelf. I keep alike toys grouped together in these bins (i.e. barbie stuff, carebear stuff, polly pocket stuff) and just "bin them". It helps with clean up too because the kids learn to just scoop and dump back into the correct bin. Two is closet organizers. I use those hanging organizers to put games and crafts and other things in. The entire bottom of the closet, because their cloths are short, is used for larger toys like their cleaning cart and doctor cart and playdoh table. So far so good, but it does take a "twice a year" overhaul. Another good idea is to get a shoe organizer for the back of doors and put things in those as well.
P.S. - Ever notice, the smaller the child the larger the toys and vice versa? I went from a huge rocking worm and activity door from my one year old now to polly pockets and littliest petshop for my 5 year old.
You need Flash Player 8 (or higher) and JavaScript enabled to view this content
About TuscMoms.com
TuscMoms.com Editor Kristi Palma is an award-winning journalist with a Master's Degree from Northeastern. But she's first and foremost a stay-at-home mom to Jack, a blue-eyed banana-lovin' little boy born in November '06.
Contact her at kristi.palma@tuscmoms.com.
More about us and our editor