Organizing children’s toys is something so many parents wrestle with. How many toys to keep? Where to store toys? How to organize toys? And best of all… how does one get their children to actually pick up their toys?
Encouraging children to pick up their toys is a difficult task. I have never wanted to be the mom that follows around the kids around poking them to clean up. But at the same time, no mom wants to spend their entire life cleaning up after their capable children.
Limiting Toys Available
A tip to help minimize the mess and inevitable battle to pick up is to limit the toys available to children at any given time.
By keeping only a certain amount of toys available, the chances of a big, overwhelming mess are not as likely.
Having a Home for Everything
Creating a home for everything has incredible benefits for everyone.
It helps children know where to find what they are looking for without tearing out every toy from the bin. Additionally, it helps kiddos know where to put things when they are finished.
Keeping clean up simple means less stress for parents and kiddos.
When our children were younger I loved utilizing the Montessori philosophy of open toy storage. This method was great for encouraging play without overwhelming the child.
As our kids have grown older, their playsets now have more pieces. From Legos to the dollhouse to their play kitchen, each thing they play with seems to be far more pieces then would fit in a single basket.
To accommodate these new toys and new interests, I began utilizing the Ikea Trofast units to help organize toys in a manner that was clean and pretty.
These units help to keep the toys stored but prevent an overwhelming environment for the kids.
Our toys are now stored in bins with labels. The number of toys or types of toys is still kept to just a few in order to encourage imaginative play.
Using Toy Labels to Organize
To keep things easy for the kiddos, I created toy labels with both the word and the picture of what is in the bin.
After laminating the sheets I simply cut out the toy labels and use adhesive velcro to adhere them to the bins.
Toy Rotation with Labels
Toy rotation is one of my favorite ways to keep toy clutter to a minimum. Only a few of the toys are kept out in our playroom and the others are kept in bins upstairs.
When it comes time to rotate toys, I pull toys out from upstairs and replace the toys downstairs.
These toy labels can easily be swapped between the storage container and the bin. As one toy is moved out so is the corresponding label.
Supporting Play without the Stress
I love watching my kiddos play. It brings me such joy to see the worlds they dive into but when the mess becomes so great that it is causing stress for everyone involved, something had to change.
These toy labels for toy bins give the kids the ability to own the process of cleaning up. There are no longer tears over where to find something or stress over where to put things away.
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The holiday season is a magical time filled with warmth, joy, and unforgettable memories. It’s a time to gather with loved ones, share delicious meals,
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Great Printables
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So cute! Thank you!