As we're quickly approaching the Holiday season, it's a good time to go through the toys in your home. This is such a great time to help those in need by giving away the toys your children don't use any more and make room for new things that might be coming in. If you can, involve the children in the process of giving away their toys to those in need. It's a great character building experience for them to think of the needs of others and helps them look outward instead of inward.
Depending on what stage of life you are in, this may take a little bit more time for some and not quite so much time for others. If you are in the middle of a life with lots of toys, plan on a couple of days as you probably have toys in lots of areas in your home. If you have older children and can condense things, this assignment might not take as long.
The following is a simple way to organize and de-clutter the toys in your home:
- Pick one area or closest or room where the toys are.
- Group the toys in one of three categories:
- Keep - Toys that are quality made, still working and have all the parts.
- Throw away - Toys that are broken or are missing pieces.
- Give away - Toys that still have all the parts, are not broken but which do not get played.
3. With the keep pile, group like toys together i.e. stuffed animals, puzzles, games, little pieces, big toys.
4. Buy bins to hold toys that do not have their own containers. These bins should be able to fit in a closet or on a shelf. I did a search for "toy storage" and found that most of the children's toy storage items, seem to me to add to the clutter. I think I prefer plastic bins or baskets or collapsible boxes that are not kid specific but that are the same size and shape and color to add to a closet or shelf.
look here for some examples: organize.com and containerstore.com
5. Try not to use the floor for storage of toys. Some toys are just too big to fit in a closet, but for the most part, the toys should be tucked away and off the floor.
