Controlling the Toy Clutter

The holidays or birthday parties are over and now you are left wondering where are you going to put all the toys. Getting control of your child's toy clutter is a major battle that once accomplished does not stay under control without constant work on both you and your child's part. Whether you have one or multiple children, setting up ground rules when it comes to the accumulation of toys will make life a little more enjoyable when presents come around.

Getting Started

Before any major ground rules can be established, the existing toys must be sorted and organized. Know is the time to help your child go through his toy box and only keep the most cherished items. Toys that are broken, too young for him or that are never played with should be sorted into give away and throw away piles. If your child is having a hard time letting go of toys you know he does not play with, you may try doing this on your own this time while he is not home.

Once you clear out the toys that are no longer being played with, its time to organize the ones you kept. Clear plastic boxes make good storage containers for a variety of toys such as cars or blocks. Bead boxes, the ones that allow you to create different sized compartments, are ideal for storing small building blocks and the components that go along with them.

One In, One Out

After everything is sorted and organized, its time for ground rules on new toys coming into the house. With the exception of items such as building blocks, toy cars and doll accessories that work together with old toys, set up a one in and one out rule. For every new toy that is brought into the home, the child receiving the toy must donate one. Keep a running list of any toys that where broken or donated without a new toy coming in for each child. This will give you a tally of how many outs have already occurred.

Older children will learn a valuable lesson if you take them with you to donate the used toys. Consider homeless shelters or battered women's centers as a donation option.

To help facilitate this new rule, set up a donate box outside each child's room the week after holidays or birthdays. This will give your child time to decide which toys stay and which ones are ready for a new home.