How to Get Your Kids to Clean Up Their Toys

Kids and toys....the two go together and if you've got kids, you probably have lots of toys too. Toys seem to wander to different parts of the house. They are on the floor. They are on the kitchen counter. How do you control the toys? How do you keep the mess from growing bigger? If you want some ways to tame the mess, read on!

The first thing you need to do is not to over-buy when it comes to toys. If kids have too many toys, they get overwhelmed and don't even know where to begin to play. If, however, well meaning friends and relatives have bought your kids toys and you do wind up with too much stuff, don't despair. A rotation of toys may be what you need so that the area are not too many available at one time.

The first thing I would suggest is to make sure that every toy has a basket, bucket, or some sort of container to be put away in. If it is a container you have had to buy separately from the toy, find a way to label the container, preferably with a picture that younger kids can "read" on their own. You can often print pictures from the internet. Find a picture of the toy, save it to your computer and then print it in the appropriate size. Tape the picture securely to the container so everyone knows what is inside.

Once toys are all in their own special containers, rotation of toys is much easier. Simply take some of the containers of toys away and put them where kids can't access them. A garage, basement, or closet should work fine. After a week or two, take different containers of toys away and bring back some of the ones that had been stored. In this manner, you only have a limited number of toys available at any one time. This helps with clean up because there are not so many different things to sort and put away on any one clean up session.

Additionally, if all the toys have their own special container, you can simply put the containers in the middle of a messy floor and have children scoop toys into the containers. Clean up time is fast and easy because there are only a few containers to choose from and kids just have to sort a few things so it is not too difficult.

Another critical thing when cleaning up toys is to have set rules from the start. If you have rules and kids know the rules, breaking the rules would mean a consequence. For example, if your rule is that no toys belong in the kitchen and you find a toy in the kitchen, you simply confiscate that toy. Even if it is an absolute favorite, you must be firm in not giving it back. This will help children learn that when you say "no toys in the kitchen" you really mean it. You may choose to give it back after a week or two but definitely do not give in to whines. Wait until the toy has just about been forgotten about before returning it.

Other important rules about toys could be that miscellaneous pieces cannot just be left on the floor when no one is playing with them. Again, a direct consequence could be that the toy gets taken away. Different households need different rules and what works in your house may not work in the next house. You will want to set the rules and make them logical. Make sure that there are stated consequences and that you follow through.

Similarly, there need to be limits set on playtimes. If you want the kids to clean up before bedtime, you need to set a deadline for playtime. Kids can't play right until the time you want them to go to bed and still be expected to have cleaned up all the toys. If, for example, bedtime is 8PM then Clean up time needs to start at 7:30. With very young children, give them specific directions on clean up. Do not just say, "clean up your toys now" or you will get no where. Instead, you may want to say, "Peter, put all of the toy cars in the red bucket with the car picture on it." This will give the child direction and something very specific to do.

When it comes to cleaning toys in children's rooms, similar rules need to apply. If your child's room is a fire hazard because there are so many toys, then, again, you need to take some away. Finding better storage solutions like shelving with plastic buckets may be the key in your situation. Often a closet organizing system is helpful in finding places for all the toys. Or, it just may be that you just need to get id of some stuff. Maybe you can convince your kids to have a yard sale in which they can earn some money from the toys they no longer play with. Or perhaps you know of a family that may have very little and could benefit from the toys your children no longer play with. Either way, your children will feel like their stuff has value and can be used by someone else if they are no longer able to use it.

Children today have so many toys and finding ways to keep them organized and fun is a challenge. With a little bit of work in organizing and a few rules about cleaning up, your home can be neat and tidy, even with lots of toys!