Taming the Toys in Your House

How do you "Tame the Toys" in your house? Or maybe the question should be....Is it even worth it to try? While it may be impossible or at the very least frustrating, to try and organize the toys in your home, there are a few ideas that I've come across that may ( or may not! ) help.

Some moms I know follow the rule " one comes in, one goes out." In essence, for every new toy that your child gets, they pick another toy to be donated. This is a good idea, but in our house I find it hard to implement becuase I am not consistent enough. New toys are always sneaking in without another leaving!

A variation of the rule, is to sit down with your kids 2-3 times a year, and pick out toys to donate. This is more practical for me. It helps to designate certain times of the year to do this, and the bonus is that this process can become a family tradition. Obvious times of the year would be Christmas, birthdays, and maybe the start of a new school year. I find that my children enjoy going through the toys, and giving some away to other kids who may not be as fortunate.

How about organizing all the toys scattered about into clear containers to keep the same type of toys together? For example, in one tub put all Mr. Potato Head Parts. Another tub could hold all play food items. Another tub for legos, and on and on. The most important thing with this idea is to use a container that is clear, and easy to toss the toys into.

For all the miscellaneous toys that clutter up living room and family room floors throughout the day, have attractive wicker baskets in each room that you
can quicly and easily toss the toys into. You can store the wicker basket behind a chair, recliner or couch, if you want it out of sight.

Have a bookshelf in one room of the house where you can keep all the books.

You can also try designating certain toys to certain room in your home. For example, have the toy train set and table set up in a toy/family room. There
could also be other miscellaneous toys in that room as well. In the living room, designate an area/table/shelf for books and board games only.
Children's bedrooms can be the designated areas for dolls, castles, legos, etc.... Designating toys to one area of the house can really help limit
clutter.

One last idea is to simply box up some toys, and put them away for a little while When you decide to bring them back out, often the children will be
excited to play with them again. Then pick some other toys to rotate back into storage for a while.

But no matter how you manage to tame the toys in your home, remember that it is more important to enjoy this special time with your kids then it is to have a perfectly clean house. Soon enough you will find yourself missing those toys strewn all over your floors.