Tackle the Toys!

Written by Syvlia Daoust

Are your kids’ toys taking over your home? Are the toys stored in a designated play area, or throughout the whole house? If you would like to get the toys under control, set aside a couple of hours and follow these simple steps. (Don’t forget to include your child in this project!)

1. Send each child to a room in the house and have them fill up their bin with toys they find.
2. Designate one room and make space for the sorting process.  Dump the contents of the bins your child collected.
3. Sort into categories (dress-up, music, dolls) and start your piles.  Have a couple of boxes ready for the donate and trash pile.
4. If toys will be in more than one room, decide which categories go where…stuffies in the bedroom, arts and crafts in the kitchen etc…
5. Now decide how the toys will be stored…in stackable bins, baskets, on shelving, open plastic tubs.  (Keep in mind, the bigger the bin, the more difficult it will be for your child to maintain order.)
6. If you want to keep this area organized, label each storage bin/shelf so that your child knows where its home is.

* Most flexible labelling solution…use plastic card sleeves and insert the picture of the toy.  This makes it easy to change.  Use double sided velcro tabs to adhere to the bins. (see image as we’re in the process of labelling.)