The Ultimate Guide to Playroom and Toy Organization
We’ve heard this story before…you want your kids to be creative and have fun in their playroom, but you’re tired of picking up every single mess they make. Well, what if I told you there was a way that you could find a compromise with your kids, and create a space that promotes both creativity AND organization?
Today we’re dishing out all the goods on playroom and toy organization for your home. It’s time to control the chaos and make this a space in your home that you love. Let’s get started!
Start Using Toy Rotations
Let’s start with the truth. Most kids have too many toys. Having all of their toys accessible to them at all times can actually cause stress for your child due to overstimulation. To avoid the stress and create more space, try using toy rotations!
Leave a certain number of toys, games, puzzles, etc. organized on your child’s shelf for them to play with for a while. After a few weeks, rotate out for new ones. Not only does this minimize the toys available for your child, but it also gives them “new” toys to play with which sparks imagination and creative play.
Keep your toy rotation items stored in similar bins that are labeled so you know exactly what you are grabbing and swapping. Pair these bin clips with some of our favorite felt bins to keep your bins organized and looking beautiful!
Less is More
Kids need room to use their imagination. It’s okay to let your kids get bored once in a while! Boredom leads to creativity, so the fewer toys they have in their space, the more likely they are to use their creativity to engage in imaginative play. The fewer items you have out for them to engage with, the more likely you’ll see them pretending to be their favorite character or using items in the room to create an entire make-believe world.
Broad Categories Make Clean Up Easier
If you make your bins too specific, your kids are less likely to clean up their space after a messy play session. To make it easier on them (and you!), keep categories broad.
What do we mean by that? My favorite example is this: make a bin for Characters versus making a bin for action figures, Barbies, Ninja Turtles, etc. You’ll find the broader the categories, the easier it is to keep your space organized and clutter-free. Trust me, you’ll thank us in the end!
Labeling
We’ve said this a thousand times, but labels make everything so much easier! However, if your kiddos aren’t able to read labels quite yet, we have a solution that will work for you!
Instead of using the standard word labels, opt for pictures. It’s much easier for a pre-reader to associate with pictures of where their toys belong, versus being confused on which items go in which bins. In fact, you might wind up with bins of scrambled toys if you label using words versus pictures.
Once your pre-readers become readers, you can go back to a labeling method that encourages reading and organization all in one!
Why Fewer Toys Will Benefit Your Child in the Long Run
Toy overload is a real thing. Is it really the best thing for our children to have playrooms and bedrooms stuffed with more toys than they even have time to play with? Encouraging fewer toys in your home will result in:
Kids learning to be much more creative
Kids developing longer attention spans
Kids establishing better social skills
Kids taking greater care of their objects
Kids developing a deeper love for reading, writing, and art
Kids becoming more resourceful by problem solving with the materials they have
Kids experiencing more of nature and outside play
Kids living in a cleaner, tidier, more organized environment
Why do we love this approach so much? Because after working with hundreds of clients, we have seen how life changing this practice is! Don’t get me wrong, I am not anti-toy, just pro-child. When you limit the number of toys available, you’ll be surprised at the creativity and imagination that was just waiting to be tapped into.
When navigating birthday parties, holidays, and well-meaning friends and family members who are constantly on the lookout for new toys for your kiddo, consider the powerful impact fewer toys make on your space and your child. I’m a big fan of requesting experiences, consumable gifts, and single-use creative activities that will open your child up to other opportunities in the world outside of the toy aisle.
So, what is your favorite way to keep your playroom tidy and organized? Do you have something that helps keep your child’s play areas clutter-free that we didn’t mention? We would love to hear about it!
