Need Suggestions for Toy Storage!!!

My Mom use to rotate my toys. About once a month she would bring a new bunch out pack up another set of toys the ones I wasn't really playing with. Put those away and I was all excited when I had a whole new set (I thought) of toys to play with. I did this too when my children were younger and it worked well. As far as storage goes, They have those shelves with the colored bins or tubs in them. So even have clear ones so they can see what's in them before dumping out and having a mess to clean up because it wasn't want they wanted. I hope I help. Hugs, L.

well, I am old school, but I know for my sons I used to put only some of the toys out for them to play with at a time, then when they seemed to get tired of them I would put those away and put out some others. This kept me from having to buy new ones, as they always felt like they had something new since they hadn't seen that toy for quite some time.

As an interior decorator, I was called in to organize a childs room more than once. I had a system that worked well. The first problem was actually identifying who was attached to all of the toys, the parents or the children. I would find that many of toys held more value to the parents, based on what was paid for the toy or who gave it as a present, than it held for the children. After we discussed play value verses other values, we set aside anything that did not carry a high play value to the children. These items were stored away while Mom and Dad decided the best course of action for them.

The closet is usually a very good storage area, inside of a bedroom. With low shelves added, children can have easy access to the items that they play with the most. One of the issues we encountered in nearly every home, was the small pieces like puzzles, legos, etc, that get mixed up into other items. We placed puzzles on a higher shelf, requiring help to get down. These were then used only when all other toys had been put away so that they could be managed easier, and put away when the children were finished.

Some families had more toys than any child could ever appreciate. We established a system, explaining to the parents and the children that more toys does not mean happier children, but in fact, more toys can actually mean chaos. We encouraged them to go through their toys and give us as many as they felt they could part with, we then donated them to charities. If the amount left was still too much for one closet storage system, we began a store and rotate system. They toys that were not stored in the closet were stored in a container and placed in the basement. They would be rotated into the room and many of those in the room would be rotated out at a time that seemed best to the parent and children.

With all of that said, I would like to speak openly and honestly about this situation. I have walked into many kids rooms and been unable to walk through due to the many toys. We discuss on this forum how young children can be over stimulated, this can be said for anyone. A bed room should be the one place in a home that provides peace and safety. We are so blessed in this country that we shower our children with love through the number of possessions they quickly begin to accumulate. Children learn and grow, it is the way they are created. Their little minds play with or without toys, they will find a way. I am not saying that toys or wrong or bad. I am saying that we tend to over stimulate our children through the shear number of toys they have to choose from in their own rooms. There was a time when a little girl had a doll and a little boy had a truck. Then that little girl and boy had a toy chest. Then that little boy and girl had a closet for their things. Now they have more than they can fit into one room. Their little minds need peace and time to think, they need to be able to lay on a bed and dream, without the clutter around them. They need to feel the serenity that a clean and uncluttered room can bring into a very hectic, busy and sometimes, disheartening day.

Sometimes less is more.

You're not going to like the answer, it's so simple, and yet soooo hard for many moms to do.

Cull the Herd! Get rid of about half of all toys.

They don't keep them neat, or use them, and forget about them in bins...because there are toooooo many.

Throw away anything broken or missing parts. Donate to a women's shelter anything they have outgrown, to make this easier look at the abundance your children have, and imagine a mother fleeing an abusive husband/boyfriend in the middle of the night with NOTHING but the clothes they are wearing, no toys, no keepsakes, just their lives. Surely you have thing your children don't play with that someone else could benefit from?

Then here's the hard part....it's gonna' be brutal.

It's the One-In-One-Out rule. Less is more, and less means they will use their brains more, develop their thoughts and imagination and be so much the better for it...

My daughter is in Cornel College. We had soooo little money, there was just not extra cash for extra stuff, and while I have some regrets that things had to be so hard, she's turned out great, and that's in part to the fact that she had to use her brain to entertain herself, not just sit and wait to have some outside object tickle her fancy.

I agree with most of the other posters saying to rotate your kids' toys. We do that with the two little ones now. Its like Christmas when they see the ones that have been hidden away for awhile. Also, with my olders boys, when they were 4 or 5, we used the large round plastic buckets as their toyboxes. Before birthdays and Christmas when new toys were about to come in, we'd sit down and dump out the buckets. I would hold up two toys at a time and they had to decide which one they wanted to keep and which one would get donated (or thrown out if it was broken or missing pieces). There were also times they wouldn't want to downsize and I'd tell them they had to name 10 things that were at the bottom of the bucket without looking. If they couldn't remember what was buried down there, then the toys must not be that great! :) Also at that age, I resorted to taking toys away that weren't picked up. They had a choice of getting their allowance at the end of the week or using it to buy back toys I'd taken. Their allowance wasn't very big at that age, but to them it meant a lot. If they didn't "buy" their toys back by the end of the month, I'd donate them or throw them out.
Good luck! :)

Whenever possible children should be playing at the table with only one type of toy at a time. I agree that most do have too many toys usually and they don't know how to use them. As parents and caregivers it's really our job to encourage them to lengthen their attention spans and use their time wisely.

At my house we do Sesame Street everyday because I believe it's a very wholesome show with much to learn. That takes an hour. With writing practice, drawing, phonics practice, lunch, outdoor time or taking a field trip and nap time, there isn't a whole lot of time left for play. Free play is something that should not be overdone with small children or they never learn to listen, follow directions and their attention spans stay terribly short.

I completely believe in the one in one out rule. I tell my kids if they aren't sitting with it or touching it, put it away. I refuse to change activities or feed the kids or even give them drinks until it's all put back.

Most of our toys are stacked up in baskets in the corner of my daughters room and they don't get played with much at all. That's actually a very good thing. When we do pull one of the buckets out and trade it with the one bucket that stays in the living room the toys have been missed, just as others here have said.

Suzi

C.,

If your children don't play with all their toys because the storage is too difficult to use, "store" some of them completely away--in a box, on a shelf. Only leave out a manageable amount. Rotate the toys every month or whatever length of time you'd like. They will be thrilled with seeing toys they haven't seen in a long time and you won't have so many toys lying around every day.

By no means are we perfect. But this is what we did/do. We cleaned out the hall closet and gave a couple shelves for games, puzzles and less played with items. We also took the kitchen and put it in her closet anlong with several other things. Thed rest is in the basement which is less used area. On occassion she will go downstairs and pick a toy or 2 to swap for awhile. It works great and she appreciates the "new" toys from downstairs. Hopw this helps some.

What I use did was use a clear plastic bin fromw walmart that has fold out tops. Each box has subject, like hotwheels, blocks ect then I keep them in the closet and they them has 2-3 out and then on saturday I switch boxes. So Each week the toys are changing. The larger items go in the toy box and thats in the room. every once in a while I pull toys from the bottom and place on top.

I hear you! My problem was storage and getting the kids to pick up. I have used the pop up hampers (appropriately themed with all things Disney, of course)for dolls and animals. They're great because you can see what's in them. I also started using laundry baskets. The toys are easy to "root through", and makes pick up a breeze for the little ones. We even use bigger ones and storage totes in the garage for the outside toys. I bought each of the youngest ones an under bed sorage tote (clear) for all of the little stuff (barbie, matchbox, happy meal toys, etc.). It has worked really well. Hope this helps! Good luck!

I always found that toy boxes don't work. Kids don't play with toys when they are all just dumped together. I use shelves and have those plastic drawer bins that stack on top of each other. Each drawer has similar type toys in each one. Example, drawer 1 legos,2 kinex, 3 stuffed animals,4 arts/craft items, 5 army toys, 6 Bratz dolls, 7 Littlest Petshop toys, 8 kids meal toys. Baby dolls and clothes in toy box, also have a bin with dress up clothes.
They seem to keep their toys organized and usually just pull one drawer out at a time and play with those items and put them away before getting another one out. It takes some time to get them trained that way but I have worked in several pre-schools/daycares so figured if they can get the organized system to work with young kids then I could at home too. It takes some time and you start when they are babies around 12 months teaching them to put their toys away by letting them help you. It also helps to take pictures of the toys and use clear contact paper to stick the pictures to the shelves under each toy so the child remembers where that toy goes and stick them on the drawers too and remind them when they are putting toys away that they need to go in the correct places.
This teaches the kids matching skills and also how to be organized and the kids seem to play with their toys more when they are organized and not in a big overwhelming pile.

Another idea if your kids get bored with their toys is to have them in different bins and put a lot of them away and alternate them every month. That way they seem like new toys again.

one good idea is to take pictures of the toys and tape them to the front of the bins so the kids know what's in there and what goes in when they're done.

I got the cube wire shelving (like from Walmart or Target) and seperated the kids toys. I also got clear small storage bins to put the seperated toys in. I put all that in the closet so my kids would have it tucked away at night and not distracting from sleep. Each bin is labeled and they know what goes in. They are allowed 1-2 bins out at at time. I have also got a larger storage tub from Walmart or Target and started putting in the toys that they are too old for (and I want to keep for a next child) and stuck that in the basement. Puzzles and crayons are up higher so they need help to get them down. Before I did this, my kids would get every toy out or game out and mix up puzzle pieces and couldn't figure out how to put them back together.

I don't know if this will work for you or not, but I use heavy duty ziplock bags to keep some smaller stuff together. My kids have stuff everywhere too, but I throw away toys that are left in scattered pieces all over the place...So I have them keep things like puzzles, and small things like my son's cars, or my daughter's Polly Pockets or Barbie clothes and accesories in zip bags. They can all be put into a toy box, but they stay easy to find and see... They have to be replaced often is the main downfall. You might be able to find clear zippered makeup bags(just be careful if your kids are little)... Also I've seen people use over the door shoe bags to organize toys.... Lots of options in the closet organizer department.... Good luck.

My SIL hangs a clear-pocket shoe organizer over the closet door so her girls can see what is stored in each pocket. I suppose you could even try labeling the pockets with either the name or a photo of what belongs inside.

This is what I use to do when my kids were little. You take half of the toys and store them, when they got bored with them replace them with the ones you stored. The kids would act like they were new toys.