Organizing Toys

By

deethundercloud

I used to work at Headstart. What we did is get the children involved in organizing the toys and putting them away.

First, if you have any shelves, have them help outline the toys that will fit on the shelves, explaining that each toy now has it's own home when not in use.

For toys like soldiers, match cars etc ...create a circle which you make or buy a circular tablecloth example... we made a track on the inside of the cloth, put a drawstring along the edge and when done playing with the cars, the cloth is drawn up and hung along with other bags which hold other groups of toys which like to play together.

If you have room to hang something from which these bags can hang, you can put a pic on each bag but it won't be long before your children will know what each holds.
This works in a classroom of preschoolers and it sure has worked in my home.

BTW: if you decide to use bins. make them small enough that each will only hold so many toys. This way each can be designated as a 'home' for the toys it holds.
Dee

By

vbart

Sturdy cardboard boxes can work quite well! Liquor stores sell heavy ones. You could put pictures of the types of toys each box should hold, so the boys can match box for box. You might also ask a local laundromat to save the large detergent buckets they often use; those can be great catch-alls, too.

By

MooseMom

If the kids have regular twin beds, get the clear plastic "under the bed" storage things. Each one has their own (however many) with their names on them. Depending on the number of toys, put pictures on the ends of the bins so they know, legos goe in this bin, Barbies go in that bin, etc...

I would appreciate any helpful ideas on organizing toys for my 1 year old daughter. We have not purchased many containers yet.

Store the majority of your child's toys in plastic see-through bins, tubs or clearly labeled boxes in the attic or basement. Store the child's other toys in their room in the bins in a closet. Painlessly and quickly rotate the toys often. Just grab a bin from the attic or basement and switch with the bedroom toys. If you have very young children, you can minimize the clutter by storing toys on a high shelf for adults only. When the child wants a toy to play with, they can easily point it out. Don't forget to replace it with one that is already out.

Note: The tubs and bins tip works well for pantry items as well to stay organized.

Note: Have separate "treat" bins and "snack" bins; having more nutritional items in the "snack" bins, which would be used more often that the "treat" bins.

By duckie-do from Cortez, CO