Toy Organization
Having a tidy children’s room is a beautiful sight. However, this can only be achieved if there is enough space to store all things accordingly. But how can you create more order in your child’s room and, above all, keep it that way?
Clean out
Before effectively and practically putting away the toys, it is important to look through everything. Take everything out! By the way, this is also the perfect moment to wipe or clean everything once. To do this, it is advisable in advance to set up four large baskets in the children’s room, with the following labeled notes:
- Keep
This should be the largest area, a blanket can also be placed on the floor for this purpose. This is where all the toys end up that will stay and be put away later.
- Dispose
All those things that are obviously no longer fully functional or that are simply broken are disposed of. To do this, recycle properly and remove the batteries in advance if any are included.
- Gifting/Donating
Those toys that the child no longer plays with or are not age appropriate can be given away or donated. There are often grateful recipients in the family or among friends or in charitable institutions.
- Selling
Such toys, which are still in good condition and possibly had a higher purchase value, can be sold, for this there are virtual marketplaces or flea markets that make this easy to re-acquire at least a partial amount.
Try to get rid of all toys from point 2 and 3 as soon as possible. Point 4 may take some time, depending on how quickly something sells, but it is important to store these things somewhere else (basement, garage, etc.) so that they do not “find their way back”. Set yourself a deadline for the sale as well. If it doesn’t sell within a certain period of time, give it away or donate it.
There will probably be toys that you are unsure about actually giving away yet, as the child may still play with them. The risk of having an unhappy child afterwards can be avoided by storing them in a box where the child cannot see them. BRISEN boxes are suitable for this purpose, as they are available in different sizes and can also be covered with a lid to prevent curious children’s eyes from looking in. If the child does not ask for it after several weeks, the things can be confidently given away.
The first step has been done, and there is much less to put away.
Sort and put away according to categories
Only those toys that will be kept should now be sorted by creating categories. Children find it much easier to look for categories and put them away again. Look at everything carefully and define them. Each box, again the BRISEN boxes are very suitable, should contain only one category at a time and the children should know where what belongs. It is therefore important to label each box, ideally also with pictures, for children who cannot yet read.
For younger children, it is recommended to take large BRISEN boxes without lids, as the toys are usually more voluminous here. These can easily be placed on an open shelf. Older children, who usually have more small parts, can use two (or more) BRISEN boxes with lids stacked on top of each other.
For books and games, the rule is to always put them away vertically, because in a horizontal position, you usually have to take out other items to get to exactly what you are looking for, this causes clutter. Do not let this happen at all.
A child can only put toys away properly if he or she knows where to put them and is able to do so. All boxes should be easily accessible by the child, pay attention to the height of the child and child safety, so that the boxes do not fall on the child.
Toy Rotation
In some children’s rooms, the flood of toys is already too large, so that the children no longer know exactly what they should play with or the overview is lost. The number of toys you leave in the children’s room depends on the space you have available.
In order for the children to continue to find their toys interesting and exciting, a rotation system can be introduced. A few toys are stored, again in categories, in boxes where the child has no accessibility, such as on high cabinets, under the bed, in the basement, etc. After a couple of weeks, it can be moved out again and more play is usually done with the newly discovered toy. And if not, it is clear that this can also be given away.
Keeping things tidy
Now finally the children’s room is nice and tidy, but in the shortest time untidy again?
Create routines, only if it becomes a habit to clean up always, for example before meals, sometime it becomes a given.
Make tidying up fun, for example, play the child’s two favorite songs, and only tidy up during this time.
Be a role model and tidy up, so the children learn that it is natural to put things away.
Motivate! This helps a lot and does not mean a material motivation in the form of more toys, but a verbal motivation. Praise the child, that often works small miracles!