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Toys, Toys Everywhere! By Melissa J Wantuck  |
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 Are you overwhelmed by an avalanche of children’s toys that have overtaken your home? Do your kids stand amongst the multitude of toys around them and complain they have nothing to play with? If so, you and your kids are suffering from too many toys and the way to fix this problem is scaling back.
Here are some ideas to help you reduce the toy clutter in your home and make it feel more like a home than a toy store and also encourage your children to play with what they have and enjoy it.
Getting Started
Start by picking up everything that’s currently out and put it in a box, or how ever many boxes needed to get everything off the floor. Have each child choose two toys to keep out.
Organize
Next, take however many boxes of toys and sort through them. Have each child pick at least one toy that they no longer use to give away to a needy child. For the rest of the toys, organize them. Get some smaller containers and organize the toys into separate containers by toy type such as a container for each of the following: Legos, dolls, cars, etc. Place these bins on bookshelves or closet shelves. Put some away and leave some out for accessible play. Separate toys that are your children are too old to play with. The ones you wish to save, box and place in storage (these will someday be novelties when you pull them out for grandchildren). Give away what you don’t want to keep.
Rotate
Once toys have been sorted and organized, plan to rotate about once a week or maybe two weeks or more what toys you keep out for play and other toys you temporarily put away. This will keep toys fresh and also encourage your children to play with fewer things thus keeping them engaged as opposed to overwhelmed by too many choices.
Responsible Play
To keep your house a home and not a messy toy closet, designate areas where your children can play. If you have a formal living room and a separate family room, allow for playing in the family room. If you allow play in rooms like a formal living room, tell your children not to leave their toys there when they’re done. Setting house rules for play will encourage responsible playtime and responsibility for care of toys. Setting house rules for toy storage will contribute to these responsibilities and will promote your children’s respect of the whole house not just their things.
Not Just Toys
Toys may not be the only thing littering your house and ignored by your children. Other things like books and puzzles, video games and computer activities may be constantly tossed aside by your children. Follow the same guidelines listed above with these things. Set out a few books and puzzles each week on a lower shelf or tabletop and rotate them with other ones stored up high. Give away or store no longer used items to de-clutter your shelves.
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