5 Tips for Playroom Organization
/Do you have a playroom that is full of toys and chaos? Would you like to find simple solutions for managing the toy clutter?
Here are my tips for creating toy storage solutions that will be easy for you and, more importantly, your kids to maintain.
Tip 1: Purge + Declutter
If the toy clutter is causing you stress, there’s likely a need to purge unwanted, broken, and outgrown toys. Include kids in the process of decluttering as much as possible, even if that means they’re just sitting on the floor playing while you do all the work. It’s important to show your kids how to be mindful of their possessions.
Start by gathering all the toys in one place to sort and determine which items to purge. If at any point your kids become overwhelmed by this process, that’s okay, be encouraging, affirm that it’s okay to feel frustrated, and take lots of breaks (cookies optional).
As adults, we may find Marie Kondo’s practice of thanking our possessions before we donate them a bit silly, but I have found that this works really well for young children. So if they have a toy they don’t play with anymore, have them tell it, “thank you for all the fun times, but now it’s time for you to get a new kid.”
Any progress is a victory, whether that’s finding two things to donate or ten. If there’s an item they really want to hold onto, even if you feel it’s something they no longer need, let them keep it and reassess the next time you declutter.
Kid or adult, decluttering becomes easier as you go. I always recommend starting with the easy items to give your child (and you) a sense of accomplishment and ease right out of the gate. Once they make it to the tougher items, they’ll make better, quicker decisions.
Tip 2: Create Zones
With young children it’s pretty common to have toys in just about every room of the house. The problem arises when the toys are scattered throughout the house in no particular order. Let’s say your child wants to play with his toy cars… he may have some cars in the playroom, some in the family room, and more in his bedroom. He’s going to get frustrated and loose interest pretty quickly if he can’t find the cars he wants or if he has to go room-to-room to collect the cars before he can start to play.
It absolutely makes sense at this stage of life to have toys in more than one place. In order to control the chaos, create play zones. Perhaps all the kitchen and food toys go in the kitchen so the kids can play while you cook, maybe the cars and trucks go in the family room because the kids like to drive them on that rug, or the dolls go in the basement because that’s where the dollhouse is set up. Create zones that work with your child’s toys and play habits.
Tip 3:
Contain the Big Stuff
Large toys—play sets, ride-ons, push toys, etc.—are often just left out on the floor because they are awkward to store. Toys lining the walls and littering the floor are likely making your space look messy, even if the other toys are picked up. Use oversized bins and storage ottomans to conceal large, bulky toys.
Tip 4: Sort the Little Stuff
Sort small toys by type so that all cars are in one bin, dolls in another, blocks in yet another, and so on. Choose bins that are the proper size for the toys you are containing. Small toys will easily sift to the bottom of a large toy bin and be lost or forgotten. Sorting them into smaller bins will help kids be able to quickly find what they want to play with.
Label the bins, or attach a photo or drawing of what belongs in each bin. Kids will know exactly where everything belongs and be encouraged to clean up once they are done playing (hopefully, without you having to nag).
Cube storage, bookcases, cabinets, and even entertainment centers are all great storage options for the smaller toys contained within bins. Choose storage methods that fit in with the look of you home, so that the space can more easily adapt as children grow.
Tip 5: Maintain Order
Having the whole family involved in the organizing process, means everyone should have a pretty clear understanding of the goal to keep the space tidy. Everything should have a designated space. Labeling bins for smaller items will make clean up quicker and easier.
Ideally you would purge and donate toys regularly so that the overall amount stays about the same. That said, holidays and birthdays will no doubt bring along more toys and you may not always get the chance to declutter before those occasions. Allow space for the toy collection to grow—a little extra space in the bins and a little elbow room on the shelving.
With organizational systems in place one could hope the kids would be better at keeping it tidy on their own—but don’t hold your breath. Set aside time to work together to quickly tidy play spaces. Turn on an upbeat song and see if everyone can work together to get the toys picked up before the song ends, or assign everyone a number of toys to pick up and have them count out loud as they go. Keep it quick and fun.
