10 Tips for Organizing Your Kids’ Toys

Whether you have one child or six, when it comes to toys and playthings, it seems that just as soon as a mess is cleaned up, another one appears! And both stay-at-home Moms and working Moms know that after a while, the constant clean-up, otherwise known as the “cleaning black hole,” can be both tiresome and frustrating. But what’s the answer? Clearly organization is needed, but if it isn’t done well and with purpose, it can end up costing you more time and energy in the long run.

Here are 10 tips for organizing your kids’ toys and playthings so you don’t feel like you’re brushing your teeth while eating Oreos when it comes to clearing the proverbial clutter in your house.

10. Stop talking about it, and get a plan.

Every Mom talks about organizing her kids’ toys when she “gets around to it.” But truth be told, no Mom is ever going to “get around to it.” Let’s face it—we have a lot to do in a day. We have a lot to do in an hour! Organizing is something that should be planned for, and time must be carved out for it. Truly organizing any part of clutter in the home is not something that fits into a routine schedule. So stop talking about that “someday.” Pull out your planner, and set a date to organize your kids’ toys (or two or three dates, depending on the size of the job), and make sure nothing outside of an emergency nixes your plan.

9. Purchase items needed for organization two days before you’re going to begin (if you don’t already have them).

Certain items will help you as you begin to organize your kids’ toys. Make sure you have these things on hand, but only purchase them about 2 days before beginning your task. Otherwise, you may misplace them or find other uses for them, which could delay your set-in-stone date to begin organizing. Make sure to have on hand Rubbermaid or Sterilite containers (always with lids) of varying sizes, trash bags (for the broken toys that cannot be upcycled or donated), large labels and a Sunnyside box—a large, sturdy cardboard box (for toys that will be donated).

[amazon box=”B00F93VCVO”] [amazon box=”B06WGMR96P”]

8. Have a trusted family friend there to help you.

As with most tasks, an extra set of hands can be a great help. But when it comes to Moms organizing things that belong to their children, it’s helpful to have an extra heart and mind involved. That’s because you may be surprised to discover that you have a difficult time letting go of items that should either be discarded—because they are broken, worn or do not function properly—or donated because your child no longer plays with them or has any interest in them. That’s because we often subconsciously assign sentimental value to items that belong to our children, and then when it’s time to let go of those items, we are almost heartbroken. But if you have a trusted friend there with you, she can help you to make sense of the emotions you may feel as you go through your kids’ things and decide what stays and what goes.

7. Have a system that makes sense.

However you choose to organize your kids’ toys, organization is really all about glorified sorting. Make sure that as you are sorting through toys, you do so by categorizing things in a system that makes sense to you and that has a function for your kids. For example, when it comes to your daughter’s doll clothes, it may not make the most sense to sort by color of doll clothing. For purposes of play and being

able to locate a favorite outfit for a doll, it may make more sense to sort the clothing by the type of doll (i.e., a small box for Barbie clothing and a larger box for American Girl clothing).

6. Organize one room of toys at a time.

If you have more than one child, and those children have separate bedrooms, it will make more sense (and drive you less crazy) to organize one room at a time. If you have a separate playroom, treat that as another room as well, and organize it independent of the other rooms of toys.

5. Always use age-appropriate labels.

If you have multiple children—some who are reading and some who are not yet reading, print off small pictures of the types of toys and playthings that go on a specific shelf or into a specific bin or box, and glue those pictures onto labels that you will affix to the respective shelves, bins and boxes. Next to the picture, print the name or names of toys that go into that space. This ensures that both your readers and non-readers can understand what goes where.

4. Enlist the help of your kids.

This depends on the age of your kids. You certainly won’t expect your 18 month-old to assist in sorting stuffed animals; she’ll just want to play and create a bigger mess for you. But older children can help in different ways. Give them tasks appropriate for their ages and abilities. If your child regularly sees you cleaning up after her, you’re giving the wrong impression that her task is to create the mess, and yours is to clean it up. This will undermine any teaching you’re doing to foster independence and responsibility.

3. Take frequent breaks.

Obviously, this depends on the task ahead of you. If you only have a small chest of toys to organize, you may find that you’re able to complete that task in an hour or so. But if you have multiple rooms, each with toy boxes, closets of toys, etc., then you will most likely find it helpful to take a break here and there so that you aren’t too worn out to finish. The only thing worse than a pile of unorganized toys is a pile of partially-organized toys. The object of the organization game is to finish, not to have things somewhat organized.

2. Check your system.

After you have organized one room of toys, observe your child at play in that same room. How well is your sorting system working? Is your child able to find her toys, or does she have to go through all the new plastic shoeboxes to find one bottle for her baby? Has she made an even bigger mess while trying to find her favorite dishes for her upcoming tea party? If so, you may want to tweak your system just a little so that you don’t find yourself doing the job of organizing every single time your child plays with her toys.

1. Help your child to understand the value of organized playthings.

After you’ve finished organizing a room of toys, and after you’ve observed your child playing so that you can assess whether your sorting system works, spend a few minutes helping your child to understand what you’ve done, why you’ve done it, why it’s important to keep the toys organized and then

how best to keep things orderly (i.e., when Barbie and Ken are finished playing, make sure they go back to this box, etc.).

Having kids means having toys—lots of toys—but you can keep the clutter in check, and keep a little more of your sanity, if you have a system of organization for all those wonderful playthings!