Thank goodness! I’ve done the first drop-off of the year, everyone is settled in and I’ve returned to a quiet house. I can take a breath, gather my thoughts and finally tackle those tasks that have been bugging me for a while now.
Whilst I love having family time and the holidays have been lots of fun, it can be very a demanding and messy time. I’m desperate to create some order out of the chaos and distraction that has been filling my home and my mind!
With the children back at school this is the perfect time to regain control and make space (in our homes and heads) for another focus; a new project, work, other commitments, hobbies, to just feel better prepared or to have time to care for ourselves.
Children seem to have so many toys and spread them all over the house. I think there are probably only a few rooms in our house that don’t have toys or books somewhere (I know I’m going to miss this in a few years!).
My favourite toy organising ideas:
1. Have a Place for Everything!
Display favourite toys and the items they use often on shelves that are easily accessible. Have labelled boxes (with pictures and words) and bags so that the children can easily see them and depending on their age, put them away!
2. Keep Toys Together
Store toys in categories so that they can be enjoyed with ease – e.g. keep all vehicles in a crate near to a floor with space to play, store pens and craft materials close to a table
3. Don’t have too many toys out
Rotate items, storing them and bringing them out a few months later to keep them fresh
4. Give away
Donate or hand down duplicates, toys that are no longer age specific or no longer played with. Too many toys can be overwhelming and won’t be appreciated
5. Create a mindset
Create a mindset that toys are to be enjoyed then moved on. Encourage your children to help you to give away toys that they no longer play with to other children to enjoy. Good times to do this are after long holidays, before Christmas and birthdays. (If you struggle with letting go for sentimental reasons find pictures of your children playing with those items or take photos before giving them away for someone else to love).
You might also like to read about the Perfect Time to Organise Children’s Things here.
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