Each year in the lead up to our end of the year birthday run and Christmas I aim to declutter the kids’ toy cupboard. We have a pretty standard process that we follow:
The kids need to be involve
They are the ones who play with the toys / games / activities and can have a say in how they are managed. They are also the ones who mess up the cupboard and need to be involved in tidying it up!
The sorting process
We have a number of piles going:
- to be repaired
- to be thrown out
- to donate
- to hand down
This time we have more to hand down as I have new nieces and nephews. In some instances it is a matter of handing back toys that were given to my kids by my sisters.
When we work through the hand me down process, it highlights to me the benefit of having less toys, but of a higher quality.
Cupboard reorganistion
When we put the toys we are keeping back in the cupboard we did so, placing the toys for the preschooler on the bottom so he can easily access them himself.
The games with lots of little pieces and ones that are more complicated to play, I placed on the highest shelves. This isn’t so the kids can’t play them. They are always allowed to get whatever toys they like from the cupboard. But it is more for when we have visitors of a younger age, who may still be going through the pull everything out of the cupboard stage. They are out of reach and can stay intact, meaning less tidy up and less lost pieces.
Toy rotation
As part of the toy reorganisation I will also rotate the toys that are on the shelf in the living room. We have used the toy shelf and rotation concept since we had our first son. You can read a little more about it here – Rotating Kids’ Toys.
While the other kids may play with the toys on the shelf, in reality it is really only the preschooler who plays with the toys. I had him help me choose what toys he would like on the shelf.
I did suggest some games and puzzles which hadn’t been out for a while that I thought he would like and he has really enjoyed playing with them.
How do you go about organising the toys in your house?