As a multitasking, working parent, you're all too familiar with the juggling act that comes with managing your home, your career, and your children's lives. Regardless of how many children you have, one area that can quickly become a battlefield is the ever-expanding collection of toys. But before you trip over another stuffed animal or step on yet another building block, let’s tackle this together in three clear steps.
At morganise we understand the challenge all too well. So, in today’s blog post, we are dishing out practical tips and expert advice on decluttering and organizing your children's toys. After all, an organised space means a happier and more peaceful home for everyone.
Why get started on this area? Let’s start with the real perks for you…
· Kids playing and happily occupied = your moment for a well-deserved coffee or to get ticking off those to-do’s.
· Less time tidying up at the end of the day=more time for everything else.
· Less ‘I have nothing to play with’ = more chance of maintaining your gentle parenting that little bit longer.
So, let’s get cracking…
STEP 1: PURGE
Start with a purge!
First, you need to decide how to involve your children, and this might depend on the age of your kids and what they are like. Personally, we think that when they are little it is great to talk to them about why we donate toys and where they go, making more space to play and the joy that other children may get from the toys. For Ellie, with the kids still being quite little a bit of a pre purge before involving them helps, so it is a little bit less overwhelming. Getting some things out of the way first can also help because we all know that when kids suddenly see that toy from a party bag from a year ago there will instantly name it their favourite toy.
And watch out for cheeky older siblings…Amelia likes to donate Charlie’s toys…nice try kid, nice try.
It is easy as a parent to think about the money you have spent on certain toys and let that influence the process, but be realistic about what they actually play with. Charlie’s most expensive present last Christmas was a vehicle transporter that when we saw in the shop, we were convinced he was going to go nuts for- safe to say that he played with it about twice and couldn’t have cared less- donating that one was painful. And don’t forget that you can sell good quality, unwanted toys too, Facebook Marketplace is a great place to start, or if you can face it, car boot sales are a winner to sell toys.
STEP 2: ORGANISE WITH A PLAN
Categorise
Group the toys you are keeping by type, action figures, puzzles, crafts etc. so you can see what you have in each category, which will help plan how to store them and how much space in the room they need.
TIP- keep the categories broad, for example ‘vehicles’ - rather than sorting Paw Patrol vehicles from the Batmobil and the Hot Wheels. This will ensure the longevity of the category as they move in and out of different phases of favourite toys.
Contain
Have a think how you are going to contain the items together so that they can be put away easily.
Clear boxes make it easy for children to see what there is to play with and put things away themselves.
Opaque boxes reduce the visual clutter, and can be more aesthetically pleasing, if you also need to use the space for other things, like in a lounge or a bedroom.
TIP- we LOVE a zip wallet for puzzles and board games we talk about them on Instagram and in client sessions a lot. Check out our recommended ones on amazon.
Space Planning
Think about what can positioned at kid-height to allow them to access themselves and encourage to play and also tidy up.
TIP - Up high put the items that you really don’t want them to play with independently play doh and paint for example!
Toy Rotation
Rotating toys can keep things fresh and exciting for the children and lots of people say that it helps with the children not feeling overwhelmed with too many choices of what to play with. So, if you are limited on storage in a play area, having somewhere else you can store toys not in use can be helpful, think understairs cupboards, garden sheds, loft spaces for this.
For Ellie the opposite is true, there is space in the playroom however she doesn’t have anywhere to store toys not in use. Lucy manages slightly differently and keeps it interesting by having some toys in the playroom and some in the children’s bedrooms meaning that they can play in different spaces with different toys to keep it fresh.
STEP 3: MAINTEANCE
Let’s be realistic, your children’s toys are not going to stay beautifully organised at all times and yes you are going to get grumpy when your 3-year-old puts a doll in the vehicles box.
So here are our tips for maintenance.
Copy how childcare settings approach this
If your child is in a childcare setting then borrow what they do if you can, kids do love some consistency. At pre-school for example they have ‘choose it, use it, put it away’ to encourage children to tidy up as they go. In reception, they also have reward stickers for focused tidying time. And then of course there is a tidy up song, which isn’t annoying at all……
Being consistent and building it into daily routine can help, you never know, their commitment to tidying might rub off on other adults in the house….(we will leave that one there….)
Regularly revisit starting again at purge
Notice we haven’t prescribed how often you should repeat the process? Well, that is intentional as we think that it depends on the age of the kids and how often they are at home playing. When they are little, it feels like more often is necessary. Our advice would be pre-Christmas, pre birthdays and at the start of the summer holidays would be great times to start.
And there you have it a morganised playroom.
In the whirlwind of life as a busy, working mum, decluttering and organising your children's toys can feel like a daunting task. However, with the right plan, some involvement from the whole family, and a bit of professional guidance, we promise you can transform your space and the daily dread of toys everywhere. This isn’t about a quick tidy up; this is about putting a system in place that makes family life easier.
Still can’t face it… get in touch to book us in for a declutter and organise at contact@morganised.co.uk
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Whatever your decluttering and organising challenge, just remember, we get it and we’ve got your back.
Ellie & Lucy