Inside: If you’re tripping over toys organizing your kids toy room you will love these tips on how to organize a kids room that’s a messy toy room!
In case you didn’t know it, kids accumulate stuff like nobody’s business. Kids’ meal toys, gifts from the grandparents, birthdays, Christmas… the list goes on and on. They also spread said “stuff” from one end of the house to the other faster than you can blink, but that’s another story for another day. As much as I dread it, the pile of toys has to be dealt with.
Now, I’m not a neat person by any stretch of the imagination. I have “creative brain,” often leaving plenty of evidence of where I’ve been and every project on which I’m simultaneously working. I seriously doubt my skills and abilities in organizing anything, much less the massive undertaking that is my boy’s room.
But quite frankly, I have a clutter tipping point. Seeing piles upon piles of toys strewn everywhere, wading through legos to help them find their shoes, clothes being “lost” frequently in the mess – I just can’t take the chaos. There’s no method to the madness, and it makes me crazy.
Dealing With Kid Clutter Through Toy Rotation
One of my main resistances to tackling the kid’s mess was this idea I had built up of all the whining and complaining I would hear from the boys. I’ve found this funny phenomenon, though – the more toys they have in their room, the less they can find to play with. I’m convinced the sheer volume of things in their room overwhelms them from being able to see individual things.
Something had to give.
Our Kid Clutter Solution
To keep the toys (and the clutter stress!) from taking over, my kids help me go through their toys about once every 3-4 months. We’ve made a system that we all love – and they know what to expect now – so this process goes smoothly. Don’t tell them, but I think they actually look forward to it.
It’s like they are receiving brand new toys because they can actually see what is there and enjoy playing with them.
To begin the process, we touch everything in their room and divide each item into one of 4 piles; trash, share, save, and keep; and then act accordingly.
Kid Clutter Pile 1: Trash
This one is pretty easy and a great answer to how to get rid of too many toys. I bring in a giant trash bag (or three!), and we trash all the things that are broken beyond repair and the literal trash that has accumulated with their stuff. Boys are so silly sometimes. If I don’t find at least one band-aid, three crumpled pieces of “art,” and a handful of used stickers that aren’t sticky anymore, then we haven’t dug in deep enough. The rule here is simple: If it’s no good to anybody, in the trash bag it goes.
Kid Clutter Pile 2: Share
Next up was the hardest to teach at first, but has become second nature to my boys now, and that makes my Mama heart happy. If a toy isn’t getting the love that it once was but is still in great useable condition, we will add it to the share pile. When we’re done going through everything, we load up these things in the car and immediately go to donate them.
The kids love knowing that they are giving to other kids who might not have any toys and that these new kiddos will be giving their “old toys” new life. In fact, I overheard them telling a friend he should do the same since he had so many toys. It’s a great lesson in the joy of giving!
As we’ve continued this practice and my boys have grown familiar with it, they will often mention on their own that they want to share a particular toy they have outgrown. It’s amazing to watch their compassion grow with this one simple practice that originated to keep their room clean.
If you’re worried about toy and kid gear clutter, try ToyCycle– a toy, clothing, and baby gear resale.
Kid Clutter Pile 3: Save
The next step is to consider how to organize too many toys. A more seasoned mom shared with me the idea of toy rotation – basically putting a portion of new toys out of sight while the kids played with the other new toys, and then swapping them out as they were getting less creative with them.
As I began to put this into practice, I noticed that the toys don’t need to be new to start rotating them. If you put away a portion of the toys they enjoy playing with for a span of time, it’s just like brand new toys appear when they come out of the rotation!
This has been the biggest sanity saver for me – there’s no arguing or complaining when the kids are “losing” toys they love. They know they will come back. I’m able to reduce the clutter in their room without making them get rid of things they love.
We will randomly select some toys they still love and play with to swap out with some older favorites that have been waiting in a box in the garage. It’s like Christmas morning all over again as they re-discover these toys. This might be their very favorite part of cleaning out their room because they know at the end, they will be opening up a box of toys that are new to them all over again. It also gives Mama the chance to rest after a busy day of digging through the piles in their room as they are happily entertained with the “new arrivals” until bedtime!
Toy Rotation Storage Ideas:
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Kid Clutter Pile 4: Keep
The last pile is certainly the smallest. We keep a few things they can’t bear to part with right now (hello, bazillion piece train set and legos), but as I mentioned before, most of the toys they will part with gleefully, knowing a batch of the “new-again” toys will be coming in.
As we put everything away, we make sure that everything in their room has a clear home, grouping together the things that are alike, or that get played with together. We have the cubby bins in the boys’ room, and I drew a picture of the kinds of toys that go in each bin to put on the front. This helps the boys during clean-up time to know exactly where everything should go, so they can find it again when they’re ready to play with it! Here are some great storage solutions for living room toys.
Granted, it’s not a perfect system because there are imperfect people behind it, but it sure does help.
Once the toys outgrow the bins again, we’re past due for another clean out! We try to stay on top of the clutter and do this as the seasons change and right before birthdays/Christmas, but life happens. The boys often remind me that it’s time to clean out their room now, and I’m so thankful that we’ve found a system that helps them enjoy what they have more.
Have you tried toy rotation? Share what works for you in the comments!
Bio: Melissa Peduzzi is a recovering burnt-out homemaker who’s rediscovering purpose and joy in her calling. When she’s not wrangling the chaos as wife and mama to two boys, her heart is connecting with other mamas in the Mom Life By Design Facebook community group and through her site, momlifebydesign.com.
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Alan says
My kids room and play room is messy all the time so this will help a lot but I have a question what if your kids have a toy box? What do we do?
Julie says
Like a toy chest box? It can only hold so much, right? Rotate what they have access to perhaps, what stays in the toy box and what goes in storage for a few months.
Karen Thurm Safran, author of Parenting-Let's Make a Game of It says
I love this systematic approach! And it’s wonderful teaching children the importance of sharing with others. We had an air hockey table that we loved, but over the years it became a dump spot and took up a lot of room in a small area. I told my kids that if we didn’t use it during the next month, we’d give it to children who would enjoy it. Well, a month went by, and you guessed it… That week, a very excited Boys and Girls Club swung by and picked up their new entertainment. Our cramped room expanded, and my kids knew they just made tons of other kids happy. A win-win for everyone. ?
Erin @ Stay at Home Yogi says
Love that you regularly donate toys! We have taken less popular toys to our gym’s daycare a few times! It doesn’t take much to reach my clutter tipping point!!!
Julie says
I love the idea of taking them to the gym day care!
Julie says
I absolutely loved this guest post, thanks for hanging out on the blog Melissa! We don’t have a playroom, just toys all over the living rom since that is where my toddler hangs out. We do try to ckeep them organized or at least to their corners, but toy rotation is such a great idea. I gotta make that happen. I’m bad with out of sight and forget we even have it so I might never bring it back out lol
Tessa says
All great ideas! Especially having a “Share” pile for toys that aren’t really getting any love anymore.
Melissa says
Tessa – thanks! It’s my absolute favorite. I love cultivating caring in my kiddos hearts. It’s so amazing to watch them grow in understanding!
Paige says
I’ve been doing the trash and share for a while now, but the toy rotation never even dawned on me! That’s such a great idea. I’ll definitely be doing this before my son’s birthday in a few weeks. Thanks for sharing!
Melissa says
Awesome timing, Paige, and a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to your son!
CourtneyLynne says
Great advice!!! Kids toys sure do accumulate pretty fast! I feel like I’m constantly decluttering!
Melissa says
The toys are like glitter – they multiply when you’re not looking! Hope this makes your decluttering a little simpler! 🙂
Alan says
My kids room and play room is messy all the time so this will help a lot but I have a question what if your kids have a toy box? What do we do?
Kristen Hewitt says
We do this every few months too! We normally purge and donate and keep half. Great tips!!
Melissa says
Good to know I’m in great company, Kristen!
Yanique says
Our playroom is in need of some purging. I have three kids and I swear they are destined to be hoarders. These tips will certainly come in handy!
Melissa says
Yanique – I get it! It’s like they develop the most severe emotional attachment the minute they see a discarded toy from 2 years ago… ha!
Tyane says
I needed this today! My boys’ room looks like a tornado ripped through it. If only I can talk my husband into another IKEA trip. Great ideas!!
Melissa says
Tyane – Ooohh, IKEA! The organization mecca! Hope the aftermath of the boy tornado is easily corralled!
Ellie Augustin says
Oh this is my crazy world! I actually have to through the toys again. I keep saying to myself WHAT was I thinking lol..It’s only my girls who have toys right now my boys are teens so I have clothes that need the purge with them lol I already warned the grandparents NO MORE TOYS lol…
Melissa says
Ellie – if your grandparents are anything like ours, the warning goes unheeded! Ha! Good luck!
Mary Barham says
I love my kids playroom but def could use tips to organize it! thank you!
Melissa says
Mary – you’ve got this! It’s such a sense of accomplishment when you’re done!
Joanan says
I am about to go through and trash a lot of my kids toys and reorganize. I always do a lot of this when the holidays come around
Melissa says
Joanan – such a great plan! Best of luck to you!!
Kendall says
I need to get back on the toy rotation thing. There are random toys ad objects strewn about. Yesterday, Monkey Boy helped me clean the living room, so now the toys are contained again, but I need to go back through them and do some rotation. Thanks for the reminder! It’s so much nicer when the clutter is down, it honestly keeps me calmer and much more happy! 🙂
Melissa says
Kendall – it does so much for my mental health too! It’s time for me to go through the process again, and I find I dread it much less each time! Way to go on the living room yesterday!